Second Generation Wrestler Works WWE SmackDown Dark Match

Could this second generation talent soon be heading to Raw or SmackDown?

by Andrew Pollard
cal bloom
WWE.com

With WWE having been recently assessing talent prior to Raw and SmackDown ahead of potential main roster call-ups, one person who wrestled a dark match this past Friday, as per Wrestling Inc, was Cal Bloom.

Bloom is the son of former AWA star Wayne Bloom. Alongside Mike Enos, Wayne was one half of the Destruction Crew tag team - or, to WWE fans, Bloom and Enos were better known as Beau and Blake, the Beverly Brothers.

As for Cal, he worked a dark match at Friday's North Little Rock, Arkansas edition of SmackDown. There, he actually picked up a singles win over Austin Theory.

Advertisement

The second generation Bloom signed with WWE in March 2019, and to date he's got two televised matches under his belt; those being short defeats to Sheamus and R-Truth on episodes of SmackDown and Main Event, respectively, last year.

Advertisement

At 6'5", 255 lbs and with a football background, Cal certainly fits the bill for what WWE is looking for in a talent. Given how he had zero pro wrestling experience before signing with WWE, Bloom has clearly made quite the impression in his two years at the WWE Performance Center if the company is already weighing him up for a move to Raw or SmackDown.

In addition to Cal Bloom and Austin Theory working a pre-SmackDown dark contest, those in attendance on Friday also got to see Xia Li and Kacy Catanzaro defeat Dakota Kai and Aliyah. All four women have worked several such dark matches in recent weeks, with all tipped for impending main roster moves.

Advertisement
Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.