The VOW 30 Under 30 2023: Introduction & Honorable Mentions

(Editor’s Note: Special thanks to Griffin Peltier for organizing and compiling this list and creating the graphics throughout the countdown. Thank you, Griffin!)

We here at Voices of Wrestling have assembled an all-star panel to create wrestling’s most comprehensive 30 Under 30 list for 2023.

Much like the critically acclaimed FSM 50 list, the goal of this list is to be as well-informed and wide-ranging as possible. We have panelists plugged into various wrestling styles across the globe, including American TV, lucha libre, deathmatch, and Joshi, among others.

Every wrestler under thirty was eligible for this year’s list.

The VOW 30 Under 30 2023
Panel

Below, our panelists are listed in alphabetical order:

Jack Beckmann: Voices of Wrestling.
Adam Berger: Voices of Wrestling Contributor – Twitter @adam_bomb5150
Ewan Cameron: Writes for VOW.
John Carroll: Hosts Wrestling Omakase, which posts exactly one (1) episode per year up to the Voices of Wrestling Podcast Network. They’re still riding high on Tetsuya Naito’s G1 win. Follow them on whatever the bird app is called now @toshanshuinla.
Jesse Collings: Host of the Gentlemen’s Wrestling Podcast, co-host of Wrestlenomics, columnist at Voices of Wrestling.
Tyler Forness: Host of The Good, The Bad, and The Hungee on the Voices of Wrestling podcast network. He is also a sportswriter by trade as the managing editor of USA Today’s Vikings Wire, a college football betting analyst for College Football Network and the host of The Real Forno Show on the Vikings 1st & SKOL YouTube channel. He is an aspiring bourbon connoisseur and dog dad of two French Bulldogs. You can find him on Twitter/X @TheRealForno.
Chris Gascoigne: @Showfnwhole
Kevin Hare: thewrestling101.com
Kelly Harrass: One half of VOW’s Joshi wrestling podcast, Jumping Bomb Audio. He is also a former WWE reviewer for the site until he was finally driven insane. Find him on various social media platforms under the name comicgeekelly.
Warren Hayes: Follow all of Warren’s weekly wrestling coverage on YouTube.com/MrWarrenHayes or on your favorite podcast app. He recaps and analyzes the week in wrestling on The Warren Hayes Show and reviews both AEW Dynamite and Collision on Thursdays and Sundays..
Case Lowe: A lucharesu historian and co-host of the Open the Voice Gate podcast, the leader in Dragongate-related audio. He has been covering Dragongate for Voices of Wrestling for nearly a decade.
Lee Malone: Lee Malone is a host of Days of Thunder (@wcwthunderpod on X & Bluesky ) on the Voices of Wrestling Podcast Network and a longtime contributor to multiple projects on the site
Fred Morlan: A columnist for Voices of Wrestling and a co-host of The Good, The Bad, and The Hungee, an AEW podcast on the Voices of Wrestling network.
Griffin Peltier: Co-host of The Draft podcast, organizer of Voices of Wrestling’s Destination Weekend event schedules and the VOW 30 Under 30, and covers Lucha Libre AAA for VOW.
Robin Reid: Grizzled Young VOW Vet, who watches wrestling in a perpetual state of grumpiness and whose creative efforts are currently primarily devoted to the Wrestling 101 Project.
Sean Sedor: A contributor at Voices of Wrestling for many years. His usual work includes reviews (either a solo review or a group review) of shows from AEW, New Japan, ROH, and occasionally WWE (with the periodic columns here and there). You can follow him on Twitter @SASedor2994.
Andrew Sinclair: Voices of Wrestling’s resident Impact Wrestling reviewer, previewer and columnist. He dislikes Bully Ray but loves Johnny Swinger. You can follow him on X for however long it lasts at @AMSinclair97.
Brady Trappett: A writer for VOW for over a year now. You can find his work in reviews, a Will Ospreay career retrospective series, and occasional columns.
Paul Völsch: Listen to the Emerald FlowShow.
Alex Wendland: Contributor to Voices of Wrestling
Suit Williams: A contributor for Voices of Wrestling and F4WOnline.com. Find him on Twitter @SuitWilliams.
Will Young: A wrestling lifer. Follow his wrestling tweets on FKA Twitter, @CC_PW.

