Tony Khan believes the future of AEW is already taking shape, and he’s pointing to two rising talents as names fans should be watching closely.
While appearing at Super Bowl Radio Row on Thursday, Khan spoke with Compas on the Beat and was asked to identify one male and one female wrestler he sees as potential breakout stars for AEW moving forward.
Khan didn’t hesitate.
“I would say we have a great young group of wrestlers,” he said. “I’m very excited about AEW and our partnerships with companies around the world. And, I think two wrestlers that are under dual contracts, that I’d say you want to watch for the future in AEW and worldwide, ‘The Jet’ Kevin Knight, who is coming from New Japan Pro Wrestling and is a fantastic young American wrestler.”
Khan continued by highlighting Knight’s growing résumé and versatility across multiple divisions.
“He is signed to both AEW and New Japan Pro Wrestling,” Khan continued. “And he is now one-third of the AEW World Trios Champions as the Jet Set Rodeo. I think, ‘The Jet’ Kevin Knight, whether it’s in trios, tag teams as JetSpeed or ‘The Jet’ as a singles star. That’s one to watch for the future in any wrestling promotion in the world.”
On the women’s side, Khan pointed to a standout talent who has already impressed across multiple promotions.
“As far as young female wrestlers, Persephone, who works with AEW and CMLL, has come in,” he said. “I think Persephone is fantastic. She also wrestled for me in ROH, and I think Persephone has all the tools. And again, talk about our partnerships, dual contracts, she’s a great star for CMLL, and she can be a great star in AEW too.”
Persephone, 24, has been competing regularly in CMLL since 2023 and has been featured in both AEW and ROH since 2025.
Kevin Knight, now 29, first appeared in AEW back in 2022 while still working with NJPW.
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