Grayson Waller: No One Knew Who Nigel McGuinness Was In NXT Except Me And Andre Chase

Grayson Waller joined WWE in 2021 after making a name for himself in Australia. Waller was part of 205 Live before becoming a regular on NXT TV. 

Nigel McGuinness was the commentator for 205 Live at the time Waller was part of the brand, and Waller credited Nigel for helping him gain confidence. 

“Coming to NXT, I put as much effort in what I do and say as I do the wrestling part. That’s what people don’t understand. They think it comes natural, which it does, I’m not going to say that I don’t have some advantages, but I put a lot of work into this. I watch other people go about this. I watch a lot of videos of people who are confident. One of the best pieces of advice I got was from Nigel McGuinness when he did commentary on 205. I was doing 205, and no one cared who I was. I was a legit no one. Nigel pulled me aside and talked to me about Muhammad Ali. He said, ‘When Ali talks and fights, he knows he’s the best in the world, and it doesn’t matter who it is against. You don’t.’ That piece of advice stuck with me. ‘He’s right.’ There is part of me thinking I need to learn more, I need to improve more, I need to be coached more, all these things, but it was coming out in my performance. The moment Nigel said that, and I had full confidence in myself to perform, everything went to a different level,” Waller said in an interview on The Ringer’s Cheap Heat podcast. 

Waller continued, “NXT, no one knew who Nigel was. There were two people: myself and Andre Chase. Nigel would sit backstage at NXT shows, and no one would go talk to him. Me and Andre Chase would go sit with him and pester him because we know Nigel. We know how good Nigel is. They thought he was a commentator. These dumb shotputters from Arizona State or whatever had no idea. Me and Andre, we basically got a seminar whenever we wanted. It was great having him around. He always had real advice. He wouldn’t mess around, he’s not faking me out, ‘Good job, buddy.’ He’s going to tell me how it is, that’s what I always enjoy.”

McGuinness served as a commentator in WWE from 2016 to 2022, working NXT UK and 205 Live. He was released by the company in October 2022 and would go on to sign with AEW. 

Elsewhere during the interview, Waller commented on The Rock’s return to WWE. You can find his full comments by clicking here. 

If you use any of the quotes above, please credit the original source with a h/t and link back to Fightful for the transcription.