Graham GSM Matthews
Featured Columnist IV
December 3, 2023
LA Knight and 8 Stars with the Brightest Future in WWE and AEW Right Now
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LA Knight has merely scratched the surface of what he can accomplish in WWE.Credit: WWE.com
WWE and AEW have had their fair share of breakout stars throughout 2023, providing both products with the new blood they’ve desperately needed.
To their credit, all of the current top talent have done an effective job of carrying their respective companies this year. MJF, Bryan Danielson and Kenny Omega have been staples of AEW’s main-event scene while Seth Rollins, Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns have remained mainstays at the top of the card in WWE.
Looking ahead, WWE and AEW need stars they can count on to be able to build their brands around. Some, such as LA Knight, are further along in their career still with plenty to offer while others have shown tremendous upside despite lacking experience.
Everyone who has been on the ascent must continue to build momentum and prove their worth heading into 2024. Both promotions have an outstanding core of competitors that have the potential to break through the proverbial glass ceiling and have sustained success for years to come.
As their stocks skyrocket, these are the eight stars with the brightest futures ahead of them right now.
LA Knight
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Although it’s taken longer than it should have for LA Knight to reach the upper echelon of WWE, he’s quickly cemented himself as one of WWE’s hottest commodities in a mere matter of months.
To steal a Cody Rhodes catchphrase, he went from undesirable to undeniable by organically getting over with the audience at the onset of the summer. He then started to rack up wins, became the face of WWE’s Slim Jim sponsorship with his Battle Royal win at SummerSlam, and got the John Cena stamp of approval after besting The Bloodline at Fastlane.
Of course, there was nowhere for him to go but down following his heartbreaking loss to Undisputed WWE Universal champion Roman Reigns at Crown Jewel, but his immense popularity has hardly faltered since then.
It’s clear WWE has high hopes for him as SmackDown’s top babyface going forward, title or title not. That said, all signs point to him being the one to ultimately dethrone Logan Paul as United States champion in a high-profile match at WrestleMania 40.
Once Reigns drops his coveted prize (or if Knight moves to Monday nights before that happens), The Megastar is guaranteed to hold world title gold before long.
Will Ospreay
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AEW was wise to lock down Will Ospreay before he could enter free agency, which would have allowed him to negotiate with WWE or any other promotion.
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