Ex-WWE PC coach names Grayson Waller and four other stars of the future (Exclusive)
Former Performance Center coach Ace Steel believes Grayson Waller will succeed in WWE thanks to his willingness to learn.
Steel trained several rising WWE stars at the Performance Center facility in Orlando, Florida, between 2019 and 2022. In 2023, Waller moved to the SmackDown brand after two years in the NXT developmental system.
In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda Wrestling's Kevin Kellam, Steel praised Waller's attitude:
"He was a guy that listened to everything if I gave him something to [improve], because that's my job now, to be an armchair quarterback, Monday morning, like, 'Ah, we should have done this.' I produced him in his early days to help him craft his matches." [6:49 – 7:04]
Steel, who now works as a TNA backstage producer, was also impressed with RAW stars Brutus and Julius Creed:
"The Creed Brothers, they're working on it, they're getting there. Those guys are sponges. They're athletes just beyond that you can imagine." [7:06 – 7:16]
Steel added that he enjoyed working with Odyssey Jones and The Creed Brothers' on-screen ally Ivy Nile during his WWE run:
"Ivy Nile was with them. I worked with her quite a bit in her early days, too, working on matches with her. There's a guy named Odyssey Jones you haven't seen yet. Man, I worked with a lot of these people. He's one of the guys I put the boots on in the PC to say, 'Hey, I'm gonna work with you a little bit to see what you got, where you're at right now,' because you don't get better unless you work with someone that's better than you, and that's in any field that we are." [7:28 – 7:50]
Watch the video above to hear Steel's thoughts on several topics, including the time the word "wrestling" was banned in NXT.
Ace Steel also trained two WWE veterans
In April, Ace Steel is set to launch a new wrestling school in Orlando, Florida, named The Foundation of Pro Wrestling.
The current TNA backstage producer also spoke about the praise he received from WWE personality and live event director Adam Pearce. The RAW General Manager trained under Steel during his in-ring days.
"I would never fully take credit for Adam Pearce, but his endorsement of me is exactly this, 'Ace doesn't take credit for all the things he taught me. He never will. All the things I've learned from him,' That's part of his endorsement that's on my website." said Steel [5:40 – 5:58]
Steel is also known for his close friendship with CM Punk. Like Pearce, Punk learned a lot from the 51-year-old earlier in his career.
"Punk, that's obviously a perfect one," Steel continued. "And this was not prepped, I didn't even tell him the name of the school, he talked about the foundational skills that I gave him in his endorsement of me." [5:59 – 6:12]
In the same interview, Steel admitted he was "blown away" by a recent WWE moment involving The Rock.
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You can learn more about Ace Steel's new wrestling school via The Foundation of Pro Wrestling.
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