Despite having some great careers so far and showing a lot of promise, not everyone can make it to the top thirty.

The VOW 30 Under 30
Honorable Mentions

Here are some of the best wrestlers that we felt deserved an honorable mention:

SB KENTo

Age: 23
Years Active: 3
Promotion: Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide, RIOT Wrestling Alliance, Desastre Total Ultraviolento
Accomplishments: Open The Brave Gate Champion (x2), Open The Triangle Gate Champion, Open The Twin Gate Champion, DTU Nexo Champion
Highest Panel Ranking: 14

“I have SB KENTo 14th and if he was still linked with Dragongate, he’d be even higher. Docked simply for lacking the opportunity to truly be great, SBK is still one of wrestling’s true gems. A one-in-a-million blend of charisma and in-ring ability, SBK will get over wherever he goes.” – Case Lowe

“Based purely on talent and ability, SB KENTo should be in the top five on this list–he has generational ability as an overall performer. Unfortunately, disagreements with Dragongate have led to his dismissal from the company and his future seems uncertain. If he can land on his feet and move his career forward, he’ll rocket up this list, but it has not been a good 2023 for one of the most prodigious talents in all of wrestling.” – Jesse Collings

Dominik Mysterio

Age: 26
Years Active: 2
Promotion: World Wrestling Entertainment
Accomplishments: WWE NXT North American Champion, WWE SmackDown Tag Team Champion
Highest Panel Ranking: 8

“Gotta love the Domster.” – Ewan Cameron

Yuki Yoshioka

Age: 28
Years Active: 6
Promotion: Dragongate Japan Pro-Wrestling
Accomplishments: Open The Dream Gate Champion, Open The Twin Gate Champion, King of Gate Winner (2022), Rey de Parejas Winner (2023)
Highest Panel Ranking: 7

“A surefire bet to deliver in big matches, Yoshioka has been one of the best workers in wrestling over the last year. His Dream Gate run last year solidified his spot as one of Dragongate’s top players, and his work without the belt has continued to be brilliant. Yoshioka is a versatile player who can have high-level singles, tags, and trios matches.” – Case Lowe

Masha Slamovich

Age: 25
Years Active: 7
Promotion: IMPACT Wrestling, Game Changer Wrestling
Accomplishments: GCW World Champion, IMPACT Knockouts Tag Team Champion, West Coast Pro Women’s Champion, AAW Women’s Champion, CFU Undisputed Champion, VPW Women’s Champion, Queen of Indies Winner (2023), Battle of Coacalco Winner (2022), Key To The East Title Tournament Winner (2022)
Highest Panel Ranking: 8

“One of the most well-traveled and respected women in North America, at home in any environment and easy to get behind as a fan or promoter.” – Will Young

“Masha Slamovich is the gold standard for women’s wrestling on the North American indies. And for some major league promotions, too.” – Warren Hayes

Fuminori Abe

Age: 28
Years Active: 8
Promotion: Big Japan Pro-Wrestling, 666, Pro Wrestling ZERO1, Pro Wrestling BASARA
Accomplishments: BJW Tag Team Champion (x3), ZERO1 World Junior Heavyweight Champion, ZERO1 International Junior Heavyweight Champion, UWA World Middleweight Champion, Union Pro MAX Champion, NWA International Lightweight Tag Team Champion, IRON FIST Tag Team Champion, Tenka-Ichi Junior Tournament Winner (2021), wXw AMBITION Winner (2023), Heaven Summit Itadaki Winner (2022)
Highest Panel Ranking: 5

“Fuminori Abe is one half of Astronauts which is considered one of the best tag teams in the world by many. Abe has had great matches on a few different continents and is a guy who excels in the ring.” – Griffin Peltier

Nick Wayne

Age: 18
Years Active: 5
Promotion: All Elite Wrestling, DEFY Wrestling
Accomplishments: DEFY World Champion, GCW Tag Team Champion, 5CC Wrestling Champion
Highest Panel Ranking: 18

“This kid can’t even legally drink and he’s already unimaginably good. He’s already been around the world and has been in the ring with some of the best wrestlers. Even some of his heroes. Now he’s on national TV. He’s only going to get better. Did I mention he can’t legally drink yet? At least that’s one thing I can do that he can’t. For now.” – Warren Hayes