When Grayson Waller stepped up on John Cena at Money in the Bank in London, England, spared on the mic for the better part of 12 minutes, and living to tell the tale, it effectively made the “Aussie Icon” a “made man” within the WWE Universe.

After watching his friend and future A-Town Down Under tag team partner Austin Theory flounder in an incredible way on the mic versus the leader of CeNation in the lead-up to WrestleMania 39, a clear inflection point in the former United States Champion's career, Waller stepped up to bat, embraced the moment, and shined in his role, going on to wrestle Edge and become a fixture of SmackDown due in no small part to the strength of his performance.

Discussing his MitB coming out party on After The Bell with Corey Graves and Kevin Patrick, Waller noted how “surreal” it was to step in the ring with Cena, especially since he isn't a fan of “The Face That Runs the Place.”

“I think the word I'd use is surreal. Obviously, being a wrestling fan growing up, John Cena is, many people say, the greatest of all time, so being across from him is wild, especially in the O2. That arena was sold out. You guys know how wild those English fans are. That's a different vibe,” Grayson Waller said via Fightful. “For me personally, these are the places that I expect myself to be. When I got called up, this is where I wanted to be. When I got in there with John, I didn't look at it like a huge opportunity for me, I get to be across from — I'm not a fan. I don't want his autographs, I don't want his merch. My way to learn from John isn't by sitting backstage with him and kissing his a**. My way to learn from John is being across from him and going against him, so when I got in there with him, I looked at him as every other opponent I'm in there with. I didn't look at him as a hero or anything like that because I think that's when you operate at a different level, and you're not your best.”

Is Waller really not a fan of Cena? Debateable. Will Waller let Cena know he isn't a fan of Cena when they meet this Friday on the biggest episode of The Grayson Waller Effect yet? Oh, you'd best believe it, as if Waller learned anything from great talkers of the past, a camp Cena certainly falls into, it's that winning the mental game can get you to the pay window before the bell even rings.

Grayson Waller opens up about life on the road in WWE.

Elsewhere on After The Bell, Grayson Waller was asked about what it's like to become a full-time touring member of the SmackDown roster after spending the last chapter of his career in NXT.

Though Waller isn't a fan of every city he wrestles in – he actually seems to like very few of them – the process of traveling the world is still a new, fun experience for the “Aussie Icon.”

“The travel definitely is. I've been doing it a few months, I can't complain too much when someone like Rey Mysterio has been traveling all over the world for years,” Grayson Waller said via Fightful. “But with NXT, you finish a show and you're in your own bed five minutes later. That was a dream. Now, I'm in Canada, trying to get through customs there. I go to Alabama, then Pittsburgh. I'm in all these different places, and it's a long time away from home, but I'm kind of loving it to be honest. This is my first time experiencing a lot of these places. Some of them are terrible, some of them are okay, but the travel is rough at times.”

Asked about his least favorite city he's worked in thus far, Waller hardly hesitated, shooting off an answer that will certainly upset more than a few fans.

“New York is hands down the worst place I've ever been in my life,” Waller noted. “I can't believe that's a famous place. It's gross, you walk around, it smells. It's a rough place to be, I just didn't enjoy any of it. But then recently I went to Philly, which has a bad reputation, it was great. I loved it. I think it was because I was there in summer, they get like three days of sun a year so they take advantage of it. The next time I go, it's probably gonna be horrible.”

Whoa, Philadelphia over New York? To some, those are fighting words. Then again, with WrestleMania 40 already booked for the City of Brotherly Love, maybe Waller is just trying to get a good word in with the fans in Philly in the hopes of securing a choice match at the Linc.