While Muhammad Ali is a huge inspiration for Grayson Waller’s attitude, there are still two more elements to his character that come from other iconic athletes. The first one is British boxer Naseem Hamed. When asked if Ali was also the inspiration for his ring attire, he went on to discuss Naz and his influence on him.

“The boxing trunks are mainly because I wanna look different, I wanna stand out, and I think the boxing trunks make me stand out,” he said. “But my actual character is based on Prince Naseem. The leopard print and all those things. He was Conor [McGregor] and Chael [Sonnen] before Conor and Chael. I think Prince Naseem was the OG trash talker and flashy fighter. You can even see it in the way I move in the ring. It’s very Prince Naseem.”

Finally, the last piece of the puzzle is Chris Hero. Formerly known as Kassius Ohno in “NXT,” Waller was a fan of “The Knockout Artist” when he was still a spectator. When he became a wrestler, the host of “The Grayson Waller Effect” adapted Hero’s lunges as part of his entrance to pay homage to the Ring of Honor legend.