WrestleMania 40 was an unforgettable night for Grayson Waller. It was his first ever WrestleMania and saw him and his partner from A-Town Down Under, Austin Theory, become the new SmackDown Tag Team Champions after a chaotic ladder match on the first night. However, Waller almost missed the show altogether.
On UpUpDownDown, Theory shared how he saved Waller’s life in a restaurant by performing the Heimlich maneuver:
“My tag team partner was sitting to the right of me, and I just kind of look over at this guy, and he’s (choking). Then I’m just like, alright, I don’t know what’s going on. Then I just see it keep happening. So then I’m like, oh, he’s choking.
So I get behind him in the middle of the restaurant, and I’m trying my best, the Heimlich? I’m trying my best, I’m in the wrong area for sure. But I’m giving it everything I got. With these arms, when you’re Austin Theory, it’s pretty easy. How many pumps, was it two? Then he was like, ‘Stop.’ But it came out. He was choking.”
Waller then recounted the incident from his perspective:
“He legit saved my life the day before WrestleMania. I was eating steak, and I’m like, ‘Uh oh, I have some water.’ As I had the water, the water didn’t even go down. I went (choking sound), like gurgled. I look at Indi Hartwell like, ‘Hey, I’m choking.’ She’s just sitting there smiling at me. Thank god this brother realized what’s going on.
Because in my head, I’m going, ‘Dude, I’m going to die the day before I debut at WrestleMania. This is the worst time to die. It’s gonna be so embarrassing.’
But then my tag partner came through, saved my life. That’s why we were so motivated to win the tag titles.”
After winning the SmackDown Tag Team Titles, Triple H introduced new titles and crowned A-Town Down Under the new WWE Tag Team Champions.
Theory & Waller eventually lost the Titles to #DIY (Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa) on the July 5, 2024 episode of SmackDown.
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