Featured Image Credit: @WWE/Twitter.
Topics: Australia, WWE, WWE Smackdown, NXT
Jayden Collins
Australian superstar Grayson Waller has received the call-up to the WWE main roster and will join SmackDown following the WWE draft.
It signals the second Aussie wrestler to be called up from WWE’s developmental brand NXT, after NXT Women’s Champion Indi Hartwell was drafted to Raw.
The 2023 WWE Draft wrapped up on Monday Night Raw on Tuesday (AEST).
SmackDown women’s champion and Australia’s own Rhea Ripley was selected in the first round.
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However, Waller had to wait until after the broadcast to learn he’d be joining the SmackDown roster.
But despite the announcement coming after the WWE’s flagship show, there’s no doubt the Sydney star left more than an impression.
Interviewer McKenzie Mitchell handed Waller the microphone and the Aussie did what he does best - and that’s talk with a chip on his shoulder.
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He said: “You know, I’d love to come on here and say I can’t believe it.
“I would love to tell you that I’ve thought about this moment since I was a little kid, and I never thought I’d be here. But the truth is, I’m not surprised. I was born to do this.”
There was no doubt that his fellow NXT roster were happy to see him get the call-up, but in typical fashion he reminded everyone that the moment was about him.
“What I am surprised by is the fact that it took this long for RAW or SmackDown to draft me. You’ve got these people cheering me behind me, like they’re my friends. You think you got me here? I got me here.
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“And I’m a very dangerous man and the only man more dangerous than that is Grayson Waller with a chip on his shoulder and right now, I’ve got the biggest chip that exists, but we’ve got to celebrate, right? And as an Australian, there’s only one way to celebrate properly, cheers.”
The 33-year-old at that point whipped out a shoe and celebrated in the most Australian of fashions.
He poured a drink into the sneaker and downed the ‘shoey’ to a hilarious reaction from the onlooking wrestlers.
There’s disgust on Mitchell’s face, while others have mouths wide open, others with hands covering their face in shock.
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It’s what Waller does best, leaving an impression.