10 Wrestlers With The Most Breakout Star Potential Right Now

3. Isiah Kassidy

Paige VanZant
AEW/Lee South

It felt for a time like Isiah Kassidy was trending towards also-ran territory.

What was more of an indictment is that Private Party stagnated or even regressed before AEW aggressively expanded its roster across 2020 and 2021, the new members of which brought into focus just how many core/original acts weren't quite ready for television. The story was similar for much of their output: a far more botchy echo of their breakthrough match against the Young Bucks. That breakthrough evolved quickly into the opposite of the intended result; if anything, it was a measure of how good the Bucks really were.

This year, Kassidy in particular has impressed with his tighter in-ring, expressive scene-stealing character work and more confident disposition. He's stealing scenes he's barely in, too. He is grasping how to catch the eye from its corner, which bodes very well for a profiled role as an über-cocky singles heel.

This isn't to suggest than Marq Quen is "the Jannetty" - which is a bad take anyway, since, at the time, Jannetty was actually the better Rocker - only that Kassidy is really making the smaller moments count.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!