There of many great female wrestlers that have burst onto the independent wrestling scene in 2025 and are really looking to take off in 2026.

I highlight 20 of them in these next two articles. We have wrestlers from all over the US and some from Canada, Australia and Europe. In addition to these 20 women, there are many more that are making a splash on their local independent scenes.

Valentina Rossi

In 2025 Valentina made a big jump from mostly being known as being a wrestler on WOW to working for promotions like NWA, Jersey Championship Wrestling, and even went to Japan and worked with Marvalous and Sendai Girls. Valentina had worked mostly in the Florida area before, but this past year she really branched out and became a wrestler to be on the look out for.

Whenever she was in Japan, she was in the ring with stars like Mio Momono, Lena Kross, Chikayo Nagashima, VENY, Saree, Takumi Iroha and more. After being in the ring with that kind of talent, you are only going to get better.  Personality has never been a problem for Rossi, coming from WOW, where everyone is over the top, and she has shown it during her time in NWA, as part of TVMA.

Valentina was also one of the young prospects picked to train for a weekend at Bayley’s Lodestone where she got to learn from WWE stars Bayley, Roxanne Perez, John Cena and others. Rossi has everything to be TV ready and is certainly one to watch for.

Violet Nyte

Violet Nyte debuted in EVE in 2025 and made quite an impression. With her dark look, fierce stares and violent offense, she is certainly on to watch out for. Nyte is out of West Midlands, England and trained under Flash Morgan Webster.

A lot of us just became aware of Nyte when she debuted at EVE, but she has been very busy since her debut in 2022 and has taken on some of England’s best in that time. Nyte has held multiple championships, including the WWW Women’s Championship, which she currently holds and has defended it against the likes of Sadie Gibbs, Nightshade, and Safire Reed. Nyte also appears to have found a frenemy in Skye Smitson, and I am very exited to see where that relationship goes.

Ava Brooks

Ava is out of the Pittsburgh area and was trained at the Stronghold Academy by Brandon K, who trained the likes of Thea Hail, Lady Frost, and Lee Moriarty. Ava has been wrestling for less than 2 years, but has already wrestled for some pretty noteworthy promotions like West Coast Pro, Olde Wrestling, NEOPRO, Ladies Night Out, OVW and many others.

Ava seems to be working hard and traveling since the day that she started wresting. She is very determinaed to keep improving and absolutely shows in the ring. I was able to see Ava live at NEOPRO against Heather Blue and they had an incredible match. With Ava’s work ethic, her athleticism and her attention to detail, she will keep rising up the ranks in 2026 and beyond. She already has a big match set for early 2026, as she will be part of the Nightmare Rumble at OVW. 

Fallyn Grey

Fallyn got her start in Arizona, where she feuded with the likes of SOS and Brittnie Brooks. The rivalry with Brooks continued, when she made her surprise debut at DREAMWAVE, where she scored an upset victory over Brooke Havok and then challenged Brittnie Brooks. This rivalry is still going on today and even made an appearance on a local hair salon’s commercial, when they were fighting for an appointment time.

Since then Fallyn has challenged for the Uprising Alternative Championship and faced Airica Demia in HCW for their women’s title in an incredible main event match. With only three years of wrestling experience and at the age of 21 Fallyn appears to have everything that you need to become successful. She has an entrance that immediately gets your attention, she delivers tremendous promos, she is great in the ring, and she always seems to be working to improve on every facet, from her character to her in ring wrestling. Fallyn is also very talented outside of the ring, as she is a very skilled singer/songwriter. 

Christyan Reid

I hear a lot of people talk about this “airport test”  where if you would see someone walk through an airport, would you think that they are famous. If you saw Christyan walk through an airport, a mall, or a bus station you would absolutely think she is famous.

Christyan is a 6’3 former basketball player that was trained by Tyler Breeze and Shawn Spears. She has only been wrestling for a little over a year, mostly with matches in MCW in Maryland, but where ever she goes she make an impression. I saw her at 3LW’s Rose Rumbe, and when she came out, you could hear the crowd in awe over her, and the wrestlers in the ring not knowing what to do.

Christyan recently showed off her power when she defeated her opponent in 2.6 seconds with an inverted bear hug. She is not just a tall woman with a great look, she also is very athletic and is going to use that athleticism to continue to improve in the ring and become a very big star.

Leah Night

Leah Night is someone who immediately impressed me the first time I saw her wrestle. Her matches against Dolli Darko and Kate Thorne at Belle 2 Bell were both really impressive. Leah may have only been wrestling for two years, but she has taken on some high quality opponents, such as Ella Envy, Jordan Blade, Kaitlyn Marie, Mila Johnson, Airica Demia, and more.

“Ultra Violent” Leah Night is very athletic and has proven how tough she is in the past year. She had one of my favorite matches of the year against Maya World for the VIP Women’s Title. She also had an incredible falls count anywhere match against her best friend/ best rival, Amanda Kiss.

