If professional wrestling is to thrive, the industry needs to develop its young wrestlers into the superstars of tomorrow. Crazily, when looking at WWE today, it seemed that they waited a long time to start building new stars, with names like Undertaker, Randy Orton, John Cena, Brock Lesnar, Triple H and more, arriving between 17 and 30 years ago. There was a short period where new stars debuted, but only The Shield hit it big in the modern era WWE.
However, some strong talents are coming up right now that are under the age of 26 and could be the future of WWE. If WWE wants to remain strong 10 years from now, these are possibly the stars they need to develop. Here are the 10 youngest current WWE wrestlers.
10 10. PEYTON ROYCE - 26
The WWE women's tag team champions, The IIconics, are polarizing... to put it lightly. Peyton Royce and Billie Kay came to WWE from Australia and developed a Mean Girls gimmick that has fans hating them the second they open their mouths. While Kay is 29, Peyton Royce is only 26-years-old.
Royce started wrestling in 2009 at the very young age of 17 and worked on the indies for several years before she signed with WWE in 2015. After a short stint in NXT, she and Kay are now one of WWE top female tag teams.
9 9. AKAM - 26
Fans have not seen the Authors of Pain since the start of 2019. That is because Akam suffered a leg injury that took the team out of action. That is disappointing, but when they return, expect big things from this very young tag team that has a combined age of 50, four years younger than Undertaker.
Akam just turned 26 in May 2019. He is a true athlete, competing at the 2009 Canada Summer Games, where he won a gold medal in the heavyweight division and also won a silver medal at the 2011 Pan American Games. He was a possibility for the 2016 Summer Olympics but chose to sign with WWE instead in 2014.
8 8. SARAH LOGAN - 25
Most WWE fans know Sarah Logan as part of The Riott Squad, a female faction on Monday Night Raw that seemingly broke up when WWE moved Liv Morgan to SmackDown Live and Ruby Riott had to undergo surgery in 2019. However, Logan has other options in WWE.
The 25-year-old superstar is married to Erik, one half of the Viking Raiders tag team. Not only that, but the two even had a Viking-themed wedding, proving that Erik's character is more than a WWE gimmick. Maybe Logan could pair up with the Viking Raiders as she continues to develop her skills as a professional wrestler.
7 7. NOAM DAR - 25
It might be surprising to know that Noam Dar is only 25-years-old. The young WWE superstar seems to have been around the company for a while, but many fans remember his cringe-worthy storyline with Alicia Fox on 205 Live. Dar, a Scottish wrestler who was born in Israel, started his career in 2008, at the age of 15.
Dar joined WWE in 2016 as part of the WWE Cruiserweight Classic, making it to the quarterfinals before losing to Zack Sabre Jr. He impressed WWE and signed a deal to join 205 Live. In 2018, Dar moved to the NXT UK brand and worked there ever since.
6 6. LIO RUSH - 24
There has been a lot of talk about the attitude problems of Lio Rush, the former hype man for Bobby Lashley. Those rumors appear to be based in fact, as he was removed from Lashley's side and has been absent from Monday Night Raw for weeks now. However, part of his attitude might be immaturity as he is only 24-years-old.
Lio Rush started wrestling in 2014 at the age of 20 on the indie scene. He made his way to some major promotions such as CZW, which is where Dean Ambrose cut his teeth, and Ring of Honor, before debuting in NXT in 2017. Rumor has it WWE might be cutting him loose, but he is young enough to bounce back eventually.
5 5. REZAR - 24
The second member of the Authors of Pain is two years younger than his partner, as Rezar is 24-years-old. While Akam was a heavyweight collegiate wrestler who had Olympic possibilities, Rezar came to WWE from a different angle. Born in the Netherlands, Rezar started his career in mixed martial arts.
The 330-pound super heavyweight compiled a 6-2 MMA record with one knockout and two submission victories before signing with WWE. His last two fights were with Bellator, where he finished 1-1. With the Authors of Pain, Rezar is a one-time NXT tag team champion and a one-time Raw tag team champion.
4 4. LIV MORGAN - 24
Liv Morgan joins Sarah Logan as two members of the Riott Squad under the age of 25. With Ruby Riott only 28, the three women combined at 77-years-old, just seven years older than Ric Flair (70). Morgan is the youngest at 24 and was moved to SmackDown Live to try to strike out on her own in 2019.
WWE discovered Morgan at a gym in New Jersey, a former competitive cheerleader who signed with WWE in 2014 at the age of 20. After working for three years in NXT, Morgan moved up to Monday Night Raw as part of the Riott Squad and worked there until the WWE Superstar Shakeup this year.
3 3. VELVETEEN DREAM - 23
It seems almost hard to believe, but one of the most successful and talented WWE superstars in NXT right now is also one of the youngest active wrestlers in WWE today. The current NXT North American Champion, Velveteen Dream is only 23-years-old.
The fact that Velveteen Dream is putting on Match of the Year candidates against Adam Cole, Matt Riddle, and Johnny Gargano shows how much talent is in this young body. His natural charisma and charm show that he will be one of the top wrestlers in WWE for many, many years to come.
2 2. TONI STORM - 23
Velveteen Dream is not the youngest current WWE champion, as Toni Storm is two months younger than Dream and is the current NXT UK Women's Champion. Storm started wrestling in Australia at the age of 13 and worked there to develop her skills and character before setting out for England to take the next step in her career.
She worked with Progress Wrestling starting in 2015 and then Stardom in 2016, winning titles in both promotions. She then joined WWE in 2017 and lost in the finals of the United Kingdom Championship Tournament to Rhea Ripley. Five months later, Storm avenged that loss and beat Ripley to become the second UK Women's Champion.
1 1. RHEA RIPLEY - 22
The youngest current WWE superstar is Rhea Ripley -- the first-ever WWE NXT UK Women's Champion. She is a full year younger than Toni Storm at 22-years-old. She started wrestling in 2013 at the age of 17 for Riot City Wrestling in Australia where she was their champion twice.
In 2017, she signed with WWE and wrestled in the first Mae Young Classic, losing in the second round. She then made her NXT debut in 2017 at War Games in a match to try to win a shot at the women's title there. In 2018, she won the NXT UK Women's Championship Tournament to become their first champion at the age of 21. She made her first appearance on the main roster at the Royal Rumble this year, three months after her 22nd birthday.