Grayson Waller is on the cusp of fully cementing his legacy in NXT and becoming one of the top prospects, if not the top prospect, period, in the WWE developmental system; all he has to do is beat Bron Breakker, the second-generation Steiner and two-time NXT World Champion, to win the belt at the first named show of the 2023 WWE calendar year, New Year's Evil, and he'll be on his way to a featured spot on Tuesday nights, with nothing more than a rematch attempt from the current belt holder to worry about sullying his ever-expanding legacy.

A tough task? You bet; with just five televised losses on his resume, Breakker is one of the toughest opponents to pin in the entire WWE Universe, but if anyone can do it, it's the first-ever Iron Survivor, who used his whits, his foot speed, and his in-ring efforts to earn this title shot in the first place.

Fortunately, the gravity of this moment isn't long on Waller, as the Australian native actually hit up some of his old PWA buddies back home to help him prepare for the biggest match of his career, as he detailed to Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.

“This is the biggest show, start off the year, NXT Championship. This is the biggest match in my career. But I knew this was coming. I knew me and Bron were heading on a collision course a year ago,” said Waller via Fightful. “So since then, I've watched every Bron Breakker match; It doesn't matter if it's on TV, whether it was at a live event at some of the coconut shows that we do, whether it's here at the PC, maybe he's doing some training, my eyes have been on him. So I've been studying that guy for a while. He's not smart enough to have done the same thing for me. So I know exactly what Bron's bringing to the table. He's a machine, he should not move that fast for how big he is. So I was smart enough to know that, and I know what I'm going to do. I went home recently for about ten days, I went home, and I trained with some of my guys from PWA, my company that I work with back home because I needed people who know me and know me best and get away from the distractions because this is the biggest match of my career.”

If Waller is firing on all cylinders, there are few members of the NXT roster who can beat him on his best day. Is Breakker one of them? Yes, probably so, but then again, a wrestling match isn't just won with brawn but with brains too. By Waller's estimation, he wins in that category every time.

Grayson Waller believes that brains, not brawn, will win the NXT World Title.

Discussing the differences between himself and his New Year's Evil foe, Waller doubled down on his assertion of mental superiority, which he believes will prove the ultimate difference-maker in the match.

“I'm being honest right now. I'm going into this — I'm always honest; that's the thing. I'm not stronger than him,” Waller admitted. “I remember the first day I walked in the PC, I went to the gym, and that dude was like, [doing some] ungodly amount of benchpresses like it was nothing. Usually, I'm faster than people, he's faster than me. He has this amateur wrestling background. So he's a better wrestler than me, too. I'm going to get my ass kicked next week, hands down. He's going to beat me up. But I'm smart enough and my cardio is good enough that when it gets to that 10-minute mark, when he's gassed, and he's trying to bark, but he can't get the breath out. That's when I'm going to take advantage because I'm a veteran. People don't realize that I've been doing this for a while, and I'm very, very smart at what I do. I always find a way to win. Deadline, I found a way to win, and it always happens. Bron is not smart enough to find a way to beat me.”

Is Breakker too dumb to beat Waller? Will all of his efforts to master the Steiner school of professional wrestling maneuvers – plus a heavy dose of Goldberg-isms – prove ill-equipped to best a performer like Waller, who has watched all the same Steiner matches as his opponents and knows what bested the brothers in the past? At New Year's Evil, fans will find out.