WWE star reveals truth behind wild Sunrise showdown with host Natalie Barr that left her terrified

Australian WWE star Grayson Waller has broken his silence following a shocking interview he did on Sunrise earlier this year in which he accused co-host Natalie Barr of ‘disrespecting’ his profession.

The professional wrestler, 34, told Canadian podcaster Chris Van Vliet that he lashed out on camera after he felt the Sunrise team was making fun of his work.

‘I hate it when people don’t respect what we do and treat it like a joke. Their sound guy said he would ‘take a hit from me,’ and I thought, ‘You don’t realize what we’re doing,'” Grayson said.

In January, Grayson was welcomed onto Channel Seven’s breakfast show alongside US rival LA Knight, but things took a turn for the worse when the pair started talking to each other.

Co-host Barr looked visibly uncomfortable as Grayson’s verbal insults became heated, telling the wrestlers, “I’m getting a little scared here – I’m glad I’m on this side of the bench.”

Grayson told Chris that he decided he would have some “fun” by scaring the Sunrise team after feeling offended by them.

“I thought, I’m going to have some fun with this, and they were terrified. We must protect what we do. If someone is that disrespectful to your face, I’m not going to sit there and take it.

‘I wanted them to show a little more respect for what I did. They don’t know what wrestling is, they’re not fans. I came to Australia to do the show, I did it for them, they didn’t do it for me.’

During the shocking Sunrise interview, Natalie asked Waller and Knight to perform their ‘signature’ WWE moves on each other.

After they declined, she suggested they demonstrate with the help of a Sunrise floor manager instead.

The male employee then confidently strode onto the set and prepared to confront Waller, who seemed annoyed that the man wasn’t taking it seriously.

“I don’t think you understand, because if I go there, we’ll have the police here, because I’m not going to give you a false punch,” Waller ranted at the man as he stood up from his seat.

“I’m going to punch you right in the jaw. The disrespect you give me when you act like this isn’t real. Don’t act tough. You have no respect for us. Are you kidding?’ he continued.

Natalie was visibly shaken by the outburst and nervously told Waller, “I have no disrespect for you.”

Meanwhile, co-host Matt Shirvington tried to diffuse the situation, doing his best as a referee before escorting the floor manager to the set.

Waller then sat down and assured Natalie that he and Knight “loved the Sunrise host” as they immediately walked around.