2019 has already become a massive year for the world of professional wrestling. WWE had a successful WrestleMania 35 event in the New York area along with Royal Rumble taking place in a major stadium. The company continues to find success despite the ratings going down. All Elite Wrestling coming to fruition made an impact with their first major show Double or Nothing. The news of a television deal with TNT makes them major players in the industry moving forward.
New Japan is continuing to expand within the United States after their presence helped Ring of Honor sell-out Madison Square Garden. There are fascinating events going down that will add importance to quite a few wrestlers out there. We will look at the biggest names that can provide a massive impact this year. These are the ten most important wrestlers for the rest of 2019.
10 Jon Moxley (Dean Ambrose)
Leaving WWE to join AEW, this huge move made Jon Moxley a huge star already in 2019. However, the next few months will be significant to many wrestlers currently working for WWE. Fans were shocked to see Dean Ambrose leave WWE to return to his roots under the Moxley name.
Moxley is now a major part of AEW with a dream match scheduled for All Out against Kenny Omega. New Japan also brought him in to become their United States Champion and part of the G1 tournament. Moxley’s success would prove wrestlers don’t need WWE to thrive, although a flop could cause this train of thought to slow down.
9 Bayley
WWE surprised fans by pushing Bayley again and putting her at the top all in one night. Following years of lackluster booking as a secondary part of the women’s division, Bayley won the Money in the Bank Ladder Match and defeated Charlotte Flair to become Smackdown Women’s Champion.
The title reign of Bayley and her booking moving forward will help figure out her future. If it ends early and she disappoints, this will likely be her final chance at the top. Bayley thriving as champion could elevate her as a fixture in the title picture for many more years.
8 Adam Cole
NXT continues to thrive with great TakeOver specials with memorable matches. Adam Cole recently defeated Johnny Gargano in another classic to become the new NXT Champion. The leader of the Undisputed Era faction has been rumored for a call-up for many months now.
Cole’s year will be important to his future in the company. WWE clearly views him as a top star, but most stars getting called up from NXT struggle to break out. The status of Cole at the end of the year will be significant to his career and WWE.
7 Britt Baker
Adam Cole’s girlfriend, Britt Baker, is making her own name in a rival promotion. Baker is one of the top performers in AEW’s women’s division, which is still in its early stages. AEW announced her as one of their first signings and has already utilized her as one of the faces of the brand.
Baker won the first women’s match at Double or Nothing by defeating Awesome Kong, Kylie Rae, and Nyla Rose. The work of Baker will play a huge role in determining whether AEW’s women’s division thrives or flops in the first few months of its TNT television deal.
6 KENTA
KENTA made huge news in Japanese wrestling with his appearance in New Japan. The legendary run in rival Japanese promotion NOAH would see him land a spot in WWE as Hideo Itami. Injuries slowed down his time in WWE and he requested a release earlier this year.
The return as KENTA made him want to make a bigger impact in Japan by wrestling for NJPW in the G1 tournament. An impressive performance can rise his name back to one of the top stars in the industry. It could also give NJPW another major main event player.
5 Chris Jericho
All Elite Wrestling made it clear that Chris Jericho is going to be the name they use to try to convince WWE fans to give their product a chance. Jericho’s tremendous career has featured him thriving for the past two decades since his debut for WWE.
Double or Nothing set up a huge match for All Out with Jericho defeating Kenny Omega to earn the right to compete against Adam Page to crown the new AEW Champion. Jericho’s star power can make or break AEW with the ratings needing to succeed in the early stages of the television deal.
4 Becky Lynch
Becky Lynch made history as the first woman to win an all-women WrestleMania main event this year. The star power of Lynch continues to rise with fans viewing her as one of the faces of the company. Lynch remains the Raw Women’s Champion after losing the Smackdown Women’s Title.
The rest of the year will be important for Lynch when it comes to her presence. Lynch has a chance to become a fixture at the top of the WWE rather than just thriving during a short year. If she continues to build success as a champion and top name, Lynch has a chance to become the top female star in WWE history.
3 Adam Page
All Elite Wrestling is building around a few established names while attempting to build their own new stars. Adam Page is the biggest prospect when it comes to the young stars AEW wants to make household names.
The run of Page in Ring of Honor made him a credible talent rising in the rankings of the pecking order. AEW signed him in the early stages of the company forming after his ROH deal expired. Page will be main eventing All Out against Chris Jericho with a chance to become the first AEW Champion. Regardless of if he wins or loses, Page will be a huge part of AEW’s future.
2 Sasha Banks
Fans are still trying to figure out what the future holds for Sasha Banks. The talented women’s wrestling star has not appeared on WWE television since losing the Women’s Tag Team Championship with Bayley at WrestleMania 35 to the IIconics.
Reports indicate that Banks was livid at the tag run ending quickly after years of hype and requested her release from the company. Both sides are still at a stalemate attempting to figure out what’s next for her. If Banks returns to WWE, the women’s division becomes stronger; if she leaves, another company like AEW can sign a game changer.
1 Bray Wyatt
The videos of Bray Wyatt introducing the Firefly Fun House segments have been a huge positive for WWE. Wyatt’s parody of hosting a children’s show like Mr. Rogers delves into a creepy aspect of his old persona leaving the audience guessing what his intent is.
WWE will eventually have Wyatt return to the ring once the video skits end. A successful return could be huge for WWE to have another top player in the main event picture. On the other side, Bray could lose his final chance at succeeding in WWE. The rest of the year will decide the future of Wyatt’s career.