Honourable mentions are vast; while the booking of many promotions is lacking, and every promotion beyond WWE is struggling to create new needle-moving stars, the talent exists. In absurd volume. (This is why a lot of AEW fans in particular have felt a sense of frustration and disappointment for well over a year now).
Komander is an electrifying talent whose stuff would look more awesome still, if fans could actually back him as winner - and if he was more prominent amid AEW's rotating cast . This list is (mostly) concerned with singles wrestlers, and while Dax Harwood was much better moonlighting solo in 2022, he’s still dependable as a stiff technician with the rare ability to make a match feel like a fight. Shelton Benjamin has drawn raves since arriving in AEW as a surreal monster of a heel.
The Beast Mortos might be the most under-pushed wrestler in the game. He’s like an old-timey strongman who can warp around the ring. The mask and the look alone raises his floor to three stars.
On the subject of asterisks, Shingo Takagi has declined very slightly from a guy who never dipped below ****1⁄4 to someone who now averages ***3⁄4. He’s 42 now. He’s spent every year since 2005 on lists like this, and he’s still, somehow, very close to it.
Alongside the Dragon, El Desperado, Yota Tsuji, DOUKI and David Finlay were key in salvaging another cold and barren year for New Japan Pro Wrestling in 2024. Mascara Dorado is the standout in sister promotion CMLL. In WWE, poor.
