Grayson Waller

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Grayson Waller
Birth nameMatthew Farrelly
Born (1990-03-21) 21 March 1990 (age 32)
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Grayson Waller
Matty Wahlberg
Billed height6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Billed weight224 lb (102 kg)
Trained byRobbie Eagles
Madison Eagles
DebutApril 15, 2017

Matthew Farrelly (born 21 March 1990) is an Australian professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Grayson Waller. Before signing to WWE, he previously wrestled on the independent circuit under the ring name Matty Wahlberg.

Professional wrestling career[]

Independent circuit (2017–2021)[]

On 15 April 2017, at a Newcastle Pro Wrestling event, Farrelly made his debut under the ring name Matty Wahlberg, losing to SnapChad.[1] Wahlberg would form a tag team with Carter Deams, known as The BABES (Blonde And Blue Eyed Squad), managed by Harley Wonderland. Wahlberg then returned to singles competition and he would receive a PWA Heavyweight Championship match against Caveman Ugg, but lost to Ugg at the PWA Black Label: Wahlberg Vs. Ugg event in March 2019.[2] At the PWA Black Label: Break Their Back & Make Them Rumble event, Wahlberg lost to TJ Perkins. At the PWA Black Label: Colosseum event, Wahlberg won the 2019 Colosseum tournament by defeating Chris Basso in the first round, Orange Cassidy in the semi-finals, and Travis Banks in the final.[3] After the PWA Black Label: It Started Out With A Kiss event went off the air, Wahlberg addressed the live crowd, informing them that he was leaving PWA.[4][5]

WWE (2021–present)[]

On 14 March 2021, it was reported that Farrelly had signed with WWE.[6] On 11 June episode of 205 Live, he made his WWE debut under the ring name Grayson Waller, defeating Sunil Singh.[7] On 28 September episode NXT, Waller unsuccessfully challenged Roderick Strong for the NXT Cruiserweight Championship. On 9 November episode of NXT, he lost to Solo Sikoa in a triple threat match which also included LA Knight.[8]

On 23 November episode of NXT, Waller berated the fans, thus turning heel.[9] At NXT WarGames, he teamed up with Bron Breakker, Carmelo Hayes, and Tony D'Angelo as Team 2.0, where they defeated Team Black & Gold (Johnny Gargano, LA Knight, Pete Dunne, and Tommaso Ciampa) in a WarGames match.[10] On the following episode of NXT, Waller brutally attacked Johnny Gargano during his farewell promo where he thanked his fans and friends, thus cementing his heel turn.[11] On 21 December episode of NXT, he attacked Dexter Lumis after the latter's match and announces that he will dismantle the old NXT one by one, and he then confronted AJ Styles in whom he had criticized on social networks a few days before.[12][13] At NXT: New Years Evil, Styles once again confronted Waller, resulting into a brawl between the pair. The following week on the 11 January episode of NXT 2.0, Waller lost to Styles. After the match, he was attacked by the returned LA Knight.

On the 2 February episode of NXT 2.0, Waller alongside his new "insurance policy" Sanga interfered in Knight's match against Joe Gacy, causing Knight to lose the match.

On the 8 March NXT Roadblock (2022) special he defeated Knight in a Last Man Standing match needing help from Sanga to beat the 10-Count and get back to his feet.

Other media[]

In 2019, Farrelly appeared on Australian Survivor: Champions vs. Contenders 2. He competed on the Contenders team, and garnered attention for his outspoken personality, essentially playing a version of his Matty Wahlberg wrestling character on reality TV. He would be eliminated from the competition after several weeks on the island.[14]

Farrelly also made a cameo appearance on Young Rock in 2021, playing the role of Ric Flair.[15]

Championships and accomplishments[]

  • Future Wrestling Australia
    • FWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[16]
  • Newcastle Pro Wrestling
    • Newy Pro Middleweight Championship (1 time)[16]
  • Pro Wrestling Australia
    • 2019 PWA Colosseum Winner[3]
  • Wrestling GO
    • Wrestling GO Silver Medal Championship (1 time)[16]

References[]

  1. ^ "Newy Pro House Show #5". Cagematch. Retrieved 28 December 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. ^ "Grayson Waller Cagematch Profile". Cagematch. Retrieved 26 December 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. ^ a b "WrestleWatch- PWA Colosseum 2019 (Night 2)". The Arena Media. Retrieved 26 December 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. ^ "Grayson Waller Instagram (video)". Grayson Waller Instagram.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. ^ "Report: Australian Wrestlers Matty Wahlberg And Steph De Lander Sign With WWE". Heel By Nature.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. ^ Nason, Josh (2021-03-14). "WWE signs two Australian talents to developmental contracts". Wrestling Observer. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
  7. ^ Middleton, Mark (2021-06-12). "International Star Wins WWE Debut On 205 Live". Wrestling Inc. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
  8. ^ "WWE NXT results: Nov. 9, 2021". wwe.com. 2021-11-09. Retrieved 2021-12-23.
  9. ^ Moore, John (November 23, 2021). "11/23 NXT 2.0 results: Moore's review of Carmelo Hayes vs. Johnny Gargano vs. Pete Dunne for the NXT North American Title, Tommaso Ciampa vs. Grayson Waller in a non-title match, Mandy Rose vs. Cora Jade in a non-title match, Kayden Carter and Kacy Catanzaro vs. Indi Hartwell and Persia Pirotta". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
  10. ^ Kyln, Parker (December 5, 2021). "WWE NXT WarGames live results: old school vs. new school". F4WOnline.com. Retrieved December 6, 2021.
  11. ^ "WWE NXT Dec. 7, 2021 results". wwe.com. 2021-12-07. Retrieved 2021-12-23.
  12. ^ "AJ Styles Debuts On NXT 2.0, Confronts Grayson Waller". thesportster.com. 2021-12-22. Retrieved 2021-12-23.
  13. ^ "WWE NXT VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS: AJ STYLES CONFRONTS GRAYSON WALLER". f4wonline.com. 2021-12-22. Retrieved 2021-12-23.
  14. ^ "Australia's Grayson Waller looking to go from reality TV to championship gold as part of new-look WWE NXT". The Sporting News. Retrieved 26 December 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  15. ^ "Matty Farrelly- IMDb". IMDb. 26 December 2021. Retrieved 26 December 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  16. ^ a b c "CAGEMATCH » Wrestlers Database »Grayson Waller» Titles". cagematch.net. Cagematch. Retrieved November 23, 2021.

External links[]

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