In late-2021, Austin Theory, later just Theory, became the on-screen protege of Vince McMahon, in a series of rare TV appearances by WWE’s then-Chairman.
Theory’s alignment with McMahon would prove to be greatly beneficial for the young Superstar, who would be placed in the WWE Championship picture in February, and have a large role at WrestleMania 38.
Theory was also a last-minute entry into the Men’s Money in the Bank Ladder match, which he would win, and it was alluded to on commentary that this was McMahon’s choice.
WWE Without McMahon
Theory appeared on-screen with Mr. McMahon for months, but the ex-Chairman won’t be seen anywhere in WWE anymore.
Last month, McMahon confirmed his retirement from WWE due to the ongoing investigation into alleged misconduct with female employees.
During an interview with Denise Salcedo of Instinct Culture, Theory addressed the new era of WWE which has seen Stephanie McMahon and Nick Khan take over as Co-CEOs (via Inside the Ropes.)
“Change can always scare people because it’s different and there’s not that comfort level of what you’re used to, but with change, and with somebody like Stephanie, Nick Khan, Triple H, and Bruce Prichard, there is so much creativity there that we haven’t seen. It’s time to have something fresher and newer. It’s a bunch of different minds now and I feel there is no better group of people to takeover.”
“It’s time to have something fresher and newer.”
Theory on the post-Vince McMahon era of WWE.
Lessons Learned
When asked, Theory said that the best lesson learned by McMahon was actually something said on an episode of Raw.
“The best thing I learned from Mr. McMahon, as funny as it was that we said it on TV, the mindset that he had and expect the unexpected. When he said that, it was like, ‘Wow, this is pretty much how it works.’ When we talk about my career, expect the unexpected. I wouldn’t have expected all of that to happen. With Mr. McMahon retiring, I think we all felt like we would never have seen that day.”
Since McMahon’s retirement, Theory has failed in his quest to regain the United States Championship and did not succeed in his cash-in attempt at Summerslam 2022.
