"Tonight I cancel Theory" - 45-year-old star sends warning to Austin Theory ahead of title match on WWE SmackDown

United States Champion Austin Theory has been warned ahead of his title defense tonight on WWE SmackDown.

This week's edition of the blue brand is the final episode of SmackDown before WWE Night of Champions tomorrow night in Saudi Arabia. The Premium Live Event will take place at the Jeddah Superdome and will feature several marquee matches. However, a huge match is scheduled for tonight's episode of SmackDown.

Austin Theory is scheduled to put the United States Championship on the line against Sheamus tonight on the blue brand. The 25-year-old has put together an impressive reign as United States Champion and defeated John Cena at WrestleMania 39 in Los Angeles last month. The Celtic Warrior took to Twitter ahead of their title match tonight and vowed to put an end to his title reign tonight on SmackDown.

"Tonight i cancel theory," tweeted Sheamus.

United States Champion Austin Theory on connecting with fans at WWE Live Events

Austin Theory recently explained the difference between performing for fans at a WWE Live Event as opposed to on RAW or SmackDown.

Theory's main roster career has been very interesting so far. He has unlimited potential, but WWE struggled to find the best way to use him early on. Austin won the Money in the Bank contract but failed during his cash-in attempt. He had numerous backstage conversations with Vince McMahon that didn't lead to a rise in popularity, and many fans saw him as a lost cause. However, Theory has rebounded since losing his Money in the Bank cash-in and has been the United States Champion for 180 days.

Speaking to Kevin Kellam of Sportskeeda Wrestling in an exclusive interview, Austin Theory noted that there is more of a connection with the fans at WWE Live Events because wrestlers don't have other things to worry about.

"The live events, the difference is so much more of a connection with the audience. We have a lot of focus with the cameras when it comes to television because, if you think about it, behind that lens there's a lot more people than there are in that arena, so a lot more focus goes towards those cameras." [1:20 – 1:39]

You can check out the full interview in the video below:

Sheamus was in a war with Gunther and Drew McIntyre at WrestleMania 39 for the Intercontinental Championship but ultimately came up short. It will be interesting to see if the veteran can pull off the upset and capture the United States Championship tonight on SmackDown.

Who would you like to see Austin Theory defend the United States Championship against next if he retains tonight? Sound off in the comments section below.