The main event of the December 15 edition of WWE Monday Night Raw featured yet another match between Logan Paul and Rey Mysterio. But that isn’t the main story coming out of the match. The masked man came out to support The Vision, but he didn’t stop there. He’d reveal himself to be none other than Austin Theory, bringing a close to a storyline that has infiltrated the main event since WWE Survivor Series: WarGames.
The big reveal has come and gone. The story shifts over to the “now, what?” Austin Theory is coming back to WWE programming after being off television for months. WWE has tried to get Theory over for years and it never quite found a way to reach success. His is a big shot for him as he’s now slotted into the top story on WWE Raw with some of the biggest names on the roster.
Where does Austin Theory go from here?
There are so many questions to ask and answer now that WWE has revealed Austin Theory to be the man in the mask. Will fans be interested? Is Theory going to get a solid push? What happens if the fans give him a tepid response? Even when he unmasked, there wasn’t a loud reaction from the fans in attendance. Online, the response was even more dry - mostly because it was long reported that Theory was set to be the man in the mask even as some online hoped it would be someone like Montez Ford or Carmelo Hayes.
The easy vision (pun intended) is that Austin Theory and Bronson Reed find themselves in the tag team division. While AJ Styles and Dragon Lee are an entertaining team, do not expect them to come out on top when that match happens. Plus, losing those titles can free up Styles for something more. But the image of Theory and Reed holding the titles while Bron Breakker wins the WWE World Heavyweight Championship is the easy solution to see on the horizon.
WWE has long wanted to make Austin Theory a big name for the company. He looks the part. He’s a good worker when given the opportunity to show his in-ring abilities. But many will point to the baggage he brings and the failed attempts in the past. Either way, the masked man is no more and the next phase of this main event angle unfolds.