The VOW 30 Under 30 project was wrestling’s last, best hope to spotlight the 30 best wrestlers under the age of 30 around the world. A collective list many names long, drafted by wrestling fans around the world. A monument to wrestling history dating back to 2023. A shining beacon of hope all alone in the shadow of duopolies in a money fight.
This is the story of the latest 30 Under 30 list. The year is 2026. The name of the place is Voices of Wrestling.
Some caveats about how I’ve approached the scouting project this year:
- I have excluded independent contractors employed by TNA, WWE, and AAA. They are sports entertainers, not wrestlers.
- I have excluded any independent wrestlers who have an active WWE ID contract.
- I have excluded NJPW and AEW wrestlers because they are in enviable, highly visible positions and have other advocates for them.
- I have excluded CMLL wrestlers because CMLL has made it extremely difficult to see their work on demand.
Despite the caveats, there was still a wide world of wrestlers under 30 years old to scout. So, I adapted some baseball, basketball, and football scouting templates to try to create a standard template for pro wrestlers. It’s a work in progress, but let’s play it out and see where it goes.
KANON
Name: KANON
Age: 29
Debut: 2019
# of matches as of writing: 387
Trainer(s): N/A
Promotion(s):
- DDT Pro Wrestling
Accomplishments:
- KO-D Tag Team Champion w/MAO (November 3, 2025 to April 5, 2026)
- KO-D Six Man Tag Team Champion w/Daisuke Sasaki and MJ Paul (July 21, 2024 to February 25, 2025)
Match(es) watched:
- Yuki Ueno (c) vs. KANON
- DDT Judgement 2026
- March 22, 2026
- Cagematch rating as of 4/1/26: 8.33
- You can watch the match and the show on Wrestle Universe.
Glows:
- He had a beefy, solid physique and offense that tied directly to his powerful look. This drop from the fireman’s carry into the turnbuckle looked great.
- This battle over the lariat looked goofy in the best ways possible in professional wrestling.
- In general, he traded some great-looking bombs with Ueno in the finishing stretch.
Grows:
- It seemed as though KANON inherited Kenny Omega’s old DDT-era ramen hair style.
- Throughout the match, he lapsed in incorporating the damage that Ueno inflicted into his primary hand.
- There is a fine line between lumbering and powerful, and KANON seemed to cross over into lumbering too often. I would have liked to see him move a little faster throughout the match to show urgency in this title match. His drop on the poisoned hurricanrana also looked rough.
Chanyota
Name: Chanyota
Age: 29
Debut: 2021
# of matches as of writing: 124
Trainer(s): N/A
Promotion(s):
- P.P.P. Tokyo
Match(es) watched:
- MIRAI vs. Chanyota
- P.P.P. Tokyo Happy New Party 2026
- January 2, 2026
- Cagematch rating as of 2/1/26: 7.68
- You can watch this match on P.P.P. Tokyo’s YouTube page if you are a subscriber.
- Chanyota & MIRAI vs. Echika Miyabi & Takumi Iroha
- P.P.P. Tokyo Brilliant Dream ~ Hope Feast
- March 10, 2026
- Cagematch rating as of 4/1/26: 8.07
- You can watch the match on P.P.P. Tokyo’s YouTube page if you are a subscriber.
Glows:
- She had a great look that emphasized her physical strength.
- She popped her entire body to break Iroha’s pin attempt, which helped to convey her determination.
- She exuded a rough-and-tumble attitude that was very appealing.
- She kept her offense simple to accentuate the impression of power: lariats, powerslams, and the Erotic Hammer. Knowing when to stay in your lane can be a strength.
Grows:
- She and Miyabi looked like they almost lost each other on the Irish whip exchanges. They recovered and pulled it off, but it looked dicey.
MIRAI
Name: MIRAI
Age: 26
Debut: 2019
# of matches as of writing: 590
Trainer(s): N/A
Promotion(s):
- Michinoku Pro Wrestling
Accomplishments:
- JTO Girls Champion (December 28, 2025 to present)
- International Princess Champion (January 4, 2026 to March 29, 2026)
- Marigold Twin Star Champion w/Mai Sakurai (July 30, 2024 to December 13, 2024)
Match(es) watched:
- MIRAI vs. Chanyota
- P.P.P. Tokyo Happy New Party 2026
- January 2, 2026
- Cagematch rating as of 2/1/26: 7.68
- You can watch this match on P.P.P. Tokyo’s YouTube page if you are a subscriber.
