Grayson Waller’s WWE career may have never been a reality had it not been for the success of the women from his native Australia. Speaking this week to Insight, Waller explained how, as a fan, there was very little representation of Australian talent to inspire a future in the ring.
“Nathan Jones fell over at WrestleMania! That’s who I wanted to be.”
Jones’ sole year on WWE’s main roster saw him win no titles and often play second-fiddle to talent like The Undertaker, Brock Lesnar, and A-Train. Waller later explained that it wasn’t until The IIconics gave a seminar post-joining WWE that he started to realize that he could make it.
“It didn’t seem like a possibility. But then, when I saw Peyton [Royce] and Billie [Kay] get on NXT, they’re from the same school as me. Then I was like ‘Oh wow.’ Then they come back to do a seminar, I think ‘It’s possible.'”
The IIconics may have shown Waller that a future in WWE was possible, but it was the work of Rhea Ripley who showed Grayson that his dreams could come true.
“Rhea’s the one who really cemented it. I’d met her just before she left [Australia.] And then she was doing such big things. I think she showed the rest of Australia ‘Hey, this is possible.’ And that opened the door. And then you’ve got Bronson [Reed.] You’ve got Indi [Hartwell.]”
Nowadays, Waller has cemented himself among WWE’s crop of Australian talent, which recently welcomed Zaria to WWE NXT. With the success of Elimination Chamber: Perth this past February, WWE clearly has a huge following ‘down under’ and don’t count out future Superstars coming from the country.