Calvin Bloom (born June 30, 1994) is an American

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

and former

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

player. He is currently signed to

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

, where he performs on the

NXT NXT may refer to: Professional wrestling * ''WWE NXT'', a professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that began in 2010 ** NXT (WWE brand), WWE's Florida-based brand and former developmental territory * ''NXT UK'', the British spin- ...

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...

under the

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or projecting ...

Von Wagner. A second-generation professional wrestler, Bloom is the son of

Wayne Bloom Wayne Bloom (born March 22, 1958) is an American retired professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the American Wrestling Association (AWA) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW) under his birth name ...

(who wrestled as Beau Beverly for the

World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

(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 Osseo Senior High School is a four-year public high school located in Osseo, Minnesota, United States on 317 2nd Ave. NW. The principal is Sara Vernig. Osseo Senior High School is a part of the Osseo Area School District 279 and is one of three ...

in 2012. Bloom was a three-sport star, playing basketball, baseball and football, earning three letters in each.

Football career

After graduating high school, Bloom played football at the

University of Central Florida The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public research university whose main campus is in unincorporated Orange County, Florida. UCF also has nine smaller regional campuses throughout central Florida. It is part of the State University ...

(UCF). He played as a tight end for the

UCF Knights The UCF Knights are the sport, athletic teams that represent the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida. The Knights participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I (NCAA Division I F ...

from 2012–2016.

Professional wrestling career

Training

Bloom was a second-generation professional wrestler. His father

wrestled during the late 1980s and into the 1990s for major promotions including

World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nation ...

(WCW) and the

(now WWE). Bloom underwent early training from professional wrestling veterans including his father Wayne, Ken Kennedy and

Brad Rheingans Brad Rheingans (born December 13, 1953) is an American former Greco-Roman wrestler and professional wrestler. He was a member of the United States' Greco-Roman wrestling teams for the 1976 and 1980 Summer Olympics, as well as winning two gold med ...

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 Stokely Hathaway (born November 12, 1990) is an American professional wrestling manager and former professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is the manager of The Firm. He was also previously known for his work ...

and Robert Strauss. During that same month, Bloom underwent additional training at the

WWE Performance Center The WWE Performance Center is the official professional wrestling school system of the American professional wrestling promotion WWE. The promotion currently operates two Performance Center locations, which serve as training facilities for WWE wre ...

. He made his in-ring debut on May 3, 2019 at a

house show A house show or live event is a professional wrestling event produced by a major promotion that is not televised, though they can be recorded. Promotions use house shows mainly to cash in on the exposure that they and their wrestlers receive du ...

, teaming with fellow recruit Denzel Dejournette in a tag match lost to Dan Matha and

Riddick Moss Michael Carter Rallis (born October 10, 1989) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and former college football player. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown brand under ...

. The following week during a May 10 house show, Bloom wrestled his second match teaming with

Nick Comoroto Nicholas Comoroto (born April 22, 1991) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Comoroto began his career in 2013 on the independent circuit. In 2019, he signed a development contract with WWE, but was r ...

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 Brennan Marcel Williams (born February 5, 1991) is an American professional wrestler and former American football player. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name ma.çé. Prior to beginning hi ...

and Isaiah Scott in defeating team 3.0 and

Cezar Bononi Cezar Bononi (born June 15, 1986) is a Brazilian professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling. He is also known for his time in WWE NXT from October 2015 to April 2020. Early life Prior to his wrestling career Bononi played Amer ...

. On the September 14, 2021 episode of

, he made his NXT television debut with the new ring name "Von Wagner". He replaced

Kyle O'Reilly Kyle Edward Greenwood (born March 1, 1987) is a Canadian Professional wrestling, professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) where he performs under the ring name Kyle O'Reilly. He is also known for his time in Ring of Hono ...

who was previously attacked by

Pete Dunne Peter Thomas England (born 9 November 1993) is an English professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Butch. He is a former WWE United Kingdom Champion and also a former NXT ...

and

Ridge Holland Luke Menzies (born 29 May 1988) is an English professional wrestler and former professional rugby league footballer. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Ridge Holland. He spent the major ...

in a fatal four way match for the vacant

NXT Championship The NXT Championship is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE. It is defended as the top championship of the NXT brand division, the promotion's developmental territory. In ...

against

LA Knight Shaun Ricker (born November 1, 1982) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name LA Knight. Ricker is known for his time in Impact Wrestling as Eli Drake. Rick ...

, Pete Dunne and

Tommaso Ciampa Tommaso Whitney (born May 8, 1985) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Tommaso Ciampa. Whitney began his career in 2005, working on several independent pro ...

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 Legado Del Fantasma is a professional wrestling stable composed of leader Santos Escobar, Joaquin Wilde, Cruz Del Toro and Zelina Vega currently performing in WWE on the SmackDown brand. The trio was formed in 2020 when El Hijo del Fantasma tur ...

(

Raul Mendoza Raúl Mendoza (born November 25, 1991) is a Mexican professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the name Cruz Del Toro and is a member of Legado Del Fantasma. Professional wrestling career Ear ...

and

Joaquin Wilde Michael Paris (born October 5, 1986) is a American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Smackdown brand, under the ring name Joaquin Wilde. He is a member of Legado Del Fantasma. Paris began his career in 2004, ...

). At

WarGames ''WarGames'' is a 1983 American science fiction techno-thriller film written by Lawrence Lasker and Walter F. Parkes and directed by John Badham. The film, which stars Matthew Broderick, Dabney Coleman, John Wood, and Ally Sheedy, follows Dav ...

, Wagner and O'Reilly challenged

Imperium In ancient Rome, ''imperium'' was a form of authority held by a citizen to control a military or governmental entity. It is distinct from ''auctoritas'' and ''potestas'', different and generally inferior types of power in the Roman Republic an ...

(

Marcel Barthel Marcel Barthel (born 8 July 1990) is a German professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Ludwig Kaiser. He is a member of Imperium. Before coming to WWE, Barthel wrestled primaril ...

and

Fabian Aichner Fabian Aichner (born 21 July 1990) is an Italian professional wrestler signed to WWE where he performs on SmackDown brand under the ring name Giovanni Vinci. He is a member of Imperium. Aichner previously worked on the U.S. independent circuit, ...

) for the

NXT Tag Team Championship The NXT Tag Team Championship is a men's professional wrestling tag team championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is defended on the NXT brand division, the promotion's developmental territory. Introduced on January 23 ...

, but did not succeed in winning the titles. Enraged, Wagner attempted to attack O'Reilly from behind, but failed and got himself attacked instead. This led to a

steel cage match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or " gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

between the two on the December 7 episode of NXT, which Wagner won. Wagner later gained Mr. Stone as a manager. After a feud with

Bron Breakker Bronson Parmar Rechsteiner (born October 24, 1997) is an American professional wrestler and former American football player. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Bron Breakker and is the current NXT ...

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

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wagner, Von 1994 births 21st-century professional wrestlers American football tight ends American male professional wrestlers UCF Knights football players Players of American football from Hennepin County, Minnesota Living people People from Osseo, Minnesota Professional wrestlers from Minnesota University of Central Florida alumni