- Chanyota & MIRAI vs. Echika Miyabi & Takumi Iroha
- P.P.P. Tokyo Brilliant Dream ~ Hope Feast
- March 10, 2026
- Cagematch rating as of 4/1/26: 8.07
- You can watch the match on P.P.P. Tokyo’s YouTube page if you are a subscriber.
- Though I dedicated a whole column to MIRAI’s great January, I needed to confirm for myself if that were an outlier month or if MIRAI has kept the train rolling. While she wasn’t the featured wrestler in the match, she made sure she had some memorable parts.
Glows:
- In a tag match where the primary focus was the beef between Chanyota and Echika Miyabi, MIRAI made herself an indispensable part of the match.
- Her sunny disposition belied a delight for violence.
- She demonstrated her high versatility in the matches from January that we highlighted, and she burnished her credit her with a great performance in the tag match. She showed in other matches that she can be serious and no-nonsense. Here, she played it up for comedy by letting Chanyota bodyslam her onto Iroha and Miyabi.
- Her fight with Iroha over a submission again showed how she was able to show struggle even when she had the advantage.
- Her suplex duel with Iroha that ended with a fun double pin was a highlight of the match.
Grows:
- It was weird to see her walk nonchalantly in the background back to her team’s corner. I would have appreciated a little more hustle, but this is truly a nitpick.
Echika Miyabi
Name: Echika Miyabi
Age: 25
Debut: 2022
# of matches as of writing: 82
Trainer(s): N/A
Promotion(s):
- P.P.P. Tokyo
Match(es) watched:
- Chanyota & MIRAI vs. Echika Miyabi & Takumi Iroha
- P.P.P. Tokyo Brilliant Dream ~ Hope Feast
- March 10, 2026
- Cagematch rating as of 4/1/26: 8.07
- You can watch the match on P.P.P. Tokyo’s YouTube page if you are a subscriber.
Glows:
- Her make-up, costume, and height (5’10”) made for a very striking appearance.
- She ran the ropes with confidence, and running the ropes just to stop and slap Chanyota in the chest was a good bit.
- She has a strong connection with the P.P.P. Tokyo crowd in Shinjuku FACE during this match.
- She was not afraid to throw and take some hard strikes.
Grows:
- The attempt to throw Chanyota into a knee lift looked awkward and weak.
- As mentioned above, she and Chanyota looked like they almost lost each other on the Irish whip exchanges. They recovered and pulled it off, but it looked dicey.
- I felt like she rushed into the one count kickout a little too quickly.
- The jumping big boot needed to feel more impactful. Even with the chokeslam and powerbomb, I felt that she could be a little more forceful and violent with them.
Aysha
Name: Aysha
Age: 26
Debut: 2016
# of matches as of writing: 151
Trainer(s): PCW Academy & Flatbacks Wrestling School (Shawn Spears and Tyler Breeze)
Promotion(s):
- Professional Championship Wrestling
- Renegades of Wrestling
Accomplishments:
- PCW Women’s Champion (April 26, 2025 to December 6, 2025)
- ROW Women’s Champion (March 17, 2023 to March 9, 2025)
Match(es) watched:
- Shay Kassidy vs. Aysha
- MCW Vendetta 2025
- August 30, 2025
- Cagematch rating as of 4/1/26: N/A
- You can watch this match and the show on Melbourne City Wrestling’s YouTube page.
- I chose this match because it was a singles match with some stakes. This match determined the number one contender for the MCW Women’s Championship. Unfortunately, it was only about six minutes long.
Glows:
- She had the mannerisms and attitude from the Sasha Banks tribute down pat. She even had the backstabber in her offense.
- Her elbow strikes looked pretty good.
- The headscissors trap was a nice piece of offense that can be a building block for the rest of the moveset.
Grows:
- She gave up on the headscissors trap on the mat without making Shay Kassidy do anything to get out of it. She needed to make her opponent fight for the release instead of moving on from it to get to the next sequence.
