5 AEW Stars Who Will Break Out In 2023

AEW struck gold with a slew of rising stars in 2022, including current World Champion MJF, his rival Ricky Starks, Women’s World Champion Jamie Hayter and the uber-popular Wardlow.

Pro wrestling’s No. 2 promotion has proven to be more than capable of utilizing prominent stars—like Bryan Danielson, Chris Jericho and Jon Moxley—and mixing them in with its new generation of up-and-coming talents. AEW’s next challenge, however, is for that to translate into a bigger TV audience, which is something that didn’t really happen last year when Dynamite’s audience grew by just 18,000 viewers for the year.

That will require more than just signing ex-WWE talents or relying heavily on names such as Moxley and Jericho in the main event picture. In fact, AEW will need to develop even more homegrown stars, as it’s done with Britt Baker, Jade Cargill, Jungle Boy and others who’ve become mainstays on Dynamite and Rampage.

In 2022, AEW had no problem accomplishing that goal, and in 2023, these five stars should follow suit with breakout years.

MORE FROM FORBES5 Huge Changes WWE Must Make To Topple AEWBy Blake Oestriecher

Ethan Page

Ethan Page has been among AEW’s most underutilized stars during his tenure with the company, but late last year, AEW creative head Tony Khan appeared to finally take notice of the former Impact Wrestling star.

One of the most well-rounded performers on the roster, Page found himself facing Starks in the finals of the World Title Eliminator Tournament, and though he lost that bout, his run during the tourney helped establish him as an upper echelon heel in AEW. More recently, he’s found himself involved in a mini feud with Danielson, perhaps the biggest babyface in the company, which is a strong sign that he’s rising up the heel ladder.

If you look at the villain side of AEW’s men’s roster, there is a steep dropoff from MJF to essentially everyone else, and that No. 2 spot is ripe for the taking. Similar to someone like WWE’s Kevin Owens, Page has demonstrated the ability to play multiple roles and to deliver both in the ring and on the microphone, making the 33-year-old a prime candidate to be a main event heel just behind MJF on the pecking order.

Top Flight

AEW’s biggest tag team success story of 2022 was The Acclaimed, with the duo of Anthony Bowens and Max Caster becoming not just one of AEW’s most popular acts but also its world tag team champions. The way they organically skyrocketed up the card was truly amazing, and AEW now has a homegrown tandem to build around, one that ultimately had AEW’s top selling t-shirt of the year.

Given the depth and star power on AEW’s roster, that’s both surprising and incredibly impressive, and if someone told you that was going to happen at the beginning of last year, chances are you wouldn’t have believed it. If there is another tag team in AEW that could have a similar trajectory in 2023, that would be the brotherly duo of Dante and Darius Martin, collectively known as Top Flight.

The only thing holding the pair back thus far has been two unfortunate injuries to Darius, who was sidelined for extended periods that left Dante flying solo. While Dante had some success in singles action, he’s much more likely to emerge from the pack in the tag team division now that Darius is back. Their chemistry is incredible, and though they don’t have the charisma or mic skills that Caster and Bowens have, their fantastic in-ring work could give them a Hardy Boyz-like connection with the crowd.

If they can catch the right spark at the right time, watch out.

Willow Nightingale

AEW appeared to be setting up Willow Nightingale as the star who would end the undefeated streak and TBS Title reign of the unstoppable Cargill, but the ball was clearly dropped in that regard. While it will take a bit of character rehab to recreate the momentum Nightingale was creating, it’s definitely not impossible.

Nightingale, despite very limited TV time, is now officially signed to AEW has a very strong connection with AEW’s fans that doesn’t equate to her minimal push on Dynamite on Rampage. She’s demonstrated that she has that “it” factor—whatever it may be—and that she is a very good in-ring performer who should be involved in marquee storylines with stars like Baker, Cargill and the recently signed Saraya.

Last year, Hayter was able to ride a massive wave of momentum to a world title win, and now, she’s shining week in and week out. There is little reason to think that Nightingale can’t do the same, as she’s a rare breed with a unique and marketable look and the charisma that has made her a bigger fan favorite than virtually anyone in AEW with such a small amonut of TV exposure.

Hook

In AEW, laid-back stars who rely heavily on their gimmick have proven to be huge hits, which has been evident by the success and popularity of stars like Danhausen and Orange Cassidy, who has proven to be a top draw for the company.

The 23-year-old Hook finds himself in a similar spot: He really doesn’t do or say much, but he’s mega over when he does, generating roof-raffling reactions that demonstrate that less can often be more. For the most part, Hook has been a Rampage-exclusive star who has matches that only last a couple of minutes, but AEW has been branching out with Hook a bit and giving him some longer matches, coupled with more TV time and a more-involved storyline with Jungle Boy.

That slow burn strategy is the right move for Hook, but Khan may strap the proverbial rocket to him sooner rather than later. Khan has already said Hook is his favorite second generation performer and has a “young James Dean vibe,” so it’s not difficult to envision a world where Hook, despite being in his early 20s, finds himself following MJF as the latest 20-something to break into AEW’s main event picture.

Swerve Strickland

Swerve Strickland has the swagger a star needs to get over in a major way with AEW’s diehard fan base, and he’s already on the verge of doing just that. His tag team run with Keith Lee worked well in getting him over as a face and then reestablishing him as a heel, which fits him so naturally as the cool and confident star who also happens to be an elite in-ring worker.

Given Strickland’s connections in the world of rap and hip hop, his fresh run as a villain and his ability to balance character work, promo ability and in-ring skills, there aren’t many midcarders who are better positioned than Strickland is right now. While there are questions about whether his new Mogul Affiliates faction will pan out, Strickland reportedly rejected a potential WWE return, which goes to show you how high his expectations of himself in AEW are.

As mentioned earlier, there really isn’t a clear-cut second heel in AEW, and while Page would be a strong candidate to take that spot, so is Swerve. The biggest concern for him right now is whether or not being involved in yet another AEW faction will ultimately benefit or hurt him in the long run.