In VM Era of the WWE Universe, also known as the Vince McMahon Era, there was no catchier name than Theory.
The prized alumnus of Mr. McMahon, who rose to fame as a butt-kissing heel trick that was destined to drive fans wild, and ultimately succeeded, Theory became the youngest WWE Superstar to win the United States Championship and then, after losing the belt in Money in the bankbecame the youngest WWE Superstar to win the Men’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match and secure the highly coveted MitB Briefcase.
Sure, he had to lose his first name and was the butt of more than a few jokes as the weeks went by. Need I say more than the pose? Theory took the boos in stride and played on his heel persona as an even more sycophantic man. AEW version of MJF, you know, if such a thing is possible. Theory was occasionally booked as a crybaby but never a geek and was an effective heel, even if more than a few fans wouldn’t have minded a bit if he left the promotion for greener pastures forever.
And yet, when Vinnie Mac retired from The Fed and left the creative duties to his son-in-law, Paul “Triple H” Levesque, the favor Theory struck with his former boss also accompanied him; WWE’s main roster was uncharted waters for “A-Town” pride once again, and unfortunately, it doesn’t look like things have broken in his favor.
LET’S GO LASHLEY!!!@fightbobby #summer festival pic.twitter.com/NhyAypO6Mr
— WWE (@WWE) July 31, 2022
Where is WWE Theory going? summer festival?
As far as anyone on the internet can tell, Theory remains the proud holder of the WWE Men’s Money in the Bank contract.
Although he ran to the ring, said he wanted to cash in the briefcase, and at least tried to use the green-painted foreign object as a weapon, the referee didn’t take it from Theory, he didn’t run. back, and he didn’t have an announcer declare that the rules of the match had changed. When, for example, Liv Morgan claimed her briefcase in Money in the bankshe handed him over, the referee left the ring, and a new match between the two performers was announced.
Sure, there have been times where a third actor was inserted in the same match – Michael Cole and Corey Graves explicitly pointed out Dean Ambrose doing the job a few years ago – but it’s far more common to see an artist run out once than the match is over. made to take advantage of a worn enemy. To his credit, Theory hinted over and over again that he was going to do exactly that, taking out the last man standing in the, um, last man standing match after his enemy heard the count of 10, but instead , Austin ran into the ring with a goofy look on his face and almost handed over the briefcase, before being defeated by Brock Lesnar and effectively eliminated from the match like Paul Heyman before him.
A LOT FOR THAT CASH!!!!#cowboybrock #BrockVsRoman #summer festival pic.twitter.com/IZOTFkYljk
— WWE (@WWE) July 31, 2022
Embarrassing? You gamble; after losing a not-too-competitive match to Bobby Lashley for the United States Championship early on the card, the prospects of Theory redeeming himself lurked in the minds of more than a few fans, for good and bad reasons, but in In the end, Theory was played more as a joke than a serious contender, which was never the way Mr. McMahon booked it less than two weeks ago.
Has the era of theory ended? Will Otis get-ed and lose the briefcase to another artist like, say, Dolph Ziggler? Or will he continue to feel embarrassed in the lead up to clash at the castle, survival seriesor, God forbid, the royal rumble and continue to terrify fans around the world that maybe he is the man to finally dethrone Roman Reigns. My God, could you imagine a world where Theory continues to sulk trying to secure the WWE Undisputed Universal Championship only to fail every time?
That doesn’t sound like much fun if you ask me.
So what’s next for Austin Theory? Is Triple H getting the post-Triple H call-out treatment for being Mr. McMahon’s in-universe understudy and “son”? Or does he just not fit into the company’s new plans because he’s not done with the fans? Either way, it might be wise for Theory to take advantage of his briefcase for someone like Bron Breakker or even Carmelo Hayes to move on, as his best landing place may be to return to NXT to remove some of the residual Mr. McMahon from his character.
