WALTER’s WWE signing: one year later, in retrospect

We are just over a year removed now from when WALTER first signed his WWE contract. How has his run with the company fared so far? Has he lived up to expectations?

Nov. 26, 2018 was the date that lit independent wrestling fans in the United Kingdom on fire. Not literally, thankfully (only you can prevent wrestling related wildfires), but the UK wrestling scene was abuzz that day with excitement after PWInsider reported (then, Dave Meltzer confirmed) that their beloved WALTER had signed a contract with the WWE.

Then, just over a month later at NXT UK’s first ever TakeOver event in Blackpool, England, the founder of Ringkampf made took his first thunderous steps into a WWE ring. It feels like an understatement to say that WALTER has more than lived up to expectations.

Think about everything he’s done since making his first onscreen appearance in WWE. His first TakeOver match for NXT in New Orleans saw him win the United Kingdom Championship, unseating Pete Dunne’s record setting 685-day reign in the process. As the leader of Imperium, WALTER has made his presence felt in both NXT and NXT UK in memorable matches against the likes of Seth Rollins, Trent Seven, Travis Banks and, of course, a Match of the Year candidate vs. Tyler Bate.

In the nearly 12 months that WALTER has competed for WWE, WALTER was undefeated until being pinned by Drew McIntyre at Survivor Series. Love or hate the decision for that streak to end in an elimination tag team match, there’s no shame in losing to a former World Champion like Drew McIntyre, the man who Vince McMahon himself pegged as “The Chosen One” over a decade ago.

Clearly, WWE felt like they needed a worthy adversary to justify WALTER suffering a loss. Which, in turn, means WWE hope to continue putting a lot of stock in WALTER and have big plans for him. They view him as a genuine main event caliber athlete who can hang with the big dogs and even share a ring with guys like McIntyre, Randy Orton and Roman Reigns. Not bad for an Austrian who’s been with WWE for only a year.

WALTER entered WWE with a wealth of expectations and had a stellar 2019. Judging from his momentum with his UK Championship reign currently clocking at a whopping 236 days and counting, his 2020 is bound to be even bigger.