There are a lot of wrestling fans who like to make fun of AEW for smaller, undersized superstars. However, to be honest, many of those undersized stars are 5'10" or taller, and the truth is that some of WWE's top stars are around the same height. With that said, there are also just as many smaller guys in WWE as AEW.
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In the old days, guys under 5'10" in professional wrestling would lie about their height, or they would compete solely in the cruiserweight division or the X-Division. In the new world of wrestling, former world champions like AJ Styles and Daniel Bryan are under six feet tall, and those under 5'10" are making their name as future champions as well.
10 Ace Austin (5'8")
While he is not a household name yet, Ace Austin is one of Impact Wrestling's most exciting young stars. At 23, Austin stands 5'8" and is the current Impact Wrestling X-Division Champion. He debuted in 2015 and made his way to Impact in 2019, quickly getting into top feuds with guys like Eddie Edwards and won the X-Division title at Bound for Glory, seven months after his Impact Wrestling debut.
9 Jonathan Gresham (5'4")
The shortest wrestler on this list if Jonathan Gresham of Ring of Honor. Not only is Gresham only 5'4", but he is someone that many Ring of Honor stars have called the best pound-for-pound wrestler in the world today. Gresham has torn down the house with top stars, including great matches with Jay Lethal. While his only title in ROH was the tag team titles with Lethal, he often puts on the best matches every night he wrestles.
8 Rich Swann (5'8")
Most fans know Rich Swann from his days in WWE. He was a star in the Cruiserweight Classic, and then he moved on to 205 Live and was one of the top stars on the brand in its early days. At 5'8", he won the WWE Cruiserweight Championship in 2016, the third champion, and held it for 60 days.
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Swann lost his job in WWE after domestic abuse allegations, but when those cleared up, he signed with Impact and won the X-Division title and was named the 2019 X-Division Star of the Year.
7 Shorty G (5'8")
Moving to WWE, Shorty G is the new name that Chad Gable is wrestling under. It seems almost insulting to have WWE using the name for Gable, as it is mocking his shorter size, and his opponents often use his height to mock him. However, this also makes him a great underdog.
At 5'8", before Gable turned into Shorty G, he was successful. Gable was a former NXT Tag Team Champion and SmackDown Tag Team Champion with Jason Jordan in American Alpha. He also held the Raw Tag Team Championship with Bobby Roode.
6 Dragon Lee (5'7")
Dragon Lee works in Ring of Honor and is the brother of Mistico and Rush. At 5'7", Dragon Lee won the Wrestling Observer Rookie of the Year in 2014 and has since achieved a ton of success in wrestling. He is the ROH TV Champion, the only championship he has won there so far. However, he is also a former champion in CMLL in Mexico and won the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship in his five years in wrestling.
5 Kalisto (5'6")
Kalisto is the most successful part of the Lucha House Party in WWE, and his success goes above and beyond anything that faction ever accomplished. Before his WWE debut, he worked as Samuray del Sol on the indies and proved himself as a high flyer. In WWE, he has been very successful. Kalisto is a former NXT tag champ with Sin Cara, former Cruiserweight Champion, and also won the U.S. title twice.
4 Marty Scurll (5'9")
Marty Scurll might be one of the most successful names on this list when it comes to working in the professional wrestling industry. He took his role as a popular member of The Elite to becoming one of the head bookers for Ring of Honor. He gained so much power that he chose not to follow his friends to AEW.
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In ROH, Scurll has been a TV Champion and was part of the six-man tag team champions with Villains Inc. He has gotten chances for the NWA World Championship. He went to Japan and won the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship and the NEVER Openweight 6-man titles.
3 Darby Allin (5'8")
Darby Allin is the top name when it comes to the guys under 5'10" in AEW. Even smaller guys like Jungle Boy are 5'10", the same height as Daniel Bryan. However, Allin is 5'8", but he is fearless, which is what has helped make him one of the top stars in the company and a massive fan favorite. He has yet to win a title, but he is a star, and the future is bright for Allin.
2 Angel Garza (5'9")
Angel Garza didn't last long in NXT. WWE brought him up to the main roster after Andrade had to leave for 30 days. What was most impressive was that Garza didn't waste the opportunity and proved he was charismatic and talented, one of the top young talents on Monday Night Raw today. His only title in WWE is the Cruiserweight Championship, but he is a third-generation star who will be a star for a long time.
1 Ricochet (5'9")
The most talented wrestler in the world under 5'10" right now is Ricochet. While WWE has misused him since they called him up from NXT, he has all the talent in the world and can do things that no one else in wrestling can. He was one of Lucha Underground's top stars as Prince Puma. In WWE, he has been a United States Champion and the North American Champion in NXT. He had significant success in Dragon Gate and NJPW. He has proven through the years that size doesn't matter.
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