2024’s wrestling season has officially kicked off with a huge return from Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, seemingly confirming a match with Roman Reigns for the near future. While this will undoubtedly be a blockbuster match, there’s still a roster full of burgeoning megastars waiting to match the box-office appeal of the big dogs.
In this list, we’re going to run down five wrestlers that we think may be ones to strike it big over the course of the next 12 months. 2023 saw the likes of LA Knight, Ilja Dragunov and Swerve Strickland rise through their respective ranks to become some of the hottest stars in the business at the dawn of the new year. Who might be making moves up the roster as we start unwrapping what this year has to offer in the squared circle?
1. Christian Cage
If anyone were to tell me a year ago that former world champion, Christian Cage, would be one of the most talked about wresters in the latter half of 2023, I would have laughed in your face. Yet here we are, following an incredible ‘TLC’ match between ‘The Patriarch’ and his former tag partner, Adam Copeland, with his biggest year potentially ahead of him.
Christian Cage has reformed his heel persona entirely and employed young stars Nick Wayne and the artist formerly known as Luchasaurus into his stable. Fans have been going wild over his attacks against fatherless wrestlers, albeit a little wacky, it has really paid off. Christian has quickly become one of AEW’s top heels and with his experience in performing at main-event level, he has managed to turn the mid-card scene into the scene of All Elite Wrestling.
Christian could actually make a go for the AEW World Championship in 2024, culminating an amazing career with one final run at the main event. Rivalling Christian with folks like MJF, Kenny Omega (when he is fit to return) and other top babyface stars could provide fans with plenty of entertaining feuds to sink our teeth into. Keep your eyes on this future HOF’er.
2. Jade Cargill
Jade Cargill was signed to WWE over the summer of 2023 and has since been presented as one of the biggest deals in pro wrestling. Jade’s AEW run was brimming with potential and could have seen her evolve into the greatest homegrown talent of her time, yet Cargill saw herself achieving bigger and better things elsewhere and has bet on herself in the big leagues.
Credit where it’s due, WWE have done a fantastic job at building hype around Jade’s eventual debut. There is no guaranteed date for her debut nor is there a brand that she has assigned herself to. Cargill has made brief appearances on RAW, SmackDown and even NXT. This leads to a lot of intrigue heading into the new year: where will Jade finally make her debut and when?
Many wrestling fans have already pencilled her as a potential Rumble surprise entrant, which would indeed be a great place for her to showcase her skills to a new audience. Depending on just how much of a star WWE sees her as, she could even use this as a rocket-strapped springboard into the main-event scene. If Jade were to win, then main-events aplenty would await her. Otherwise, let her build her experience in a new environment and allow the audience to make their minds up on whether or not she’s of the same calibre as Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair. Either way, she’s definitely the one to watch in 2024.
 3. The Creed Brothers
An impressive tag team since day one in NXT, The Creeds have quickly become one of the most well-versed duos since The Revival (FTR). A team which came from humble backgrounds now making headway on the main roster, Brutus and Julius could easily find themselves rising through the ranks of their division over the course of 2024.
The Creed Brothers have already had matches with prolific teams like The Judgement Day and The Viking Raiders, watching them progress at this level has simply been a pleasure. They’re not quite ready for championships just yet, but I’m confident that they will find their way to the golden circle before the end of the year.
Keep your eyes on these two if you like your tag wrestling, they have a unique style which lends itself to incredible matches.
4. Charlie Dempsey
Now on excursion in Japan, the son of legendary Brit, William Regal, will soon find himself in the spotlight upon his return to NXT. Charlie Dempsey has already raised eyebrows amongst the wrestling community, with many drawn to his ruthless, catch-wrestling style and brutal offense. There is a glimmer of Pete Dunne, Fit Finlay and of course his own Dad in Dempsey’s work and I absolutely see this being a skillset which evolves heading into the new year.
Dempsey has a very bright future ahead of him in NXT especially with plenty of big matches awaiting him. Dempsey needs to break away from this alliance with Drew Gulak as it only seems to be holding him back from progressing in the singles division. Charlie Dempsey needs to be given the opportunity to shine with the likes of Tyler Bate, Noam Dar and Ilja Dragunov down the line. There are some guaranteed MOTY candidates just waiting to happen.
Even if he remains out in the land of the rising sun, Dempsey has a lot of potential to truly shine in amongst the Puroresu crew.
5. Luke Jacobs
Banger.
A word thrown around quite a bit these days in pro wrestling but there are few that have been able to impress as consistently as Young Guns’ Luke Jacobs. The big man has wowed fans on numerous occasions across the British indie scene, most notably in RevPro where has has duked it out with all comers and delivered on every occasion.
No matter the opponent, Jacobs has brought his powerhouse style and his heavy strikes to provide fans with some hard-hitting affairs. Jacobs has previously been given credit such as PROGRESS’ NPS tournament and their Atlas Championship, while over in RevPro, he’s been Cruiserweight champion (which was a little odd considering his size). He has yet to be given the chance to run in the top position of a brand, it would be interesting to see how he would fare with the weight of a promotion of his back.
In 2023, Luke was able to stand across the ring from NJPW legend, Tomohiro Ishii. His two matches across the year were critically acclaimed and surprised many in attendance in becoming one of the most talked about matches from All In weekend. This may have given him the necessary exposure to make it on a more mainstream platform this year. I’d love to see Luke travel to Japan for the G1 or a Super Juniors tournament in 2024.
Keep your eyes peeled on the RevPro scene and mark my words, Luke Jacobs will be the one in 2024.
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