Leah has held the RWA Women’s Championship and the FSPW Jewels of Wrestling Championship in 2025 and looks to add some more gold in 2026. 

Amanda Kiss

You can’t mention Leah Night without talking about Amanda Kiss. Whether it is as opponents, teaming together, or Amanda just being obsessed with Leah, they always seem connected. Leah and Amanda were friends until their friendship exploded when Amanda eliminated Leah from a rumble. This resulted in a championship, falls count anywhere match, where Kiss won by chocking Leah out and winning the Jewels of Wrestling Championship.

Amanda has also won the OSCW Women’s Championship in a cage match against Kaitlyn Marie, and then defended it against the legend Su Yung. Amanda won the PWF Legacy Cup Tournament by winning a 5-person elimination match in the finals, and the last person that she pinned was Leah Night.

Amanda has a huge personality and gets a big reaction from the crowd wherever she goes. Kiss seems to be getting stronger every day, and don’t let her quirky personality fool you, as she has a ton of talent and is very athletic, finishing off her matches with a beautiful moonalt or a powerful spear.

Amanda and Leah are going to be dominating the southern wrestling scene and beyond for years to come, as they are both young, talented and driven. 

Madison Marley

I consider Madison the Billie Starkz of Denmark, as she accomplished so much at such a young age. Madison faced top stars in Europe like Myla Grace, Sara Leon, Skye Smitson, Natalie Sykes, Harley Hudson, Lizzy Evo, and Millie Mckenzie. She then took a four month excursion to Japan to train and wrestle for SEAdLINNNG, where she wrestled the historic Korakuen Hall; all before her 18th birthday.

When she came back from Japan she did not slow down one bit, as she lead classes at the school she trains at, just two days later. She has also been wrestling on the wXw 25th Anniversary tour, where she has faced Reyca, Jane Nero and Ava Everett. Madison’s entrance to the ring is very elegant, like a ballroom dancer. When she enters the ring, she is talented much beyond her years. With her speed, agility, grappling and tenacity, she is not one to be taken lightly. To close out her very successful year, she became the first Danish woman to be ranked in the PWI Women’s 250.

Nikki Blackheart

Nikki has gone viral from her strength that she has shown in matches and her physique, however she is so much more than that. Nikki is a powerhouse that trained under Gangrel. She has only been wrestling for about a year and a half, but her name always comes up whenever people talk about rising stars.

Nikki won the CCW Women’s title when she defeated Ruthie Jay. She then defended it against veterans and rising stars like Heather Monroe, former NXT star Carolina Cruz, former AEW star Diamante, Rachel Ley, former NXT UK star Aleah James and more. Nikki has also worked multiple times at AAA in Mexico.

Nikki won in her Ladies Night Out debut at WrestleCade weekend, defeating J-Rod and Madi Maxx. Nikki was also one of the young prospects to hand picked by Bayley to attend Lodestone. She was ranked 243 in the PWI Women’s 250 and is only going up from here. 

Angel Metro

Angel got a lot of attention for her first match in ICW against Danny Demanto, and deservedly so. However she has been kicking a lot of ass up to that point. Angel has been wrestling since 2022, and really started getting people’s attention toward the end of 2023 when she defeated Zayda Steel for the Warriors of Wrestling Women’s Championship. She retained that title against Vicious Vicki, future tag partner, Nahir Robles, Diamond Virago and in a 3 way against Bonesaw Brooks and Gypsy Mac.

Angel has excelled in Hooligan Championship Wrestling, where she defeated stars Nixi XS and Ashlyn Alexander. She has also become one of the most popular members of the NEOPRO roster, getting a huge reaction from the crowd every time show comes out. Angel has faced some top stars at NEOPRO like HAVOK, Kylie Paige, Zoey Skye and Joseline Navarro. Angel and Nahir Robles, known as The Riot Act, also defended the Smash Master Wrestling Tag Team Championship against The Goons in a crazy no rules match.

The Riot Act has become as much as a group of supportive friends as it is a tag team or a faction. It started as Angel and Riley Krowe, and then Nahir was added to the group. They use Freebird Rules to defend their titles, meaning you could get any two members of the Riot Act.

Angel is also a deathmatch queen. Before heading to ICW, she wrestled for X Brand Wresting. There she took on the legend Low Life Louie, Bobby Beverly, Tarzan, and Ludark. Angel can excel at any form of wrestling, but as you could tell from the end of her match against Danny at ICW her true love is death match.

Angel already has a big match lined up for 2026, as she will face the American Death Match Champion, John Wayne Murdoch. You can read more about Angel and The Riot Act in an article I wrote in April.

This list brought you a diverse list of wrestlers that you should see live or streaming on a bevy of different platforms. Part 2 will bring a deathmatch wrestler with a degree in theatre, a tag team from outer space, an Australian singer who is wrestling in Canada, someone that has the best Frog Splash that I have seen in years, and much more.