- She landed on her heels in Shay Kassidy’s snap suplex, which might lead to heel injuries in the long term.
- Her kicks, particularly the spinning heel kick, looked like it missed Kassidy.
You can watch this match and the show on MCW’s YouTube page.
Shay Kassidy
Name: Shay Kassidy
Age: N/A
Debut: 2021
# of matches as of writing: 102
Trainer(s): Adam Hoffman, Carter Deams, Charli Evans, Mick Moretti, Robbie Eagles, Madison Eagles
Promotion(s):
- Pro Wrestling Australia
- International Wrestling Australia
Accomplishments:
- MCW Women’s Champion (February 21, 2026 to present)
- Integrity Women’s Champion (November 29, 2025 to present)
- PWA Tag Team Champion w/Everett Connors (January 31, 2025 to August 1, 2025)
Match(es) watched:
- Shay Kassidy vs. Aysha
- MCW Vendetta 2025
- August 30, 2025
- Cagematch rating as of 4/1/26: N/A
- You can watch the match and the show on MCW’s YouTube page.
- Robbie Eagles (c) vs. Shay Kassidy
- PWA Live At The Mounties 8: Anniversary
- July 12, 2025
- Cagematch rating as of 4/1/26: N/A
- You can watch the match on PWA’s YouTube page.
- Since I had already seen Kassidy face Aysha, I wanted to also see Kassidy in a longer singles match. I greatly respected Robbie Eagles’s reign as the Soul of PWA Champion, so I wanted to see how Kassidy would be able to showcase herself against a veteran like Eagles.
Glows:
- In the match against Aysha, she was intensely annoying, so I wanted to see her lose. Since I think that was the intended, I’m listing it here.
- When she needed to be an angry mean girl, she pulled it off.
- Executed the Angel’s Wings safely against Aysha.
- When she was focused on offense against Eagles, she wasn’t quite as annoying. Her house on fie comeback was fine, though it didn’t seem to get much backing from the crowd.
- The fight at the end with Eagles over the backslide showed struggle and grit, and it worked well.
Grows:
- In the match against Aysha, she was intensely annoying, so I wanted to see her lose. On the other hand, she was so annoying that I just wanted her off of my screen.
- The songstress gimmick brought back unfortunate memories of Jillian Hall, Mickie James, and Maki Itoh.
- She wore the teddy bear on her belt for the entire match against Aysha and most of the match against Eagles until she threw it at Eagles to distract him on the top rope. She had to constantly fidget with the teddy bear throughout the match.
- She moved awkwardly in the snapmare takeover. Her running boot to Aysha’s midsection and the bump for Aysha’s bulldog were rough.
- When Eagles teased the crowd for a figure four leglock, Kassidy had a chance to show grit and fight Eagles off. Instead, her kicks to Eagles’s face were very weak and unconvincing.
- There was no consistency to her selling. Eagles attacked her leg, and she screamed her head off to demonstrate her pain. Minutes later, when she was offense, she didn’t even pretend that it bothered her until she had to bring it back to establish that her Mutoh Lock collapsed due to the pain.
- Her selling of fatigue late in the match was much better.
- (As always, you have to appreciate PWA’s production. There’s no better time to test the hard camera’s focus than during the ring announcer’s introduction of the match. Also, the commentary was set below the ring microphones, so I could not actually hear any of the commentary. And, as always, PWA’s shaky cameras made watching the match more of an eye sore than it should have been. Honestly, what the heck? Even Doug Liman and Oliver Wood think this is a bit much.)
- (I was also annoyed that the referee would yell, “Robbie, she’s on the ropes” when Eagles started to drag her away so he could continue his attack. Either we let the wrestlers pretend to fight at all costs to win, or we don’t.)
- (I came away from this match more impressed with Robbie Eagles than anything else. Given the number of fans rooting for Eagles to beat Kassidy throughout the match, I wasn’t the only one.)
