John Cena and Austin Theory
Austin Theory is one of the most promising youngsters in WWE. He is only 24 and has already rubbed shoulders with the likes of Brock Lesnar, Finn Balor, and Jeff Hardy to name a few.
In a recent interview with talkSPORT, Austin Theory threw light on his relationship with Vince McMahon, his experience of working with Brock Lesnar and Seth Rollins, and also the influence that John Cena had on his career.
Theory said that when he was told on an episode of RAW that he will have a segment with Mr. McMahon, he didn’t take it seriously.
“I showed up to RAW and I found out I was working with Mr. McMahon that day. And I was like ‘OK, is this a thing, do we just prank people? Like, yeah OK, I’m working with Vince McMahon [sarcastically].’
“And then sure enough, there’s his office, some cameras and there I am sitting there and the next thing I know, I’m getting slapped by Vince McMahon! Off we go to WrestleMania.
“It’s been a wild ride and I’ve definitely learned some good things from Mr. McMahon. Just constantly having that aggressive respect, that’s something I pick up from him.
“It’s really cool when I think of the whole experience. And everyone knows whenever you think of the Mt. Rushmore of sports entertainment, Vince McMahon is definitely right there in the middle.”
Theory revealed how working storylines and segments with the CEO of WWE takes a lot of pressure off him. He said he tries to soak in whatever he can while working alongside Vince.
“It’s definitely great for me because Mr. McMahon wants that relationship with anybody that he uses on his show. I think it is intimidating sometimes to know he has this whole company and show to run, he’s in his office and he’s busy and going to him with ideas.”
“But, it takes a lot of pressure off when you do segments with him and you can joke around with him. If you have a serious idea, he’s already right there. It’s one of those things, like anything, you just got to go and get it.
“I make sure I take full opportunity of that. I want everything I can and I try to soak everything in like a sponge.”
On the 29 November episode of RAW, Vince McMahon delivered a hard slap on Theory which sat him back on his chair. Theory revealed that it wasn’t planned at all.
“I did not know the slap was coming [laughs]. I”m just like ‘alright, have a good day’ and BOOM! ‘Oh my god, woah. Alright, OK.’”
Austin Theory, who has a match at WrestleMania against SmackDown commentator Pat McAfee, had great things to say about Brock Lesnar. The Beast Incarnate has had a few encounters with Theory and the most memorable one might be their duel inside the Elimination Chamber.
“I think he’s so great to work with. Just the presence he has, the energy and the connection he has with the audience, it just does great things for me anytime I’m out there with him.“
“Especially Elimination Chamber, I couldn’t have asked for that to go any better. Well, maybe not getting thrown off the pod. But, other than that, it was a great experience. The MSG match, that was something I’m just going to remember forever. “
“My first MSG event, te main event, WWE championship, Brock Lesnar – it’s crazy. When it comes to Brock Lesnar, he’s where he is at because of how good he is and I was very grateful for that opportunity.”
“Lesnar is definitely the strongest person I’ve met in the ring. I’m a 225lb guy and I was flat on my stomach and next thing I know I’m just flying through the air. I’m like ‘did you want any help!?! Never mind!’“
“He’s very good at his job so he’ll let you know if he wants something to happen and if not just shut up and listen. He doesn’t sugarcoat it. You want to be good? Then be good. And I like that mindset, that’s how you get places.”
Theory was aligned with Seth Rollins for a brief period of time alongside Buddy Murphy. The youngster said he was just filling in for an injured wrestler for one night on RAW in a tag team match.
“I read a lot of people online say ‘Oh, you went back to NXT, you didn’t last on the main roster’ – I wouldn’t say I went back anywhere. I always think that I’m improving any everyone has a different journey with their career whether it’s WWE or anything. “
“With me, I was basically filling a position because somebody was injured on RAW in a tag team, I came in for that position and they had an idea like ‘maybe we can do this’ so here I go now being taken out of one group and put into another. “
“Very grateful to work with Seth Rollins and get that experience, but just kind of knowing this might be something that lasts and I’m going to do my best at it, or it’s just something temporary because of the situation we’re in and, there’s a lot of stuff and ideas going on because we’re in the middle of a pandemic. “
“The good thing about it too was it wasn’t a big change for me. I was going to the Performance Center every day anyway and it was 15 minutes from my house, so it was just kind of the same thing. Never got the main roster feeling, if that makes sense. “
“I never felt like I’d made it there yet. Being in The Way is when I really started to make my main roster jump. I’m glad I got that experience and got to develop that character and show what Austin Theory can do.”
John Cena is arguably the best to have stepped foot inside the squared circle. He is a 16-time World Champion which is the joint-highest alongside Ric Flair. Theory picked John Cena to be his ultimate dream opponent for WrestleMania.
“There’s definitely a few matches that are on my mind, but I think when it comes to a match I personally want, it’s always going to be me versus John Cena.“
“I like that everything is happening pretty quick right now because I want to build myself up to where people are ‘OK, this is match where we could see a possibility [of me winning]’ and, John Cena has built that legacy with everything that he has done, I want to come in there with a chance. “
“That’s definitely my ultimate dream match and a match I look forward to. But, of course, you’ve got matches I could see myself in at WrestleMania like Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, Brock Lesnar again! Those are some of the names I’d love to get in there with at WrestleMania.”
Theory shared how Cena came to speak to all the talents in the Performance Center once. After the meeting ended, Cena stayed back to chat one-on-one with the talents. Theory mentioned how overwhelmed he was seeing the person he modeled his life on that he didn’t know what to say to him.
“The first time I met John Cena he was coming in to the PC to do a meeting with all the talent just to talk to us, but he told us after that meeting that he would stay and talk to everybody individually if they wanted to.
“I stayed and got to talk to him one-on-one and yeah, I didn’t even know what to say to him because I was like dude, I modelled my whole life after you. I don’t really know what to say.”
Theory shared his experiences of working with Shawn Michaels and Triple H during his time on NXT.
“I found myself more falling towards Shawn Michaels a lot. Triple H was always there if I needed advice or I wanted to ask a question, but Shawn, I had classes with Shawn. We’d go back and watch matches and I remember something specifically he said when I first got there when I was 22. “
“This was the most confusing thing, but I’m glad I figured it out. He told me ‘Hey, when you go out there he was like are you having fun?’ I was like ‘Yeah, I’m having fun.’ And he said ‘Ya know, like hearing the people and everything?’ and I was like I don’t really know if I hear the people and everything because I’m so focused on what I’m trying to do in the ring.”
“He said ‘You’ve got to find who you are and be yourself. But, at 22, I didn’t know who I was.’ So I’m like wait, what? What do you mean? I would think about that a lot. I was still doing the same thing but I was trying to figure out his advice. Be yourself? “
“Then I realised it was about letting a little loose. Have fun. Everybody knows being outside of the ring and being able to do promos and backstages, that’s what makes the character.
“That’s what gets people invested. It would be like watching a movie and it was just action the whole time, you’re not really going to relate to anybody. That little piece of funny advice he gave me at the time went a long way. But I really tried to figure it out because I was like Shawn Michaels isn’t just going to say this to me [laughs].”
Theory is all set to face Pat McAfee at Wrestlemania 38 and it is one of the most anticipating matches of the night.
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