Roman Reigns' compliment prompted Grayson Waller to change ring gear and persona
NXT Champion Grayson Waller says a private word from Roman Reigns after the Royal Rumble helped convince him to swap his boxing-style shorts for tights and adopt a more serious look during his NXT return.
Grayson Waller says a brief interaction with Roman Reigns helped push him to overhaul his look and attitude after returning to NXT in July.
Speaking on the Insight Podcast, Waller explained that fans and peers sometimes treated him like a joke because of the boxing-style shorts he wore — a look many misread as basketball shorts. After deciding to change, he said he first wore tights in a match at the Royal Rumble, a six-man tag where he teamed with The New Day against Motor City Machine Guns and Shinsuke Nakamura. Waller told the podcast that Reigns pulled him aside and told him the tights made him "look like a champion," advice Waller took seriously.
Waller said the change extended beyond ring gear. On his NXT return he dropped earlier elements such as leopard shirts and other throwback pieces, calling that style "an old me" and saying he is presenting a more serious version of himself now. Waller framed the shift as a practical response: if something isn’t working, you have to stop repeating it.
The NXT Champion’s comments also revisited his main-roster run. Waller was first promoted in 2023, where he built a profile with his Grayson Waller Effect segment. After being drafted to Raw in 2025, he worked in tag team angles with Theory and later with The New Day. Waller said he grew frustrated by inconsistent creative on the main roster — being asked to be taken seriously but often placed in comedic spots — and that his initial run left him feeling he hadn’t been allowed to show his full potential.
Waller’s remarks were reported by F4WOnline and reflect his current approach to presentation and character following his NXT return.
