When Walter arrives on the WWE main roster, will it be ready for him?

For 16 years, Walter has been walking into wrestling rings and utterly destroying everyone in front of him.

That includes NXT UK where Walter is now the longest-reigning NXT United Kingdom Champion of all time. While that record could be considered pandemic assisted, that makes it a no less impressive feat.

At this point, a move to NXT in Florida seems all but certain as well as an inevitable leap to the main roster. But when that happens, the main roster may not be ready for what this old school monstrosity brings to the ring he sees as sacred.

A legend debuts

The Austrian-born Walter debuted as a wrestler in 2005 at roughly the age of 18. He would go on to work with companies like wXw, Progress, Evolve, and PWG. Once the man got rolling, he was a borderline unstoppable force in the industry.

He has held multiple titles in wXw as well as championships in PWG, Progress, and other companies. While much of his work has been in Europe, Walter has achieved legendary status among wrestling fans around the world.

That legend continued to grow after he made his debut with NXT UK in January 2019. When the lights went out and his music hit, people lost their minds. The Ring General strode down the ramp with a sense of ownership that few have.

He would go on to challenge Pete Dunne for the NXT United Kingdom Championship, which he won at NXT TakeOver: New York on April 5, 2019. Walter remains the champion today, having held the belt for 694 days and counting.

Walter makes his presence felt

Watching the man wrestle is like watching a Mack Truck drive through a field of plastic pink flamingos. Walter kills, and he leaves nothing but destruction and victory in his wake wherever he goes in the wrestling world.

At one point, Walter’s faction Imperium faced off against the now-defunct Undisputed Era at Worlds Collide. Even being a man down didn’t stop Imperium from picking up a victory over one of the greatest factions of all time.

The build-up to this match featured Walter confronting Adam Cole in the ring. Cole did what he could against Walter but you’d have more success holding back an angry Grizzly Bear. He almost turned Cole inside out with a single chop to the chest.

His reign as the champion in NXT UK has been filled with amazing matches. His successful defense against Ilya Dragunov was considered by some to be the best match of 2020, though that wasn’t his only amazing bout for NXT UK by far.

Walter will arrive

Thanks to the pandemic, Walter has been away from NXT UK for some time though a return seems imminent based on the promos currently running. But it’s also safe to assume that this champion will follow the paths of Pete Dunne, Toni Storm, and Rhea Ripley soon enough.

All three wrestlers were former champions in NXT UK, and have since moved to NXT full time. Ripley would go on to win the NXT Women’s Championship, and is now headed to Raw. It’s inevitable that Dunne and Storm will follow a similar path at some point.

Walter can’t hold the NXT United Kingdom Championship forever. Someone in NXT UK will eventually step up and take the title from him. When that happens, he will also find himself as a member of the NXT roster in Florida. How that plays out is less certain.

A big, old-school wrestler, Walter sometimes seems like a time traveler from a bygone era of the business. That’s meant as a compliment. While he is popular, the WWE has already demonstrated that they may not know what they have on their hands with him.

Walter on the main roster

The Ring General was a member of the NXT team for Survivor Series 2019. He entered to a huge pop as fans were genuinely excited to see him. Then, Walter was eliminated almost immediately, a move that garnered a huge number of boos from the audience in attendance.

Another popular power player named Keith Lee hasn’t had the best main roster run so far. There have even been rumors that Vince McMahon doesn’t see Lee as a main roster star. Given their handling of him, no one would be shocked to find out that was true.

But Lee also got off to a slow start in NXT, then became the first person to hold the NXT Championship and the North American Championship at the same time. His talent and charisma will shine through, as will Walter’s.

It seems inevitable at this point that Walter will bring his dominance to NXT and then the main roster, holding a lot of gold along the way. Fans may even get the ultimate moment, a WrestleMania match between Keith Lee and Walter. Epic will not do that match justice.