Finn Bálor and 7 WWE, AEW Stars with Most to Prove for Rest of 2024 (2024)

The final stretch of 2024 will prove to be a crucial period for several stars in WWE and All Elite Wrestling on the verge of breaking through to the next level.

SummerSlam saw several storylines move forward in meaningful fashion, most notably The Judgment Day's demise. Everyone involved in the angle has a chance to become a bigger star than they were previously, but Finn Bálor in particular will have a lot to live up as the new leader of the group.

Solo Sikoa finds himself in a similar spot on SmackDown as part of his programs with Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns. He was elevated from The Bloodline's lead enforcer to self-appointed Tribal Chief almost overnight, and it's unknown whether he'll be able to adapt to his impromptu ascent as a main eventer.

AEW has its own promising prospects in prominent positions ready to climb the card. Jack Perry quickly went from being persona non grata on AEW TV to a key member of The Elite. And with the way he's been booked since his return, it's clear the company has high hopes for him from here on out.

All of the aforementioned athletes—and a number of others—have the most to prove in WWE and AEW for the rest of 2024.

Finn Bálor won his first and only world title in WWE within a month of arriving on the main roster in 2016. Due to a serious shoulder injury sustained during his SummerSlam match with Seth Rollins, he was forced to relinquish the belt on the next night's Raw, never to regain it.

The Irishman was firmly positioned as an upper-midcard competitor from that point forward, and it wasn't until Triple H took the reins of WWE Creative that he was finally put back in the main event mix.

Although Bálor ultimately lost his feuds with Edge and Seth Rollins, betraying his Judgment Day cohort Damian Priest at SummerSlam has caused his stock to skyrocket.

The 43-year-old has long been utilized in the tag team and midcard scenes, but a program with The Archer of Infamy ensures he'll be featured higher up the card.

The crowd has been conditioned to view Bálor at a certain level for the last several years and not take him seriously to any of the top talent. If Priest defeats him with ease when they inevitably collide, he'll gain nothing from their feud.

Bálor must be booked consistently as a threat in order to capitalize on the heat he has coming out of SummerSlam.

Jack Perry spent the first few years of his AEW career as a staple in the tag team division before branching out on his own in mid-2022.

Turning heel the subsequent summer was the best thing that could have happened as it allowed him to come into his own as a character and improve his promos.

However, his biggest break came earlier this year when he was recruited into The Elite. The Young Bucks and Kazuchika Okada are already established, so the primary goal of the group should be to spotlight Perry and make a singles star out of him.

The 27-year-old has had a solid start to the year after pinning Bryan Danielson in Anarchy in the Arena at Double or Nothing and capturing the AEW TNT Championship at Forbidden Door in June, but his greatest test has yet to come.

At All In on Aug. 25, the former AEW world tag team champion will defend the gold against Darby Allin. Beating an opponent of that caliber would give him a significant credibility boost.

Although The Elite have yet to set their sights on the AEW World Championship, it's only a matter of time. When that happens, the pressure will be on for Perry to deliver at the main event level for the first time, provided he's the man around whom the group will continue to be built.

Bronson Reed's puzzling departure from WWE in late 2021 led to him making an impact in TNA and New Japan Pro-Wrestling, where he reminded the world what WWE missed out on.

Triple H was wise to bring him back after taking over in 2022, but Reed was largely directionless last year.

Winning the 2024 Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal and entering Intercontinental Championship contention post-WrestleMania 40 were encouraging signs, but the Australian still needed a notable feud to get him over with the audience.

His vicious assault on Seth Rollins on the post-SummerSlam Raw accomplished just that.

Reed laying out the multi-time world champion with several Tsunami splashes received a raucous reaction from the crowd. The Miz and R-Truth suffered a similar fate at the hands of the former NXT North American champion on the Aug. 12 edition of Raw.

Reed has been overdue for a push and is making the most of the opportunity so far. It's imperative WWE doesn't quickly feed him to Rollins when they go one-on-one and instead use this feud to get him closer to the upper echelon of the card.