Joe Lando
Name: Joe Lando
Age: 25
Debut: 2017
# of matches as of writing: 286
Trainer(s): N/A
Promotion(s):
- Revolution Pro Wrestling
- GLEAT
Accomplishments:
- RevPro Undisputed British Cruiserweight Champion (December 7, 2025 to present)
- UKPW Tag Team Champion w/Danny Black and Maverick Mayhew (June 7, 2025 to present)
- SOVPRO Tag Team Champion w/Danny Black (July 21, 2024 to present)
- GWP Aerial Xplosion Champion (November 22, 2025 to present)
Match(es) watched:
- Joe Lando vs. Danny Black
- RevPro Live in London 103
- January 4, 2026
- Cagemating rating as of 4/1/26: 7.00
- You can watch the match and the show on RevPro OnDemand.
- Partners Lando and Black in CPF (“Close Personal Friends”) collided here as Black accused Lando of losing focus on their team because he was hyperfixated on his Undisputed British Cruiserweight Championship. Out of jealousy, Black challenged him to a match to help him by taking his title away from him, a storyline that only makes sense in professional wrestling.
Glows:
- As a former partner of Callum Newman, he’s another twenty-year-old wrestler from the Ospreay learning tree. (For the record, he’s faced Ospreay only once in a trios match in PROGRESS.) That meant that he was capable of some spectacular acrobatics, like this shooting star press.
- This dodge into a German suplex was very cool.
- He conveyed his regret about beating his teammate to retain the title without being melodramatic about it during the whole match.
Grows:
- There was a bit of a dorky energy about him that’s hard to jive with the athletic work he did in the match.
- Lando’s punches during the Takayama/Frye tribute were poor.
- The acrobatics were fun to watch, but it led to the match feeling very rehearsed and coordinated. Even in that shooting star press that I highlighted above, the sequence only works because Danny Black completely cooperated, which took away from the verisimilitude of choreographed combat that made wrestling unique.
Danny Black
Name: Danny Black
Age: 26
Debut: 2017
# of matches as of writing: 330
Trainer(s): Knucklelocks School of Wrestling
Promotion(s):
- Revolution Pro Wrestling
- Rumble Wrestling Promotions
Accomplishments:
- UKPW Tag Team Champion w/Joe Lando and Maverick Mayhew (June 7, 2025 to present)
- SOVPRO Tag Team Champion w/Joe Lando (July 21, 2024 to present)
Match(es) watched:
- Joe Lando vs. Danny Black
- RevPro Live in London 103
- January 4, 2026
- Cagemating rating as of 4/1/26: 7.00
- You can watch the match and the show on RevPro OnDemand.
Glows:
- This low cutter to the floor looked fantastic.
Grows:
- His slim physique made many of his strikes against Lando, who was stockier, hard to believe.
- Unfortunately, the punches during the Takayama/Frye tribute had little impact or feeling of violence.
- In general, Black’s strikes are an area for development.
- For as much as the match’s story revolved around his jealousy and feeling that he had been treated poorly by his teammate, I never felt that emotion from him during the match.
- Not even the commentators were quite sure what Black’s intention here was. RevPro’s choice of camera angle did him no favors.)
- This is not necessarily Danny Black’s fault, but the spotlight made this dive incomprehensible.
The Parea (Eli Theseus & Gabriel Aeros)
Name: Eli Theseus (aka Ilia)
Age: 29
Debut: 2016
# of matches as of writing: 175
Trainer(s): Chris Basso, Joey Cabray, Jordan Devlin, Lance Storm, Matt Basso, Lee Hunter
Promotion(s):
- Melbourne City Wrestling
- Riot City Wrestling
- World Series Wrestling
Accomplishments:
- WSW Tag Team Champion w/Gabriel Aeros (October 7, 2023 to October 12, 2023, October 13, 2023 to March 28, 2025, March 30, 2025 to present)
- MCW Tag Team Champion w/Gabriel Aeros (September 9, 2023 to February 11, 2024, December 8, 2024 to July 5, 2025)
Match(es) watched:
- Better Together (Hadar Horvitz & Ori Gold) (c) vs. The Parea (Eli Theseus & Gabriel Aeros)
- LPW Polk City Pandemonium
- May 17, 2025
- Cagematch rating as of 4/1/25: n/a
- You can watch the match on Local Pro Wrestling’s YouTube page.
