The future of professional wrestling in its top two companies, WWE and All Elite Wrestling, is healthy, thanks to eight young stars laying the groundwork for a fruitful and prosperous time.

Rhea Ripley in WWE and MJF in AEW are the most obvious stars under the age of 30 to make their impact felt for their respective companies.

Who joins them and why?

Find out with this look at the industry's top young game-changers.

MJF

With feuds against Cody Rhodes, Chris Jericho, CM Punk, and Jon Moxley already on his resume, it is easy to forget that former AEW world champion MJF is only 28.

The Salt of the Earth has spent his career in AEW mixing it up with the biggest, brightest, and best the company has to offer while establishing himself as an attraction. He is also one of the best talkers in the industry and a star around whom Tony Khan realizes he can build lengthy stories and anticipated match-ups.

It earned him a big payday in 2022 when he signed a contract extension to remain with AEW despite pushing the idea of a bidding war in 2024.

Healed from significant shoulder and hip injuries, MJF is ready to pick up where he left off by proving himself to be the best wrestler, against whoever steps up to challenge his progression.

He is also in a position to carry others to his level. At All In on August 25, he will square off with Daniel Garcia, as revealed on the June 26 episode of Dynamite. It is a match that will get the Long Island native back to his roots as a technical wrestler while helping to elevate a star-in-the-making.

The match should be great and will represent a legitimate star in MJF giving back the legitimacy and credibility he earned while competing against Hall of Famers and genuine superstars, while also ensuring there is top-tier talent for him to work with for the foreseeable future.

He may only have two years until he is 30 but MJF has two decades of in-ring action left him in and that bodes very well for AEW and its plans to be a true alternative.

Rhea Ripley

From undefinable to undeniable.

There was a point in her NXT career where it was clear that Rhea Ripley had no idea who she was. Fast forward eight years later and the Australian is one of the biggest stars in pro wrestling's most prominent company; one on par with her male counterparts and a central figure in the company's creative.

This is despite currently being out of action with a shoulder injury.

A former women's world, Raw, SmackDown and NXT women's champion, she has climbed the mountaintop at every level and held gold while defeating some of the top stars in the industry.

Shayna Baszler, Asuka, and Charlotte Flair all fell at the feet of The Eradicator while a young, impressionable Dominik Mysterio simply fell for her. As The Judgment Day's resident "Mami," she saw her star rise to a level she could never have imagined, cementing herself as one of the focal points of WWE's flagship show, Raw.

She defeated Becky Lynch at WrestleMania XL and despite an injury that forced her to the sidelines, is at the center of a feud with Liv Morgan that will see her return to be an even bigger star as a vengeful babyface.

The future is as bright as any for Ripley, who could find herself shattering glass ceilings and routinely main eventing even the most prestigious premium live events before she calls it a career.

Daniel Garcia

Daniel Garcia entered AEW as one of the most technically gifted young stars on the roster and immediately forged a bond with the company's faithful.

The fans appreciated his hard work and dedication, liked that he never took a night off, and fell in love with his attempts to prove he could be a sports entertainer, too, while a member of the Jericho Appreciation Society.

Now on the most significant run of his young career, with a date against MJF upcoming at AEW All In at Wembley Stadium on August 25, Garcia has momentum on his side.

Barring another creative setback the likes of which we witnessed when he broke away from Jericho and wandered aimlessly for months, expect the Buffalo native to make the most of his current run and ensure his future remains as bright as ever.

Shining against an established star like MJF, on the company's biggest stage, would make for a great start.

Dominik Mysterio

Dominik Mysterio is the most organic heel in the business; a second generation star whose treatment of his father and general unlikeability earns him deafening jeers in arenas worldwide. So loud are the boos that rain down on him from fans that it is oftentimes difficult to hear what he has to say as they drown him out.

That he currently finds himself staving off the advances of the manipulative Liv Morgan while his Mami, Rhea Ripley, recovers from surgery has only served to elevate his star and further infuriate an audience who is already envious of his success.

