Grayson Waller credits Rhea Ripley and several others for his WWE rise
WWE officials have ramped up expansion into Australia. The rosters have several top superstars from Down Under, such as Rhea Ripley on RAW, Grayson Waller on SmackDown, and newcomer Zaria on NXT. Waller recently opened up on why he gives massive credit to Ripley and a few other familiar faces.
The 21st Century Success Story joined World Wrestling Entertainment in March 2021 after less than four years in the business. Waller had only worked in indies in Australia, which is a similar path to WWE that others took, such as The Eradicator and The IIconics. When Waller signed, Ripley had been with the company for a few years, while Peyton Royce and Billie Kay were released about one month after he joined NXT.
Waller made his pro wrestling debut at age 27 and noted in a new interview with Chris Van Vliet that the lack of Aussie wrestlers on TV contributed to his career starting so late. The former WWE Tag Team Champion never thought an actual career was possible until seeing fellow wrestlers from Down Under, such as Ripley, Royce, and Kay, succeed in the promotion.
“I didn’t really watch any Australian independent wrestling. I didn’t know it existed. I just saw WWE. Then I got into Ring of Honor, CZW, Chikara, like real random American indie wrestling. I rarely saw Australians. There would be maybe one or two here or there. It didn’t seem like a possibility. But then when I saw Peyton [Royce] and Billie [Kay] get on NXT – They are from the same school as me – Then I was like, ‘Oh, wow.’ And they came back and did a little seminar, and I’m like, ‘It’s possible.’ I think Rhea’s the one who really cemented it,” Grayson Waller said. [H/T to F4Wonline]
Grayson Waller continued and repeated his previous threat of an Aussie takeover in WWE.
“I met [Ripley] just before she left, 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. Then you get Bronson [Reed], you got Indi [Hartwell] there already, you had TMDK doing really good stuff before they left. There’s so many people, and now I think the Australians are seeing, ‘Hey, this is possible. Hey, there’s people there.’ And now we’re going to properly takeover,” Grayson Waller said.
Waller also praised Tenille Dashwood, aka Emma, for opening the WWE door for more Australian talents with her first run in the company. He noted that Dashwood doesn’t get enough credit, but he never met her in real life while in Australia, so he does not have the same connection he has with some of the others.
Grayson Waller failed to regain WWE Tag Team Championship
A-Town Down Under became the new WWE Tag Team Champions at WrestleMania XL and held the gold for 90 days. Grayson Waller and Austin Theory were dethroned by DIY on July 5 at SmackDown.
The Bloodline later took the gold from DIY, and The Motor City Machine Guns dethroned them shortly after debuting. The Guns then made their first successful title defense last Friday on SmackDown. The 11-minute match saw Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley retain over Theory and Waller in a first-time-ever bout.
A-Town Down Under has come up short in four championship opportunities since losing the titles in July. They also failed to win the NXT Tag Team Championship last month.
Source: Sportskeeda
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