- (I have no idea how the Parea, a tag team from Australia, ended up in Local Pro Wrestling. According to Cagematch, it seemed that Theseus and Aeros spent about April to June 2025 in Florida working in Coastal Championship Wrestling, Atomic Legacy Wrestling, and Local Pro Wrestling, and Focus Pro Wrestling in Massachusetts.)
- Overall, the Parea worked hard in a fairly basic match to give Better Together what they needed since they were the visiting heels.
Glows:
- He has a very impressive physique, and he had professional, understated gear.
- Though he was physically larger than both members of Better Together, he was tasked with making their attacks look painful. He did a credible job without looking too embarrassed about it.
- The dancing taunt was funny.
- He and Theseus had some good cutoffs on their opponents to isolate them and build the heat.
Grows:
- The bump for the sunset flip look unconvincing.
Name: Gabriel Aeros
Age: 28
Debut: 2016
# of matches as of writing: 171
Trainer(s): Chris Basso and Matt Basso
Promotion(s):
- Melbourne City Wrestling
- Riot City Wrestling
- World Series Wrestling
Accomplishments:
- WSW Tag Team Champion w/Gabriel Aeros (October 7, 2023 to October 12, 2023, October 13, 2023 to March 28, 2025, March 30, 2025 to present)
- MCW Tag Team Champion w/Gabriel Aeros (September 9, 2023 to February 11, 2024, December 8, 2024 to July 5, 2025)
Match(es) watched:
- Better Together (Hadar Horvitz & Ori Gold) (c) vs. The Parea (Eli Theseus & Gabriel Aeros)
- LPW Polk City Pandemonium
- May 17, 2025
- Cagematch rating as of 4/1/25: n/a
- You can watch the match on Local Pro Wrestling’s YouTube page.
Glows:
- During his entrance, he immediately identified that riling up the children in the crowd was the easiest route to effective heel heat for the match. In general, he interacted more with the crowd than Theseus and was the more charismatic member of the team.
- He has a very impressive physique, and he had professional, under-stated gear.
- He thrust his feet forward in his running front dropkick to a seated opponent, which accentuated the impact.
- He moved with high energy and intensity. I appreciated his punches.
- His took a great tumble on the headscissor, and he really boosted his opponent on his unassisted shiranui.
- He has a tinge of Drilla Moloney energy (complimentary).
- His dropkick looked great.
Grows:
- Unfortunately, LPW’s poor microphone and sound system prevented me from hearing either Theseus’s or Aeros’s promo before the match.
- We didn’t get to see him sell much in this match, but that might be how he and Theseus have set up their team.
With all that, let’s update our list of wrestlers under the age of 30.
ineligible: Marcus Mathers (sports entertainer), Sareee (will be 30 by June 1)
not ranked: Mio Momono and Ai Houzan (need more information)
1. Miu Watanabe
2. Daiki Odashima
3. MIRAI
4. Saya Kamitani
5. Starlight Kid
6. JACKY KAMEI
7. Senka Akatsuki
8. Riiita
9. Dragon Dia
10. VENY
11. Miku Kanae
12. Hazuki
13. Konami
14. Saya Iida
15. Rina
16. Arisu Endo
17. Suzume
18. Kazuma Sumi
19. Mei Seira
20. Takeshi Masada
21. Chanyota
22. Jet Wei
23. Kodai Nazaki
24. Kaisei Takechi
25. SUZAKU
26. Aran Sano
27. Yutani
28. Kohei Kinoshita
29. KANON (*new*)
30. Ricky Sosa
Wrestlers considered but not ranked at this time: Junta Miyawaki, Jessica Troy, Kouga, Honori Hana, Cory Zero, JGU, Hollie Barlow, NORI, Chi Chi, Titus Alexander, Hanan, Peter Tihanyi, Zoltan, Spider Fly, Toxin, Kuro, Echika Miyabi, Shay Kassidy, Aysha, Joe Lando, Danny Black, Eli Theseus, Gabriel Aeros
Next time: With all due respect to Banger Zone Wrestling, Banger Festival 2026 in Czechia in May, and the city of Bangor, March was actually where the bangers really were. We’ll return to the regular format to take a look at some of the best (or at least most interesting) matches of March 2026.
