Austin Theory isn't the guy WWE wants to push

One of the angles heading into WWE Money in the Bank is the tag team title match between DIY and Grayson Waller and Austin Theory. The WWE tag team division needs some major changes and a new champion is one way to go. DIY are expected to come out of the show with the titles, but there’s seemingly a split between Waller and Theory on the way. It looks like WWE is once again preparing to make a bet on Theory being a babyface character and that’s a risk that will not turn out well.

Whenever Austin Theory’s name is mentioned, there should be an immediate call back to the video of the man in the supermarket repeating, “You’re not that guy pal” because Theory is in fact, not that guy.

It’s understandable why WWE is looking for any glimmer of hope that they can hitch a wagon to him for the future. He’s 26 years old and has shown flashes of strong in-ring performance. His catalog includes some strong performances against the likes of Zack Sabre Jr back in 2018, Roderick Strong in 2019, AJ Styles in 2022, and Seth Rollins in 2023. Theory is not bad in the ring. Plus, he has a great look that WWE can market for external partnerships. But that’s perhaps where all the praise ends.

As a character, Theory is exceptionally bland. In a world with characters like Carmelo Hayes, LA Knight, Jacob Fatu, Santos Escobar, and several others – there’s no reason Theory should be elevated over any of them. Theory’s best work is when he’s paired with other strong characters. For example, look back to when he was a part of The Way in WWE NXT. That was some of his strongest character work and it was mostly because the rest of the group were hilarious, allowing him to feed off those developments. That’s not a bad thing, but Theory as a singles performer doesn’t hold the same type of interest.

Then there’s the out-of-the-ring accusations that Theory was named with during Speaking Out. Dave Meltzer reported on the situation and that those allegations kept him on television for a while four years ago. WWE is facing serious allegations as a company and should tread lightly when dealing with any performers who were involved in something similar. The company acted quickly against Drew Gulak to get him off television and out of the company when Ronda Rousey’s accusations came out earlier this year. Pushing Theory into the limelight runs the risk of these allegations coming back up, forcing further action against him or the backlash of not taking any. Either way, that must be considered before making a move with him.

WWE is in a continued need to build stars for the future. There are several young performers on the roster, ready to break through. Is Austin Theory one of them? Probably not. John Cena pointed it out years ago and if WWE is ready to break him away from Grayson Waller for another attempt, they better be ready for the rude awakening to come.