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THE FASTEST GROWING STARS OF THE WWE

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The success of professional wrestling has always been attributed to older athletes making way for newer stars in an effort to constantly keep fresh faces and energy coming in. The strategy of the WWE over the last few years has revolved around pushing new stars on RAW and NXT in a successful attempt to build up the next generation of wrestling superstars. Let's take a look at some of the fastest rising names in professional wrestling.  

Rob Gronkowski 

While there are a lot of successful crossover stars in the WWE, take Ronda Rousey for instance, NFL all-star Gronkowski was certainly a surprising addition. After his short-lived retirement from football, the media was overwhelmed with the announcement that he would be joining the WWE. With a main event appearance that could only be described as wacky, fans were energized by the new star and ready for more. While it’s certain that we will be seeing more of him in the future, fans will have to wait until the end of the 2020-2021 NFL season. 

Utilizing a clause in his WWE contract, Gronkowski decided to return for one final football season. While he will be missed in the WWE, NFL fans are certainly excited to see Gronkowski on the Buccaneers. With Brady and Gronkowski reunited again, the bandwagon fans are already descending on Tampa Bay. Regardless of their 7-9 record in 2019, the Buccaneers are +1400 in the Super Bowl Futures, where last season they were around +15000. After his one-year contract in Tampa Bay has expired, Gronkowski is expected to return to the WWE.  

Drew McIntyre

Interestingly, McIntyre has gone from a midcard talent to a world champion seemingly overnight. He quickly became one of the biggest names in professional wrestling, defeating fan-favorite Brock Lesnar to secure the WWE championship at WrestleMania 36.  He is noted for being a strong and capable athlete, as well as an entertaining figure behind the microphone. 

Eric Bugenhagen 

After joining NXT in 2017, Bugenhagen made it his mission to quickly generate some buzz in the pro wrestling world. His initial appearance was geared towards a standard clean-cut babyface, but he has since emerged as a loud and energetic 1980’s heavy metal throwback. With bright neon clothes, long wild hair and his now trademark moustache, Bugenhagen has learned to stand out from the crowd and is looking to make his name known. He is a moderately successful YouTuber, so he has already perfected his persona and has a distinctive attitude he brings to his interviews. 

Rhea Ripley

Ripley demonstrates the power of the NXT platform to launch new stars in the WWE. After becoming the NXT Women’s Champion, she was ready for bigger events and more camera time. The field of women wrestlers is expanding every year and athletes like Ripley are leading the way. She currently has an ongoing feud with wrestling royalty Charlotte Flair. 

Naomi

Regardless of being a 2-time Women’s Smackdown championship, Naomi still feels like a rising star in the sense that she has yet to hit her potential or find a true fanbase. After a relatively inactive 2019 and feeling underutilized on the main roster she asked to be transferred to NXT where she has the room to stand out. She competed at WrestleMania 36, and though they haven’t found a permanent home for her yet, this talented diva certainly has a bright future ahead. 

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Ricochet

Ricochet is one of the few wrestlers that made their name in Japan’s leagues before coming to the US. He made his main roster debut on RAW in 2019 where he teamed up with Finn Balor. Ricochet has gained the spotlight with various tag team matches and events like King of the Ring and is quickly building up a fanbase in the WWE. 

Matt Riddle

Riddle is another UFC fighter that made his way to WWE. While he initially faced off with legends like Goldberg and Chris Jericho, he was surprisingly being pushed as the newest NXT star. The WWE has shown yet again that they want their budding NXT project to succeed by any means necessary and Riddle had a successful six month stint on the circuit where he had some high profile matches including a tag team event with legend Kurt Angle as a special event referee. As of June 2020 he changed promotions again, appearing in SmackDown against Intercontinental Champion A.J. Styles. Riddle has been getting a lot of attention and will surely be one of the biggest names in the WWE soon.

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