WWE: Austin Theory made quite the impression on Randy Orton

Austin Theory seems to have at least one WWE legend in his corner.

Former EVOLVE and NXT superstar Austin Theory has been given a ton of chances of succeed in WWE, and he’s currently part of Seth Rollins’ heel main event stable on Monday Night Raw. Theory was pinpointed by Paul Heyman as a breakout star to build the show around, and while Heyman is no longer the head of Raw’s creative, Theory may not be among those who suffers.

There were reports that Cedric Alexander and Ricochet were denied pushes from Heyman by Vince McMahon, who is notorious for undervaluing Black wrestlers and not booking them to their level of talent. So wrestlers like Apollo Crews, Montez Ford, and Angelo Dawkins, whom Heyman was pushing, may fall on the card more than someone like Theory.

But secondly, Theory, despite criticisms from fans for his complete lack of a character on-screen, has made an impression on at least on influential co-worker on Monday nights.

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On an appearance with Corey Graves on After The Bell, future WWE Hall of Famer Randy Orton spoke about how Theory had the foresight to ask Orton for his permission to use a finisher with a cutter.

Now, Theory’s finisher, which includes a fireman’s carry to set up the cutter, is definitely different from The Viper’s. But Orton is a WWE legend and, especially now, the two are on the same show. So it made sense for Theory to ask Orton out of respect.

Without even thinking, Orton immediately said that, yes, of course Theory could use that move as his finisher in WWE.

It would have been awful for Orton to give any other response, but the point is that Theory showed a great deal of respect for doing that.

There’s another conversation to be had about the way respect is reified in WWE, where performers have to go out of their way to “pay their dues” or can be buried if they do something an influential wrestler or executive views as “stealing”.

And there’s even another conversation about racism and the hazing Lio Rush said he had to suffer in WWE as an up-and-coming performer.

So the story isn’t all rosy, but it serves to show that Austin Theory is doing everything he can to carve out opportunities for himself in WWE. Based on his position on Raw, it seems to be paying off. He’s getting plenty of help and has privileges other performers don’t, but his humility and foresight will carry him far, even as he’s dealt with a steep learning curve on the main roster after a (too) early call-up.