Losing whenever it matters most will send the message that the 35-year-old isn't main event material after all.

Kamille had been rumored for a run in AEW as far back as February but didn't debut until July as an enforcer for Mercedes Moné. It has already proved to be the best role for her from the get-go.

She reigned as NWA world women's champion for over two years—beating AEW's own Thunder Rosa—and showed incredible improvement in that time. She was ready for a brighter spotlight, but with the WWE and AEW women's divisions being stockpiled with star power these days, it would have been easy for her to get lost in the shuffle with either promotion upon signing.

The pairing with Moné gets her consistent television time but doesn't put her in a position to challenge for a championship, lose and not be seen again for months on end.

The idea should be to get Kamille over as Moné's bodyguard, establish her dominance and have her turn on Moné, as Wardlow did with MJF.

Getting fans to invest in the 31-year-old will be the toughest obstacle, yet it's not one that will be impossible to overcome. Her skill set should speak for itself along with her sheer presence inside the squared circle.

These early months of Kamille's AEW stint will be pivotal to her long-term success.

After months of cryptic vignettes and online teases, it was vital that WWE nailed the debut of The Wyatt Sicks. Not only was their arrival excellently executed, the aftermath has largely been fun to follow as well.

The character profiles for some of the members have been less than stellar, but the ones who have mattered most with Uncle Howdy have delivered.

Revealing his identity as Bo Dallas early on was a smart call as it made their motivations and intentions clear, and it eliminated the supernatural element fans feared would bog them down.

The Wyatt Sicks' in-ring debut on the post-SummerSlam Raw went as well as it could have, but Dallas has yet to compete himself. A singles match with Chad Gable remains a strong possibility, and that will be the true test as to whether he will sink or swim as the leader of the frightening faction.

While Dallas, 34, was never the most dynamic performer between the ropes, his larger-than-life persona as Uncle Howdy combined with his charisma and gift of gab will be enough to carry him as a recurring character on WWE TV.

He doesn't need and shouldn't be fighting for world titles, but in a certain spot on the show, Dallas can excel if handled properly.

Kyle Fletcher initially made a name for himself in the tag team ranks by ripping it up all over the world with Mark Davis as Aussie Open. Their momentum eventually earned them a spot on the AEW roster and a run with the ROH World Tag Team Championship.

Untimely injuries to Davis have cost him over a year of his career, but Fletcher has had no trouble shining in singles competition in his absence. He's had outstanding outings against everyone from Kenny Omega and Swerve Strickland to Will Ospreay and MJF.

On the Aug. 7 edition of Dynamite, he had what was arguably his biggest breakout performance yet in a match with MJF for the AEW American Championship. Although he was unsuccessful, he enjoyed a stellar showing in defeat and rose to the occasion.

How AEW intends to follow up on the buzz the 25-year-old has generated for himself will determine what his future looks like on his own.

Remaining a member of The Don Callis Family and racking up losses on television will do him no favors. Clinching any one of AEW's many midcard championships, on the other hand, would cement his status as a star on the rise.

To say Solo Sikoa's main event push has been sudden would be an understatement.

WWE heavily protected him during his rookie year on the main roster, but he lost a lot of his luster when he failed to develop his character beyond the one-dimensional Bloodline enforcer who would constantly interfere.

Worse yet, there was zero follow-up to his decisive victory over John Cena at Crown Jewel 2023, and he went months without winning a single televised match.

In the immediate aftermath of WrestleMania 40, he "replaced" Roman Reigns as the head of The Bloodline and the audience was supposed to view him as being on that same level.

He has shown much more range in his new role, but he pales in comparison to what The Original Tribal Chief was able to accomplish in that same spot.

It was evident in the buildup to SummerSlam for his Undisputed WWE Championship match with Cody Rhodes, and the 31-year-old could be further exposed during his rivalry with Reigns.

Sikoa has the tools necessary to be a world champion at some point down the road, but how he fares in the coming months will have a direct effect on whether he sustains his stardom or falls flat.

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.