Austin Theory opens up about being in the ring with Brock Lesnar, working with Vince McMahon, and the Golden Egg storyline that kicked off his involvement with Vince McMahon.
Austin Theory, since 2019, has been in the ring with, at one point or another, names like Paul Heyman, Vince McMahon, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Seth Rollins, and Brock Lesnar.
Speaking with Sean Ross Sapp ahead of WrestleMania 38, where he would lose to Pat McAfee before getting Stunned by Stone Cold Steve Austin, Theory reflected on all of the learning experience has he has been fortunate to have in the last year.
“Yeah. Just within the past six months, going from being on the winning team at Survivor Series to the Royal Rumble, lasting over twenty minutes, going all the way to Saudi Arabia for the Elimination Chamber and surviving with Brock Lesnar, and then main eventing MSG with Brock Lesnar. Like you said, now we’re here. Fortunately, my WrestleMania match is against a guy named Patrick McAfee. I had somebody today, they’re like, ‘You know his name’s Patrick, right?’ I’m like, ‘Ugh. This guy.’ Just awful,” he said.
Reflecting on his Madison Square Garden match against Brock Lesnar for the WWE championship, Austin says he learned of that match about an hour before.
“Probably an hour before. Yeah. We had the card in the back and it just said, ‘Brock versus—’ and there was just nothing there. Then I was like, ‘Wow, this is just a theory, isn’t it?’”
Discussing his storyline with Vince McMahon, Austin says that being around Vince McMahon's work ethic inspires him to be at his best at everything he does.
“It’s definitely an experience of its own just because you know the work ethic he has and the passion and everything he puts into this. So for me, going in there, you gotta be on your best and give it everything that you got. It’s just an honor to be in there. We all know Vince McMahon’s on the top of that Mount Rushmore for sports entertainment,” Austin said.
Looking back on the replica of Cleopatra's egg from Survivor Series, which Austin took in order to take a selfie with it, he says that at the time, he viewed that “valuable” egg as a championship equivalent.
“I don’t have a golden egg. Wow. That’s so smart. I really should,” he said. “At least I can always say, ‘Yeah, you’re the WWE Champion, but I got a $100,000,000 egg I stole.’ That’s a title to me.”
Since then, Austin has won a real championship, the WWE United States Championship, and with that title, he hopes to pattern his career after John Cena’s. In the past, John Cena has reflected on Theory and has said that Theory has more potential than he ever did. Learn more here.
