Grayson Waller is running NXT right now and he knows exactly who deserves credit for the environment that made it possible.
Since returning to NXT in July, Waller has been on a different level — winning the NXT Championship and openly calling out anyone he thinks is coasting. This is the kind of reign that actually means something for the brand, because a vocal, confident champion who holds people accountable makes NXT must-watch television again.
In a recent interview, Waller pointed to three names as the people shaping where professional wrestling is headed: Shawn Michaels, AJ Styles, and CM Punk.
Michaels has been the architect of NXT’s creative direction for years now. The brand has shifted significantly under his leadership, moving away from the old black-and-gold indie showcase format into something that functions more like a traditional developmental territory while still producing main roster-ready talent. Waller coming back and immediately winning the title is a direct product of that system working the way it’s supposed to.
AJ Styles has stepped into a coaching and producer role, and his influence on the younger roster is something that doesn’t always get talked about enough. Styles spent decades mastering his craft all over the world before landing in WWE, and that kind of experience being passed down directly to developmental talent is genuinely valuable. Having someone like AJ in the building giving feedback is a different education than watching tape.
Then there’s CM Punk, who returned to WWE and immediately brought a credibility and intensity that raised the stakes across the entire company. Punk’s presence reminds the whole locker room what it looks like when someone treats professional wrestling like it’s the most important thing in the world. That attitude filters down.
Waller recognizing all three of them publicly is a smart move, but it also reads as genuine. He’s been one of the sharpest talkers in WWE for a while now, and this isn’t the kind of name-dropping that feels hollow. He’s been directly working in the environment those three are helping to build.
The NXT Championship picture right now is more interesting than it’s been in some time. Waller as champion gives the brand a clear, loud personality at the top of the card, and with Michaels guiding the creative and veterans like Styles involved behind the scenes, there’s actual infrastructure around him to make the reign mean something beyond just the title matches.
Waller has always had the mouth and the presence. Now he has the platform. And with CM Punk, AJ Styles, and Shawn Michaels all pouring into WWE’s talent pipeline in different ways, the argument that this is one of the better times to be paying attention to NXT is hard to dismiss.
Keep watching Waller. He’s not done making noise.
