WWE NXT Star Compares Himself To Former WWE Champion

This NXT mainstay is more than happy to be compared to this WrestleMania main-eventer.

by Andrew Pollard
Grayson Waller The Miz
WWE

If you're one of those wrestling fans who have compared Grayson Waller to the Miz, not only does the Australian hear you, but he takes that as a massive compliment.

During a recent appearance on WWE After the Bell (via Wrestling Inc.), Waller addressed these comparisons and is more than happy that people see a little bit of the A-Lister in him him.

"How is being compared to the Miz a bad thing? He main-evented WrestleMania, he's on Raw every single week, and he steals the show. He's always doing something. He's doing media appearances. Everybody knows who the Miz is. And he has a reality show. Why would I take offence to someone saying I'm the Miz? If I'm the Miz, hell yeah, that's awesome for me, that means my career is going really well, lad."

Reiterating his own stance as a thorough villain, Grayson added:

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"I think people know that Miz is a good guy, too. He's doing all these media appearances, he's obviously who he is, but he's a good guy, too. I'm not. I don't care if anyone likes me, I don't want anyone to like me. I didn't leave me family and friends back home to make friends. I came here to be a superstar, and I'm going to do whatever it takes and say whatever it takes. I think that differentiates me. I'm at least real, at least honest. I am who I am. In the ring, no one can touch me."

While many fans have long seen similarities between Grayson Waller and the Miz, such similarities were also recently brought up on NXT TV, with Apollo Crews labelling Waller a "low-rate Miz" during their rivalry.

With Crews now in the rear-view mirror of the 21st Century Success Story, Waller's attention is firmly on NXT Champion Bron Breakker. After winning the inaugural men's Iron Survivor Challenge at NXT Deadline earlier this month, the 32-year-old finds himself as the #1 contender for Breakker's title.

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Having made his in-ring debut in 2017, Grayson Waller landed in WWE in early 2021. Soon positioned as a featured talent on NXT 2.0, the Arrogant Aussie has remained a key part of NXT programming, butting heads with the likes of LA Knight, AJ Styles, Wes Lee, and Apollo Crews along the way.

Whether Waller is the person to defeat Bron Breakker for the NXT Title remains to be seen, with many fans speculating that the Grayson Waller Effect could find itself on the main roster sooner rather than later.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.