10 Wild Outside Bets To Win The 2022 WWE Royal Rumble
8. Von Wagner
If you were to write a book about this modern chapter of WWE, you'd only need a single illustrated page on which the image of Von Wagner is printed.
His very being is an encapsulation of the promotion's new/old, untenable directive.
No longer are capital G, capital W Great Wrestlers who wear kick pads required. Years of training and learning the dark arts of getting over with the audience are simply years wasted not learning the WWE playbook, which at this point is a two bullet point document:
1) Gain a one-dimensional attribute.
2) Stare at one's hands when an opponent kicks out of one's signature move, which never puts anybody away.
What's happening to Von Wagner is a bit cruel. The guy is not remotely comfortable on camera, since he's green as goose sh*t, and his nervousness manifests in thoroughly bizarre shouting promos. He has become a meme, with his...distinct way of speaking, and his general lack of presence is such that he looks vacant more often than not. Like somebody has forgotten to start him up.
To be nicer than that, the guy is fairly explosive and while raw can actually go. But he distills the petulant desperation of post-NXT WWE because he's set for the big push, despite being frightened of the stage, simply because he's really, really tall.
That's it.
Just tall.
Probability: 40%