Grayson Waller: Shawn Michaels, AJ Styles, And CM Punk Are Shaping The Future Of The Industry

Grayson Waller has become the top star in NXT since returning to the brand in July, winning the NXT Championship and calling out anyone he feels isn’t pulling their weight.

NXT has changed over the years with Shawn Michaels leading creative, AJ Styles taking on a bigger role as a coach and producer, and CM Punk making frequent visits to check in.

Speaking to Chris Van Vliet on Insight, Waller commented on the influence of all three men.

“AJ is a big one, especially since he’s been coming down to NXT recently and producing and working in the ring with guys, and he’s really, really fun to work with because I’m an AJ Styles fan. But he lets you go and lets you do you, and just makes everything better. He doesn’t force you to do things. ‘Hey, you need to do this.’ He’s just like, ‘What do you want to do?’ All right, ‘What if we do that?’ You’re like, oh, that’s the best idea. So I wish I got to get in the ring more with him. I only had a few chances, but even him now coming down NXT and helping out. When I finished the match with EK Prosper the other week, I came back through the curtain and the three guys standing at the curtain were Shawn, AJ, CM Punk. That’s three generations of guys who know how much they care about the business and how much they want to give back by the way they were when EK came through. This is a young kid who just in 24 hours’ notice got put in the biggest match of his life, and he got beat. But seeing the look on their face when he came back through tells me everything I need to know about the future of the industry because those three guys are shaping it,” he said.

Michaels is reportedly set to step into Bruce Prichard’s role as WWE Executive Director when Prichard retires after WrestleMania 43.

Fans can learn more about that situation here.