After years of building an organic fan following, Jey Uso's efforts were finally rewarded in the form of a Royal Rumble win last weekend, earning him a world championship opportunity at WWE WrestleMania 41.

Uso has challenged for top titles in the past—including as recently as Saturday Night's Main Event against Gunther—but has fallen short on every occasion. WrestleMania 41 should be where he captures a world championship for the first time.

His ascent to the upper echelon of the card is an encouraging sign for other midcarders across WWE and All Elite Wrestling who are also on the brink of breaking through to the next level and simply need a slightly more prominent push to get them there.

The popularity of certain performers has never been in question. Rather, extenuating circumstances have kept them from fulfilling their full potential and achieving world title glory.

They've spent enough time proving themselves as world championship-caliber competitors. The following five breakout stars are ready to be elevated to the main event scene on a permanent basis.

Sami Zayn

It's almost unfathomable that Sami Zayn has yet to win a world title in WWE. He's a former NXT champion, intercontinental champion and tag team champion, but the top titles have always eluded him.

The closest he came to clinching the Undisputed WWE Championship was when he narrowly came up short against Roman Reigns at Elimination Chamber 2023. He also chased Gunther for the World Heavyweight Championship in the fall of 2024 but was ultimately unsuccessful in his pursuit of the prestigious prize.

That must change at some point in 2025.

Zayn wrapped up his fourth run as intercontinental champ at SummerSlam and has been bouncing around from story to story since then. His next program appears to be with Kevin Owens, but once that rivalry runs its course, Zayn should set his sights back on either of WWE's world championships.

Every setback he suffers makes his triumphs that much sweeter. As such an exceptional underdog, it will be quite the moment when Zayn finally wins the big one.

Powerhouse Hobbs

Powerhouse Hobbs spent a significant amount of time on the sidelines with an injury in 2024 and was hardly being featured as anyone important prior to that point.

Thankfully, AEW reintroduced him as an immediate threat upon his return to the ring last November. He failed to take the International Championship from Konosuke Takeshita at Worlds End but became the No. 1 contender to the AEW World Championship by winning a Casino Gauntlet match soon after.

Hobbs' chances of actually taking the title from Jon Moxley at Maximum Carnage in January were slim to none, but even in defeat, he showed he belonged among the elite at the top of the card.

AEW has allowed him to maintain that momentum in his current feud with Big Bill, and the two have brought the best out of each other every time they've crossed paths. The primary objective of their program should be to get Hobbs back to world championship contention sooner rather than later.

It's been fun for fans to follow Hobbs' development as one of AEW's most promising homegrown prospects, but he's officially outgrown the midcard and would be a welcome addition to the promotion's thin main event scene.

Bron Breakker

It was clear from the moment he arrived in NXT three-and-a-half years ago that Bron Breakker had main event potential, and he's more than lived up to the lofty hype so far.

Following a dominant run down in developmental, he made the move to the main roster in early 2024 and secured the Intercontinental Championship within months. He's in his second stint as champ and bound to walk into WrestleMania 41 with the gold in his grasp.

During the time he spent in the men's Rumble match last weekend, Breakker was one of the few standout Superstars who stood toe-to-toe with Roman Reigns and other notable names without looking out of place. That impressive performance was an indicator that he's ready to rub shoulders with all of them more consistently.

The Show of Shows should be where he drops the intercontinental title and starts to slowly transition into the main event scene soon, as Gunther did in 2024. Speaking of whom, Breakker vs. Gunther is a World Heavyweight Championship rivalry waiting to happen this year.

At only 27 years old, the second-generation star has his entire career ahead of him, but that doesn't mean WWE should relegate him to the midcard for much longer.

Will Ospreay

Will Ospreay has been a headliner from the day he put pen to paper with AEW in late 2023, but he hasn't been positioned as one for a majority of his run up to now.

His sole opportunity at the AEW World Championship came at Forbidden Door last June when he unsuccessfully challenged Swerve Strickland in one of the best bouts all year. He stayed at the International Championship level after that and had a heated feud with MJF that summer, but he has yet to reach those same heights.

There's been a subtle understanding among the fans that Ospreay will be back in the AEW world title picture eventually, but that time is now. Jon Moxley's reign is dying on the vine, and the Brit would be the perfect person to dethrone him.

The Aerial Assassin is already, arguably, the greatest all-around performer in AEW today and had an outstanding year for himself in 2025. The only thing missing from his presentation is the company's most coveted title and the extra exposure that comes with it.

Perhaps Ospreay will have his crowning moment at this year's Forbidden Door in London on August 24.

LA Knight

Before "Yeet Mania" was running wild on WWE, LA Knight was the most popular performer in the promotion for a solid stretch of time from late 2023 into early 2024.

The grand payoff was a United States Championship win at SummerSlam last August, but it was almost a consolation prize of sorts because a world title wasn't in the cards for him during that period.

Whether it was against Roman Reigns one-on-one at Crown Jewel or a Fatal 4-Way at the Royal Rumble, The Megastar could never seem to come out on top when it mattered most.

Despite WWE's questionable booking of Knight, he's still beloved by the audience and could easily be viewed as a main event player with the proper push. He dropped the star-spangled prize in November and has been fairly directionless since then, so he should be firmly focused on either the Undisputed WWE Championship or the World Heavyweight Championship from here on out.

The window for Knight to become a world champion isn't closed just yet. He checks off all the boxes WWE looks for in main event talent and then some, meaning it should be more a matter of when than if it'll come to fruition.

Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant, and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.