WWE Star “Frustrated” By Their Draft Placement

Despite what many would consider taking a step up, one WWE star wasn’t happy with how the WWE Draft went for them.

As part of the WWE Draft which took place at the end of April and beginning of May, plenty of NXT stars earned their callup to either Raw or SmackDown. However, despite getting selected by the blue brand, Grayson Waller wasn’t happy with how it went down.

In a discussion with FOX Sports, Grayson Waller discussed how he wasn’t happy that his pick came so late, however could draw comparisons between that and what happened to legendary NFL quarterback Tom Brady.

I’m not gonna lie, it was tough. You know, I sat there on the Friday night for you know, four or five hours or however long it was. I saw name after name and Grayson Waller’s name wasn’t picked. Not everyone was there. Not everyone was there. I got asked to be there. So I expected to be drafted. When I wasn’t, I was frustrated. And I had to sit that whole weekend and think about how low I felt.

Then I turn up that Monday and the same thing happens. I watched the entire episode of Raw and I’m hearing these names picked – and there’s some really talented people in NXT who got drafted, but I’m Grayson Waller. I’m the number one person here. My name should be drafted on television. So I was frustrated, and I really thought that I was gonna sit there for two nights and not get picked – and I thought about Tom Brady, and I thought about that, if you watch the documentary, The Brady Six about the six quarterbacks that got picked before Tom – and I know every single person drafted before me. I know every NXT person that was drafted before me.

Continuing on, Grayson Waller talked about how being the final pick put a massive chip on his shoulder.

When my name was called last, I wasn’t elated. I wasn’t happy. I wasn’t crying like everyone else. They’re all just happy to get drafted. That’s their goal achieved, they’re done now. This is just the beginning. I took umbrage with the fact that I was picked last. I took umbrage to the fact that it wasn’t on television. I don’t think that’s the wrong thing, I think for me, that’s when I operate at my best – and I think when you saw when I talked afterwards, that was who I am, I was being real, I hold myself to a different standard.

I’m not like everyone else in NXT who’s just happy to be in the Performance Center, or happy to be on Raw now. I see myself as one of the best and I operate best with a chip on my shoulder, so I put a whole bag of chips on my shoulder that night.

Grayson Waller concluded that he thinks being the final WWE Draft pick will end up being a memorable moment when you look back at what he’s achieved in a few years time.

I feel SmackDown got the number one pick with the last pick. This is going to go down five years from now – when you think about draft moments, there’s so many cool draft moments. I think Grayson Waller getting picked last will be a moment because I’ll be at this stage, and everyone’ll look back and go wow, how did he get picked so late?

Grayson Waller saw out his time in NXT with a memorable match at Stand And Deliver 2023, when he faced Johnny Gargano in an Unsanctioned Match.