Grayson Waller Reveals The Inspirations Behind His WWE Character
When a wrestler is creating their character, they draw inspiration from all over the place. They may get inspired by the performers they grew up watching and loving, they could add elements of superheroes into their presentation, or look to athletes from other sports to inspire them.
But for someone as brash and braggadocious as Grayson Waller, it's surprising to hear him give credit for his success to anyone other than himself. While appearing on "The MMA Hour," the Australian sensation revealed the secret formula that adds up to his character.
The "WWE Smackdown" superstar, who made his WWE debut in Madison Square Garden against WWE Hall of Famer Edge, shared that the legendary Fit Finlay played a big part in his presentation. The Irish brawler told the up-and-comer to model himself after one of the greatest of all time, referencing an iconic picture of Muhammad Ali standing tall.
"Earlier in the year, [Finlay] pulled me aside and gave me a serious talk that was looking like maybe I'm going to the main roster," he said. "He goes, 'You need to go in there with these people and act like you're Muhammad Ali. You need to believe in yourself.' And he gave me this photo. Obviously, I've seen it. He was like, 'You need to stand there above them and show that you're better than them.' So as soon as he told me that, I took that to heart. I went and bought it and put it up in my house so every day I think about the fact that I need to act like Muhammad Ali. When I go in there, I need to feel like I'm the best, not just say it."
Extra Ingredients
While Muhammad Ali is a huge inspiration for Grayson Waller's attitude, there are still two more elements to his character that come from other iconic athletes. The first one is British boxer Naseem Hamed. When asked if Ali was also the inspiration for his ring attire, he went on to discuss Naz and his influence on him.
"The boxing trunks are mainly because I wanna look different, I wanna stand out, and I think the boxing trunks make me stand out," he said. "But my actual character is based on Prince Naseem. The leopard print and all those things. He was Conor [McGregor] and Chael [Sonnen] before Conor and Chael. I think Prince Naseem was the OG trash talker and flashy fighter. You can even see it in the way I move in the ring. It's very Prince Naseem."
Finally, the last piece of the puzzle is Chris Hero. Formerly known as Kassius Ohno in "NXT," Waller was a fan of "The Knockout Artist" when he was still a spectator. When he became a wrestler, the host of "The Grayson Waller Effect" adapted Hero's lunges as part of his entrance to pay homage to the Ring of Honor legend.