"The heir to the throne" - WWE legend thinks Vince McMahon will make current superstar his successor

Former WWE Superstar Bully Ray (f.k.a. Bubba Ray Dudley) believes Vince McMahon is teaching Austin Theory how to be the heir to his throne.

The WWE Chairman appeared in several teacher-student segments with Theory on the latest episode of RAW. The segments revolved around McMahon teaching the up-and-coming superstar to always “expect the unexpected.” At the end of their final segment, McMahon unexpectedly slapped Theory in the face.

Speaking on Busted Open Radio, Bully Ray speculated that Vince McMahon might think that Shane McMahon and Triple H are not capable of replacing him. As part of the new storyline, he questioned whether Theory is being booked as the 76-year-old’s long-term successor:

“Shane has never been the heir to the throne of Zamunda. It’s always been Hunter [Triple H], but what happened recently with Hunter? [Vince McMahon impression] ‘My son is a failure! My son-in-law is a failure! But you won’t be, Austin, I’m gonna make you in my image.’ Imagine he’s building Austin up to be the heir to the throne that he does not believe he has anymore…” Ray said.

For many years, Triple H appeared to be the obvious candidate to replace Vince McMahon due to his success with WWE’s NXT brand. However, NXT recently underwent a drastic change, with McMahon and WWE Executive Director Bruce Prichard reportedly taking a more hands-on approach with the show.

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Bully Ray recalls a similar Vince McMahon storyline 14 years ago

In 2007, Hornswoggle was revealed to be the illegitimate son of Vince McMahon. The role was originally supposed to be played by another former WWE Superstar, Ken Anderson (f.k.a. Mr. Kennedy).

While Bully Ray does not necessarily think Austin Theory will become McMahon’s latest on-screen son, he believes the storylines have similarities:

“Back in the day, they were supposed to kind of do this with Ken Anderson and it didn’t work out. Anderson was supposed to be the son, Vince’s son, and then that got botched there and they went with Hornswoggle, and ha ha ha, it worked out, it was funny, it was entertaining,” he said.

Regardless of whether or not Austin Theory continues to appear in segments with Vince McMahon, Bully Ray believes WWE clearly has major plans for him.

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Please credit Busted Open Radio and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.