With a new year right around the corner it’s time to put on our prognosticating caps. There are certain safe bets for 2026, like that Rhea Ripley and Jade Cargill will remain heavily featured, world champions or in the championship orbit for at least part of the year. But who are the stars that stand to level up, winning their first world titles in WWE or otherwise advancing to a new echelon of stardom? This article presents five picks.
Sol Ruca
On paper, Sol Ruca was an unusual pick for WWE to position against Bayley at the Saturday Night’s Main Event featuring John Cena’s last match. Jacy Jayne is the NXT Women’s Champion and Blake Monroe holds the Women’s North American Championship. When push comes to shove, Jordynne Grace is probably the NXT woman with the next highest level of name recognition for main roster fans.
WWE designed a coming out party for Ruca, though. She was the only NXT talent placed in a position to straight-up win her match in clean fashion given Bayley isn’t a reigning champion or integral to the top of her division’s card right now. Bayley’s also one of the veteran talents best equipped to all but guarantee a younger talent a stellar match.
So, the match was a showcase for Ruca in not only winning but putting her unique athleticism and innovative offense on display. In her winning the North American Championship over WrestleMania weekend and being entrusted with the Speed Championship to engage WWE fans on short spurts in social media, WWE has increasingly shown its faith in her as a star of the future and there’s every chance 2026 is the year she starts to realize her main roster potential in earnest.
Maxxine Dupree
Maxxine Dupree’s ride through the WWE main roster has been nothing if not tumultuous, ranging from a lackluster valet stint with the failed Maxim Male Models faction to her time with Alpha Academy. In an unlikely turn, she was the woman to unseat Becky Lynch for the Intercontinental Championship this fall, and she had the fans 100% behind her.
Indeed, Dupree has demonstrated remarkable effort and improvement. The jury’s still out on whether she can break through at an even higher level. Based on her progress so far, though, and ability to connect with fans, there’s reason to believe she could be a dark horse favorite to take Money in the Bank in 2026 or otherwise rise to at least challenging for a world title.
Blake Monroe
For the AEW and NXT faithful, it may seem a bit out of place to posit Blake Monroe as a rising star. After all, her epic feud with Toni Storm already saw her win a world title in AEW, and she has been a star from the onset in WWE’s developmental. To WWE main-roster-only fans, though, she may remain a relative unknown.
Look for that to change in 2026. An awkward reality of the NXT Women’s Division has been that since Stephanie Vaquer dropped the NXT Championship, the North American Championship has enjoyed quite arguably equal, if not greater footing in terms of how much buzz it has behind it. Monroe may well move up to take the brand’s top women’s title in 2026. In fact, if she doesn’t, the most likely reason why she would not be an early call-up to the main roster before she has the chance.
Lash Legend
Lash Legend made an immediate impact on her call up to the main roster. Paired with Nia Jax, the two offer an imposing monster heel team. Moreover, Legend’s recent one-on-one victory over Alexa Bliss planted the seeds that WWE has very big plans for the former WNBA player.
The women’s roster is loaded right now, but Legend and Jax are totally believable Women’s Tag Team Champions. Moreover, Legend can’t be counted as a contender for either a world, United States, or Intercontinental Championship contention sooner than later.
Jordynne Grace
Some fans have been surprised with Jordynne Grace’s limited success since signing with WWE. She had a lot of momentum coming out of TNA and a lot of tools that looked to set her up for success in WWE. Yet, she has come up short in her championship pursuits thus far and has looked at risk of getting lost in the shuffle more than once in 2025.
Maybe all that doesn’t bode very well for Grace’s WWE prospects. On the other hand, maybe she is just waiting for her moment. Grace slots easily as an NXT Championship contender, besides every possibility of her reigniting her already major feud with Blake Monroe. Given Grace’s status as both an in-ring veteran and powerhouse, she could also fit nicely on the main roster whenever WWE needs her. Look for 2026 to be the year Grace and WWE put their pieces together and big things start to happen.