Predicting Where Every AEW Wrestler Will Be In 5 Years' Time

10. Nyla Rose

Nyla Rose
AEW

Nyla Rose might be AEW's most underrated wrestler. As much of a killer on the stick as she is on the heat, she has quietly built quite the library of excellent TV matches.

And contrary to the broad perception of the women's division, which aren't not echoed subjectively, AEW has handled her very well. She is invariably presented as a major threat, by advancing to the semis or finals of every tournament and making the final four of every Battle Royal. Her run has been curated really quite well, and she's not even played babyface yet - a role at which she'd rule, given her immaculate crowd-pleasing Twitter game.

She's not the youngest, but if AEW ever promotes its own Hall of Fame, she's a women's division first-ballot.

9. Penelope Ford

Penelope Ford Kiera Hogan
AEW

The AEW women's division is a constant source of discourse, good and bad faith alike - but Penelope Ford's superb performance at Fyter Fest 2020 highlights an unavoidable issue.

She was outstanding that night. Were she afforded frequent TV time to improve further, who knows where she'd be now. She wasn't. A very good athlete whose stuff looks like it really smarts, she's still prone to timing miscues and positional errors.

Given the state of pandemic indie wrestling and travel bans to the epicentre of great women's wrestling, Japan, there's a ceiling over her head.

Can she smash through it by 2026?

Sadly, and little of this is her fault, gut feeling says "No".

8. Rebel

Rebel AEW
AEW

An amusing fawning second who can take a hell of a bump, provided it is not in the context of an actual wrestling match, the role doesn't seem destined to last until 2026, by which time Britt Baker will have turned fully-fledged babyface at least once - but as AEW's resident stylist, more funny cameo appearances beckon.

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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!