Mysterio's in-ring game continues to improve and evolve and his character work is already infinitely better than anyone could have imagined at this still-early point in it.

A virtuoso heel who knows how to be whiny or disrespectful when necessary, he is also part of one of the most beloved families in wrestling and there will come a time when he channels all of his experience as a villain into becoming one of the most popular babyfaces on the roster.

That still feels like a long time away so for now, Mysterio will continue to be one of the most irritating bad guys on the planet relish in the opportunity to infuriate any audience he gets in front of, all while building on the legacy his father and great uncle laid for him.

Jack Perry

Depending on your stance on backstage drama, there is a lot to not like about Jack Perry.

There is a smugness and arrogance with which he carries himself, predating his heel turn, that has traditionally turned some fans off of the young Californian. Still, preconceived notions aside, there is no denying what the former Jungle Boy has already accomplished in AEW.

Dubbed one of the company's four young pillars, he rose to prominence in a tag team with Luchasaurus but broke out in a series of individual performances, including a show-stealing match with MJF at Double or Nothing 2020.

A feud with Christian Cage elevated him and his heel turn breathed new life into a performer that outgrew the Jungle Boy moniker. A real-life backstage confrontation with CM Punk boosted his stature in the industry and led to his eventual return to the company as the "Scapegoat" and the newest member of The Elite.

One of the top heels in the company, he will compete Sunday night at Forbidden Door for the TNT Championship in a Ladder Match, with the opportunity to further establish himself.

Like him or not, Perry is not going anywhere anytime soon and if his trajectory continues, it would not be a surprise to see him competing for a world title sometime in the next handful of years.

If not sooner.

Bron Breakker

Bron Breakker is an unstoppable force, an uncontrollable badass who has gleefully obliterated any and all who stand between him and professional wrestling immortality.

It began in NXT, where he quickly won that brand's world title and cemented his status as the face of that brand. Now on the main roster, he has sent Ricochet packing, unflinchingly targeted former WWE champion Sheamus, and damn near cut Ludwig Kaiser in half with the damndest spear you will ever see.

Breakker is a badass who cannot be reigned in by management and refuses to let his momentum be stunted. He beats whoever is in the ring with him and is the surest thing the company has produced in years.

He is absolutely going to be a world champion within two years, if not sooner, and will define the next era of professional wrestling in its most storied company.

All while creating his own star, away from that of his father and uncle, WWE Hall of Famers Rick and Scott Steiner.

Mariah May

Since arriving as a seemingly obsessive fan of "Timeless" Toni Storm, Mariah May has become one of the brightest stars in AEW, a 25-year-old export from the Stardom promotion who has impressed between the ropes and even more so as a character.

Her on-screen presence, including facial expressions and body language, has helped get her over with fans in a way that simply letting her work long matches would have. She has undeniable on-screen chemistry with Storm and the introduction of her former tag team partner Mina Shirakawa has created a storyline that fans can invest in ahead of Forbidden Door.

While AEW's women's division does have a consistency issue, it has improved more in the last three months than it had in its first five years, a testament to the work of the performers in it. May is one such performer and the British-born star figures to be an even bigger deal in the near future as she chooses between her mentor and her friend and, ultimately, embarks on her own path to championship gold.

Carmelo Hayes

Carmelo Hayes is HIM.

The 29-year-old (as of this publishing) narrowly makes the list on the heels of an NXT run that saw him take center stage as the brand's focal point. The young star out of Massachusetts is brash and arrogant, but with good reason.

The former NXT champion built a reputation for himself as a show-stealer, someone Shawn Michaels could book for a high-profile match and trust to deliver. Whether competing for the North American title, the brand's top prize, or revealing himself to be the deceitful attacker of former friend Trick Williams, Hayes shined brightest.

Enough to earn a call-up to the main roster this year.

Since arriving, all he has done is proven his worth against Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes in high-profile matches before qualifying for a Money in the Bank match he could very realistically win.

Even if he does not, Melo is Money and WWE would be wise to make as much as it can off of him because the young performer does not miss.