NXT’s Von Wagner appears on WWE SmackDown

Tonight’s SmackDown featured a brief appearance by a wrestler from NXT 2.0.

NXT’s Von Wagner appeared on tonight’s show during a backstage segment with Adam Pearce and Sami Zayn. Wagner wasn’t identified by name during the segment.

Wagner was in Pearce’s office when Zayn went in looking for Pearce. Zayn, who was calling himself the captain of SmackDown’s Survivor Series men’s team, wanted Jeff Hardy removed from the team for disrespecting him earlier in the show. Pearce instead made a match between Zayn and Hardy, with the loser being removed from the team.

Zayn lost his spot on Team SmackDown when he was defeated by Hardy. WWE hasn’t announced who will be replacing Zayn. The men’s traditional Survivor Series five-on-five elimination match will be Raw’s Seth Rollins, Finn Balor, Kevin Owens, Rey Mysterio & Bobby Lashley vs. SmackDown’s Drew McIntyre, Xavier Woods, Hardy, Baron Corbin, and a partner.

Wagner (real name Cal Bloom) signed with WWE in March 2019. He made his debut on the premiere episode of NXT 2.0 this September. Since then, he’s been teaming with Kyle O’Reilly.

Wagner played football at the University of Central Florida before signing with WWE. He’s the son of Wayne Bloom (former pro wrestler Beau Beverly).