The year 2021 saw a number of breakout stars including the likes of Masha Slamovich and Alec Price. Now with 2021 being behind us, there’s a new batch of wrestlers that looking to breakout in 2022. Below is the first part of a list of wrestlers that I believe are going to make an impact on the independent wrestling scene this year. Part two is coming soon. Sorry for the delay.
Aaron Mercer
A Texas wrestler to keep an eye on would be Aaron Mercer. A staple in Heavy Metal Wrestling and New Texas Pro, is looking to be the next breakout star out of Texas. He’s won the Texas Grand Prix which was ran by both of those promotions. He came up short in his feud against Bryan Keith for the New Texas Pro Wrestling Championship. Mercer has also stepped foot into the Deathmatch world. He challenged John Wayne Murdoch for the ICW American Deathmatch Championship at ICW The Pit 3. With WrestleMania taking place in Dallas this year, you can expect Mercer to gain some buzz coming out of one of the biggest wrestling weeks of the year.
Blair Onyx
Trained by Seth Rollins and Marek Brave out of the Black and Brave Wrestling Academy, Blair Onyx is looking to make her mark alongside the other Black and Brave graduates such as Dante Leon, Conan Lycan and 1 Called Manders. She’s off to a great start, winning the 4WW Women’s Championship back in December. With just 3 years experience, Onyx has already wrestled for some of the top independent promotions in the US. The list includes AAW, Freelance Wrestling, Glory Pro and SHIMMER. She has also wrestled some of the top wrestlers such as Trish Adora, Allie Katch, Kylie Rae, Su Yung and Billie Starkz, just to name a few. Onyx has also appeared on AEW Dark several times.
Bojack
Coming out of North Carolina and trained by Steve Corino, Bojack is both the current PWF and Deadlock Pro Champion. He became the inaugural Deadlock Pro Champion by defeating the likes of Kevin Ku and then Andrew Everett in the finals. He’s already shared the ring with wrestlers such as Jigsaw, Jimmy Lloyd, Colby Corino and JD Drake. He’s also been putting on show stealing performances as part of the trio High Flying Star Machines alongside Diego Hill and BK Westbrook.
Diego Hill
Another part of the trio High Flying Star Machines would be the highly talented Diego Hill. The high flyer coming out of the Virginia Beach and North Carolina area is bound to be a star. He blew minds in his performance at IWTV Untitled during the trios match presented by PWF. He did it once again during last month’s Southeast First show. You can mostly catch him on PWF and Deadlock Pro but he has also appeared on Beyond Wrestling’s Uncharted Territory. A bright future for the Colby Corino trainee.
Killa Kate
Going back to the Texas region, let’s mention Killa Kate. With just 4 years of wrestling experience, Kate has already squared off with top women wrestlers such as Masha Slamovich, Jody Threat and Janai Kai. She’s becoming a regular for Mission Pro Wrestling run by AEW star Thunder Rosa. Kate has also earned a spot on the New Texas Pro roster after being a last minute replacement for Allie Katch in a contest against Raychell Rose. She will make her return on February 26th against Max Heights. She has also been making a name for herself competing in shoot style promotions such as Paradigm Pro Wrestling and Combat Fights Unlimited.
Kody Lane
Originally known as Kody Krash out of Austin, Kody Lane now residing in St Louis. Best known for his work in Glory Pro and St Louis Anarchy, Lane has been making a name for himself in the Midwest area. He’s taken on some of the top names in independent wrestling including Jordan Oliver, Warhorse, Alex Zayne and Everett Connors. You might’ve even seen him on AEW Dark, but known as Koko Lane. Earlier in the year he made his REVOLVER debut. Expect Lane to start appearing in more and more promotions through 2022.
Love Doug
Now we move on to the New England area where The Real Life Cupid, Love Doug is starting to takeover. Training out of both the New England Pro Wrestling Academy and Kingdom schools where a number of great talent have come out of. He was involved in one of the top independent wrestling feuds of 2021 at Limitless Wrestling against Ava Everett. He’s a regular in Wrestling Open every Thursday night where some people might consider him the ace. 2022 will be the year Love Doug will win over the hearts of a lot of people.
Nolo Kitano
Nolo Kitano is someone that was bound to breakout back in 2020. He had his pro wrestling debut match on August 9, 2019 where he competed in a suicidal six way match at House of Glory’s High Intensity 8. Even though it was his debut match, the trainee out of the House of Glory school impressed with his great athleticism. Kitano since then has appeared for Beyond Wrestling, ETU, Limitless Wrestling, VXS, and others. Expect to see The Ghetto Samurai to take over in 2022.
Storm Grayson
Chicago native Storm Grayson has already started making waves in the independent wrestling world, and has already put on fantastic performances against some of the top wrestlers. You can watch him on promotions such AAW, Glory Pro and Freelance Wrestling/Freelance Underground, where he’s the current Freelance Underground Independent Champion. His 2021 had some great matches against Lee Moriarty, Bryan Keith and Kevin Blackwood. Expect to see more of Storm Grayson in 2022.
Tootie Lynn
Another person making a name for themselves out of the Midwest would be the Glory Pro Wrestling’s Midwest Territory Champion, Tootie Lynn. Also known as Seishin, Lynn has made appearances all over throughout 2021, including the major promotions such as AEW and NWA. She is a black belt in karate and trained by Davey Richards out of Team Ambition, so you know she has fight. Back in November she captured the Midwest Territory Championship defeating Rohit Raju, Dan The Dad and Ethan Price in a four way match. With all of her appearances in major promotions, don’t expect to see her in the indies for much long.
Tyree Taylor
Based out New York would be Tyree Taylor, the younger brother of former Ring of Honor Six Man Tag Team Champion Shane Taylor. Trained by Hall of Famers Booker T and Johnny Rodz, Taylor has appeared in top independent promotions such as Beyond Wrestling and Limitless Wrestling. He had a crazy match with Big Beef for Limitless last year. He’s also appeared in other East Coast promotions Chaotic and most recently Wrestling Open, where he’s becoming a regular. Expect him to do big things in the years to come.