WWE SmackDown star Grayson Waller was recently interviewed on “Out of Character with Ryan Satin.” Waller was asked if there’s any difference between his character and his real self:
“I think if you ask anyone that knows me, they would say that there’s almost no difference. I don’t particularly think that I play anything. I think this is really just me, but obviously when the red light comes on it’s a little bit amped up, but I don’t think there’s much difference at all.”
On being confident on the microphone:
“I think it is very strange to have this type of banter where you’re always going back and forth with your mates. My mates say the most horrendous things that exist to me to my face, and behind my back, they’ll say nice things. So it’s always been a thing growing up where I’ve been very quick-witted just because you need to be quick-witted in Australia to survive and it’s something I’ve carried over. But also, I put as much effort into my talking as I do the wrestling side of it. I think a lot of people get focused on the ring and the moves and things like that where I’m just as focused on the entertainment side and talking and being creative and that type of thing. I think that is what’s gonna help you stand apart. For me personally, I had a broken leg on SmackDown and I was on TV every week. There’s not many people who can say they had a severe injury and were on TV more than when they were ready to go.”
On NXT switching to 2.0:
“For me, I got very lucky with 2.0 coming up because the way NXT ran in the past, you weren’t going to see Grayson Waller on TV for years just because that’s how the system was working at the time. I was on 205 LIVE doing things on that, which was fun. I was getting to have matches every week which is always great to have reps. But when 2.0 kind of came in and there was a shift from strictly in-ring work to more entertainment and character work, that was perfect for me. I was like, ‘Give me a shot.'”
“I still remember I wrestled Roderick Strong for the Cruiserweight Championship very early on. I came backstage and Shawn was there, who obviously I have a little history with me now, and I said to Shawn to his face, like, ‘Give me the ball. If you give me the ball, I will run with it and I’ll give you exactly what you need’, which is a very ballsy thing for someone to say to Shawn Michaels, you know what I mean? I was kind of in the moment after Roderick Strong slapped me for 20 minutes, but he gave me the ball and I think we all saw what I did with it.”
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit Out of Character with Ryan Satin with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
