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WWE has gone through a lot of changes over the past few years and we’ve seen a lot of transformation take place. NXT now has a television deal and has become a third brand for the company which is as good as RAW and SmackDown.
While WWE has carried on the tradition of bringing back some older Superstars and Hall of Famers and putting Championships on them, they’ve also turned their attention to the younger budding Superstars.
This past week, even John Cena couldn’t hold back and named several Superstars who are doing great in the company as the future of WWE, with a few of them still being aged under 25.
This shows how much potential lies in the company and several Superstars who are still very young and fresh and impressing us as much as the older more experienced Superstars.
With that in mind, we couldn’t help but single out some Superstars who are still under the age of 25 and are already impressing us and could turn out to be the future top stars of the company.
#5 Austin Theory
Former Evolve Champion Austin Theory is one of the newest faces in WWE who is looking to make a big impact. Aged just 22, Theory already has at least 10 Championship reigns under his belt for promotions other than WWE.
He signed with the company in August 2019 after defeating Marcel Barthel to retain his World Wrestling Network (WWN) Championship on day 4 of WrestleMania Axxess in April 2018.
At the time of signing with the company, Theory was still the reigning Evolve Champion and WWN Champion. Theory made an epic debut against then-NXT North American Champion Roderick Strong on December 25, 2019, on the Christmas edition of the show and almost shocked the Champion to win his first title right away.
Theory has since competed in a few matches on the brand and even had an encounter with Tommaso Ciampa, turning heel very early in his career.
The Unproven One is still new to the company but there is little doubt that he is one of the finest talents in WWE who is almost certain to make an impact in the long run and become a top Champion down the line.
#4 Toni Storm
Impact Pro Wrestling Australia (IPWA) gave a young Toni Storm a chance to become a future Superstar, and the 13-year-old did not disappoint the promotion.
Born in October 1995, Storm pushed her mother to allow her to move to England when she turned 18 and live with her grandmother to pursue her dreams of becoming a pro-wrestler.
She put in all the hard work required, and in May 2017, Storm became the first-ever Progress Women's Champion. She was also among the first women to main-event a Progress show.
Storm joined NXT UK in 2017, and in October 2018, at WWE Evolution she defeated Io Shirai to win the 2018 Mae Young Classic.
Storm then continued her reign to defeat Rhea Ripley for the NXT United Kingdom Women’s Championship at NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool. She held the title for an impressive 231 days before dropping it to Kay Lee Ray.
Her reign established her as a true force in WWE, and we’ve since seen her compete at Survivor Series and also challenge for the NXT Women’s title.
It’s only a matter of time before Storm wins the big one in NXT too and then moves to another brand where she can lead the women’s division singlehandedly.
#3 Tyler Bate
Aged 23, Tyler Bate is the cornerstone of NXT UK and has started emerging as a big player in the entire NXT brand. Born on March 7, 1997, Bate won the NXT United Kingdom Championship when he was just 19 years old!
He was the inaugural Champion and had a good reign before he dropped the title to his longtime friend Pete Dunne. His win of the United Kingdom Championship at age 19 made him the youngest singles champion in WWE history, and its youngest inaugural champion.
Bate is also a one-time NXT Tag Team Champion and has performed on NXT, NXT UK, and 205 Live whenever the need has arisen.
While Bate may seem like a Cruiserweight, he is arguably the strongest pound-for-pound wrestler in WWE and has several titles to his name outside the company too.
He faced WALTER for the NXT UK Championship at NXT UK TakeOver: Cardiff, and even though he lost the match, the match earned a 5.25-star rating from Dave Meltzer, making it only the third match in WWE history to break the 5-star rating system (this feat also made him the youngest wrestler ever to receive a 5-star rating).
His match against Jordan Devlin at NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool II was one of the best we’ve ever seen, and Bate earned a standing ovation from Triple H and William Regal after his victory.
Which so many accomplishments under his belt, Bate seems like the perfect face who can carry the company in a new direction and give 5-star matches to keep the crowds entertained. He is, by far, one of WWE’s greatest Under-25 Superstar's.
#2 Rhea Ripley
Born in Australia, Rhea Ripley is another one of those Superstars who has achieved a lot in very little time thanks to sheer hard work and determination. Born in October 1996, Ripley first started competing in Riot City Wrestling at age 17 where she became a two-time RCW Women’s Champion.
She never looked back from thereon and went on to conquer many promotions before landing in WWE where she competed in the inaugural Mae Young Classic. Even though she was eliminated early from the tournament, she kept on pushing and became a regular in NXT and NXT UK.
Ripley took part in an eight-woman tournament to determine the inaugural NXT United Kingdom Women's Champion which she ended up winning to become the inaugural Champion.
Even though The Nightmare’s run with the title was short, she made a big enough impact on the fans to move to NXT later and take on Shayna Baszler for the NXT Women’s Championship.
Ripley has proven that she has everything required to make a huge Superstar, and with the support that she gets from the entire WWE Universe, she has all that it takes to lead the company in the future.
#1 The Velveteen Dream
Born on August 19, 1995, The Velveteen Dream seems to be just getting started in his career. Not only has Dream become an integral part of NXT, but he is among the top stars of WWE at such a young age.
Having competed in the sixth season of the WWE reality television program WWE Tough Enough, which began airing in June 2015, the Superstar managed to score himself a WWE contract. The Miz, who hosted the program, went on to state:
"I knew when he was on Tough Enough that he would be something special and it seems to me that he’s doing exactly that.”
After getting into the ring, Dream was pushed into several matches as a jobber before he got into a serious character and rivalry with Aleister Black in 2017. Even Hall of Famer Kurt Angle has named him as his dream NXT opponent.
Since then, Dream has won the 2019 Worlds Collide tournament and also became the longest-reigning NXT North American Champion. He has been flawless on the mic and in the ring and is arguably the most entertaining character on the Black & Gold brand.
Dream now seems to be aiming for the top title in NXT, and there is no doubt in our minds that he can be an outstanding NXT Champion and a great asset for WWE for the future.
