Grayson Waller Says He Felt His WWE Exit Was Coming
Summary: NXT Champion Grayson Waller said on Insight with Chris Van Vliet that he thought his WWE time was ending before he returned to NXT. Wrestling Inc reported his comments on Nov. 6.
The quick version
- Grayson Waller said on Insight with Chris Van Vliet that after The New Day left WWE, "I could feel it." He felt his own time might be ending.
- He said an injury in a match with Oba Femi kept him out for about a month, which made him feel more exposed.
- He returned to NXT and won the NXT Championship in August. He has defended it against EK Prosper, Tony D'Angelo and CM Punk.
Grayson Waller, the WWE NXT Champion, says he expected WWE to let him go before he returned to NXT. He said so on Insight with Chris Van Vliet. Wrestling Inc reported his comments on Friday, Nov. 6. The date of the interview was not given.
What Waller said
Wrestling Inc says a run of WWE exits earlier this year, by release or expired contract, left Waller feeling the writing was on the wall. Waller recalled: "I could feel it. Especially when The New Day left, I could feel it."
He said that right after Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods parted ways with WWE, he was hurt in a match with Oba Femi and was out for about a month. His words, per Wrestling Inc: "Not a great position to be in, and I'm smart enough to know."
He said he still believed he had value to WWE and would not sit and wait. "That would upset me, if I didn't do something," he said. He added that he will keep trying to prove himself to WWE.
What happened next
Waller returned to NXT and won its top title in August, per Wrestling Inc. He has defended it against EK Prosper, Tony D'Angelo and CM Punk. He kept the title over Punk on the Nov. 4 NXT after Kevin Owens distracted Punk. See our NXT results story.
Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods now wrestle in AEW as Kofi and Austin Creed. See our story on Creed and Bandido.
What we do not know
Waller did not say who told him what, or whether WWE had talked about releasing him. This is his own account of what he believed. We have not heard from WWE and did not hear the interview.
Source: Waller's comments on Insight with Chris Van Vliet, as transcribed by Wrestling Inc. We read Wrestling Inc's transcript and did not hear the interview. We have not contacted Waller or WWE. Nothing in this story is a rumor.
Sources
- Insight with Chris Van Vliet, interview with Grayson Waller, as transcribed by Wrestling Inc, published Nov. 6, 2026. No link, we did not find the episode page.
- Wrestling Inc (Faden Cloete), "WWE NXT's Grayson Waller Recently Expected He'd Be Released", Nov. 6, 2026. https://www.wrestlinginc.com/2309578/wwe-nxt-champion-grayson-waller-expected-released/
- WrestlingNews.com staff reporting: read Wrestling Inc's transcript. We did not hear the interview.
How we credit sources: Editorial standards.