Is WALTER WWE’s Next Big Thing?

The UK Champ received quite the reception at Survivor Series.

Walter with UK title
source: WWE

The current WWE United Kingdom Champion made his presence felt on the main roster as part of the NXT invasion. WALTER entered the men’s traditional Survivor Series match and received quite the reception from the Chicago crowd, which came as a surprise to the big Austrian bruiser, who seemed like he was breaking character for a moment to acknowledge the astonishing support.

WALTER had of course been making waves on the main roster prior to Survivor Series by defeating some of their biggest names when RAW and SmackDown Live broadcast from Manchester. He racked up a victory over Seth Rollins as part of a huge six-man match, which gave the impression that the UK Champion might be quite the difference maker come Survivor Series.

WALTER proved to the WWE Universe that he was something special. Even though WALTER has been putting on MOTY candidates throughout 2019, there’s still a significant portion of the fanbase that are yet to jump on the bandwagon. The vocal majority seemed to have won over the rest of the pay-per-view crowd, as it seemed like everyone in the All State arena wanted to see WALTER chop down all comers.

Unfortunately for ‘The Ring General’, he was the first man eliminated from the 5-on-5 match. At first, this was met with a resonating negative response. The fans were definitely unhappy getting to see less than 10 minutes of WALTER, especially when this could have been a star-making match for him.

WALTER could have easily scored one big elimination to help solidify his name on the main roster. Instead, he took an easy fall to Drew McIntyre. This is by no means a burial; Drew is a very capable superstar that could hold a candle to the UK champ, but when you’re receiving a response like that, WWE should really learn to ride the wave of momentum. Arguably, this has left the WWE fans wanting to see more of WALTER on the main roster, and with the recently announced Worlds Collide network special featuring the United Kingdom champion squaring off with the biggest stars of the US branch of NXT, we can only imagine new fans will flock in numbers to check out what WALTER is going to do next.

Of course, we all know just how much Vinnie Mac loves a big hoss, and WALTER is certainly a character to fit that mold on the main roster. Vince could easily start putting some storylines together for WALTER and his Imperium running buddies. Hopefully he won’t end up being a generic foreign intruder, similar to a Rusev or Jinder Mahal, but instead someone that can be seen as a legitimately terrifying presence in the ring. WALTER has already proven that he can hang with superstars of all sizes, why not let him run wild with some of the main roster’s most able stars and put on some incredible matches on the main stage?

Just thinking of the matches WALTER could have with the likes of Roman Reigns, Ricochet or AJ Styles could easily get the WWE universe re-invested with weekly programming leading up to a big event. I’m sure many fans wouldn’t say no to a huge hoss-off between him and Brock Lesnar or Braun Strowman. Either way, there’s more than enough chance for WALTER to become the next big thing on the main roster, should they play their cards right.

WALTER has already established himself with the smarter crowd, not only from his work in NXT UK but also through the indies as well. His incredible matches with Keith Lee, Zack Sabre. Jr and Shingo Takagi helped put him on the map for the US audience, who quickly learned why he was considered one of the hardest hitters on the European scene. That reputation helped build the foundation for his immense popularity at Survivor Series, a popularity that should hopefully see him through NXT UK and to his eventual official debut on the main roster.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GQbGDcH_5A

This of course begs the question of whether WALTER will follow Pete Dunne and move on from NXT UK. WALTER has made it clear that he doesn’t want to work the heavy schedule of NXT and WWE, but with this newfound sentimentality garnered from the American audience, perhaps this will persuade ‘The Ring General’ to make the jump. Former UK Champion Dunne has found himself achieving all sorts of incredible feats since coming to NXT, most recently competing in his first main roster championship match at Survivor Series against Adam Cole. NXT UK stars have been treated very well overseas, and I imagine that same treatment will be given to WALTER and Imperium too.

WALTER’s time as UK Champion is far from over and he should carry that title until at least WrestleMania weekend. With another TakeOver event on the horizon and Joe Coffey being lined up as the next challenger, I highly doubt we’ll see him drop it in Blackpool, especially after his recent Survivor Series success. But maybe there’s bigger things on the horizon for WALTER, opportunities for him to branch out and forge his legacy as part of the wider NXT roster.

I hope that this brief introduction to WALTER has won over the minds of the more casual audience. Even though they witnessed a very small glimpse at his diverse abilities, there’s no doubt that he left Survivor Series as one of the most talked about superstars from NXT. This isn’t something that Triple H or Vince McMahon should let fade away, ride this momentum and make him into one of the most dominating big men of the modern era. Is he the new next big thing? We’ll find out soon enough.

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