10 WWE Wrestlers Poised To Break Out In 2024

1. Von Wagner

Tiffany Stratton
WWE

Shawn Michaels' greatest achievement as NXT booker has been turning Von Wagner into a character an inordinate number of people genuinely care about.

Von Wagner is a large man but Von Wagner is not a particularly charismatic man - so much so that that's the way he'd say that sentence. But the bulk of 2023 was spent carefully making the most of the undeniably unique vibe, and gradually it's taken.

Through his relationship with Robert Stone and exploration of a brain surgery backstory (!), Wagner's become the most sympathetic monster this side of a mourning Big Show, and in the time we've learned about his past we've also seen a glimpse into his future; the big man with a bigger heart that likes a table as much as he does a therapist's personal time.

If this all sounds like too much of a reach, you've just not seen enough NXT yet. Nobody saw him keeping his job as recently as 2022, let alone commanding a big push. The future, somehow, looks incredibly bright.

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Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett