Von Wagner
Birth nameCalvin Bloom
Born (1994-06-30) June 30, 1994[1]
Osseo, Minnesota, U.S.
Alma materUniversity of Central Florida[2]
Parent(s)Wayne Bloom (father)
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)
  • Cal Bloom
  • Von Wagner[3]
Billed height6 ft 5 in (196 cm)[3]
Billed weight255 lb (116 kg)[3]
Billed fromOsseo, Minnesota, U.S.[3]
Trained byWayne Bloom
Ken Kennedy
Brad Rheingans
WWE Performance Center[4]
DebutMay 3, 2019

Calvin Bloom (born June 30, 1994) is an American professional wrestler and former college football player. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Von Wagner. A second-generation professional wrestler, Bloom is the son of Wayne Bloom (who wrestled as Beau Beverly for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in the early 1990s).

Early life

Cal Bloom was born to parents Wayne and Yvonne Bloom in 1994, in Osseo, Minnesota. He graduated from Osseo High School in 2012. Bloom was a three-sport star, playing basketball, baseball and football, earning three letters in each.[5]

Football career

After graduating high school, Bloom played football at the University of Central Florida (UCF). He played as a tight end for the UCF Knights from 2012 to 2016.[2]

Professional wrestling career

Training

Bloom was a second-generation professional wrestler. His father Wayne Bloom wrestled during the late 1980s and into the 1990s for major promotions including World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and the World Wrestling Federation (now WWE). Bloom underwent early training from professional wrestling veterans including his father Wayne, Ken Kennedy and Brad Rheingans.

WWE (2019–present)

In March 2019, it was announced Bloom was one of three recruits recently signed with the WWE. The others included Stokely Hathaway and Robert Strauss. During that same month, Bloom underwent additional training at the WWE Performance Center. He made his in-ring debut on May 3, 2019, at a house show, teaming with fellow recruit Denzel Dejournette in a tag match lost to Dan Matha and Riddick Moss. The following week during a May 10 house show, Bloom wrestled his second match teaming with Nick Comoroto in a loss against team 3.0. The following month, Bloom wrestled his third match during a June 15 house show teaming with Brennan Williams and Isaiah Scott in defeating team 3.0 and Cezar Bononi.

On the September 14, 2021 episode of NXT, he made his NXT television debut with the new ring name "Von Wagner". He replaced Kyle O'Reilly who was previously attacked by Pete Dunne and Ridge Holland in a fatal four way match for the vacant NXT Championship against LA Knight, Pete Dunne and Tommaso Ciampa in which he lost. On the November 30 episode of NXT, Wagner teamed with Kyle O'Reilly winning a number one contender match after defeating Legado Del Fantasma (Raul Mendoza and Joaquin Wilde). At WarGames, Wagner and O'Reilly challenged Imperium (Marcel Barthel and Fabian Aichner) for the NXT Tag Team Championship, but did not succeed in winning the titles. Enraged, Wagner attempted to attack O'Reilly from behind, but failed and got himself attacked instead, turning heel in the process. This led to a steel cage match between the two on the December 7 episode of NXT, which Wagner won. Wagner later gained Mr. Stone as a manager. After opening up about his childhood struggles to Mr. Stone and a feud with Bron Breakker in August 2023, Wagner and Stone both turned face, shortly after Breakker himself turned heel. On the September 5, 2023 episode of NXT, Breakker (kayfabe) injured Wagner with an attack on the steel steps.

Personal life

Bloom is the son of former professional wrestler Wayne Bloom.[6]

References

  1. ↑ "Von Wagner - Pro Wrestlers Database - The SmackDown Hotel". TheSmackDownHotel.com. Retrieved August 9, 2023.
  2. 1 2 "Cal Bloom - Football 2016 - UCF Athletics". University of Central Florida Athletics. Retrieved August 9, 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Von Wagner". WWE.com. WWE. Retrieved August 9, 2023.
  4. ↑ "Von Wagner « Wrestlers Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". Cagematch.com. Retrieved August 9, 2023.
  5. ↑ "Osseo - 2011-2012 Regular Season - Roster - #21". mnbasketballhub.com. MN Boys' Basketball Hub. Retrieved August 9, 2023.
  6. ↑ "Stokely Hathaway, Cal Bloom and Robert Strauss join the WWE Performance Center". WWE.com. WWE. Retrieved August 9, 2023.
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