Grayson Waller Mocks CM Punk After Kevin Owens Interferes In Their NXT Match

CM Punk comes close to winning the NXT Championship before Owens interferes.© Image via : Instagram/@graysonwallerwwe

Grayson Waller had every reason to enjoy keeping the NXT Championship, but he went straight back to needling CM Punk. The Australian star posted on X after escaping their November 4 title match with a controversial roll-up, using Punk's own catchphrase as the punchline. Punk looked close to hitting the Go to Sleep when Kevin Owens appeared from the crowd and pulled his attention away. Waller took the opening, grabbed a handful of tights and got the three-count. The title stayed around Waller's waist, and Punk now has Owens waiting on SmackDown.

Best In The World https://t.co/DRO7qsbNYT

— Grayson Waller (@GraysonWWE) November 5, 2026

Kevin Owens' Interference Gives Grayson Waller a Way to Escape CM Punk's Challenge

Punk's return to an NXT ring was a big part of the night. He hadn't competed inside the brand's ring in more than 16 years, and this was his first shot at the NXT Championship.

The match was made after Waller retained against Tony D'Angelo at Halloween Havoc, when a message from Punk showed up and set the challenge for the Wednesday show. Early on, Waller worked over Punk's neck to slow him down.

Punk still found openings. He hit a dive, a top-rope crossbody and a superplex, then set up the Go to Sleep. That's when Owens, who had been barred from the Performance Center earlier that day by Shawn Michaels, came through the crowd.

Punk got distracted, Waller rolled him up while holding the tights, and that was it. The match headlined the November 4 NXT show in Orlando.

Waller took the result to X afterward and posted, “Best In The World.” It's the line Punk uses to describe himself, so the target was obvious. The post was short, but it didn't need more.

Bully Ray Explains Why CM Punk Winning the NXT Championship Could Have Helped Waller

Bully Ray had backed the idea of Punk winning before the match even happened. Speaking on Busted Open After Dark, he said Punk could take a clean loss without it hurting him, while a win over a former world champion would give Waller a major lift.

“I think CM Punk is as teflon as teflon gets. I think CM Punk can do the job right in the middle and it wouldn't hurt him a bit, and it would do wonders for Grayson Waller. It would do wonders for that championship,” Ray said.

“CM Punk defeating Grayson Waller might be an even better choice, because if CM Punk were to have the NXT Championship, think of what that would do for the NXT Championship. Think of the level of credibility. Think about the world talking about CM Punk being the NXT Champion.”

Orlando went another way. Waller is still champion, and Punk's next confirmed match is against Owens on Friday's SmackDown, which has been set as a No Holds Barred match.