Ranking All 24 WWE Debuts & Returns In 2023

9. Grayson Waller

CM Punk Trish Stratus
WWE.com

One would think a wrestler who has lost more than half their matches since being called up to the main roster and regularly showing ass on SmackDown would be deemed a disappointment, but then that would ignore Grayson Waller’s entire purpose.

Waller has been referred to as the next generation’s version of Miz, an Australian upgrade from the Awesome One, albeit a better wrestler with a more entertaining shtick. Since being drafted to the blue brand this spring, Waller has been a regular fixture on SmackDown, and the Grayson Waller Effect has been a reliable segment that has garnered time during PLEs as well as television.

More recently, Grayson has teamed with another young project pegged for big things, Austin Theory (though this pairing has exposed the former United States Champion’s shortcomings alongside Waller).

Although the won-loss record doesn’t seem to indicate it, it’s pretty clear that WWE is betting on Waller to be a perfect midcard heel for them, and he remains well-positioned to fill that role. Call this a solid debut for Grayson, with good things on the horizon.

Contributor
Contributor

Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.