wrestling / News
Grayson Waller Reveals How Roman Reigns’ Compliment Motivated Him to Change His Look
Image Credit: WWE, Netflix
Grayson Waller recently addressed his decision to revamp his appearance and how Roman Reigns’ compliment motivated him to go all in.
Waller ditched his basketball shorts for more traditional wrestling tights in January 2026, when he teamed with The New Day to take on The Motor City Machine Guns and Shinsuke Nakamura at the Royal Rumble pre-show.
On INSIGHT with Chris Van Vliet, the Australian revealed that Roman Reigns pulled him aside at the event and complimented his new attire, stating that the new look made him look like a champion. Waller also admitted that he now understands why people previously perceived him as a “joke” and further revealed how he revamped his look before he returned to NXT in late July. Here’s what he said:
“I look back, and I kind of understand why people would have perceived me as a joke. For me, the boxing shorts were always I was a huge boxing fan. A lot of people think it was basketball shorts, but I thought it was a different look. It made me look unique, but I think it also didn’t make me look like a serious contender for the championship. So that was something where I was like, ‘I need to change things up. I can’t just keep giving them the same thing.’ So the first thing was I put the tights on, and actually the Rumble was the first time I kind of wore them in a match, and Roman came up and pulled me aside and said, ‘Hey, that’s the look. You look like a champion now.’ Hey, if Roman says that, all right, lad, whatever you need, I’m gonna keep the pants.
“But even coming back to NXT, I was like, I can’t walk out with the leopard shirts and all that. That vibe didn’t work. That’s an old me. So now, I am more serious. This is me. I feel comfortable now. So I think I had to change things because if you keep throwing the same thing at the wall and it’s not working, then what are you doing?”
Listen to his comments below:
Elsewhere in the interview, Grayson Waller admitted he feared getting released from WWE prior to his NXT return. Check his comments HERE.
