Vince Russo thinks Austin Theory’s past success in the wrestling business means nothing on WWE’s main roster.
Theory appeared in several teacher-student segments with WWE Chairman Vince McMahon during the latest episode of RAW. The 24-year-old held titles for various promotions before joining McMahon's company, including Evolve and the World Wrestling Network (WWN).
Russo, WWE’s head writer in the late 1990s, spoke to Sportskeeda Wrestling’s Dr. Chris Featherstone about the former NXT star’s recent booking. He also joked that McMahon may have confused Austin Theory with a legend like Steve Austin.
“I don’t know if it’s that he [Vince McMahon] has got a thing for Austins or, at 76 years old, does he think Austin Theory is Steve Austin?! Maybe he’s a little confused. Bro, here’s the bottom line: everything you said about Evolve and all that stuff, ‘He was over, he had two belts, this and that.’ Bro, there ain’t one casual fan that knows any of that, including myself,” Russo said.
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Watch the video above to hear more from Vince Russo about Vince McMahon “burying” Austin Theory on RAW.
Vince Russo thinks WWE should present Austin Theory differently
The latest episode of RAW featured multiple segments in which Vince McMahon attempted to teach Austin Theory to “expect the unexpected.” The final segment between the two men ended with McMahon unexpectedly slapping Theory in the face.
Vince Russo worked for WWE during an era when many superstars were introduced to fans after several weeks of vignettes. He believes the company should have used that approach to re-debut Theory on the main roster:
“Now, one thing that’s missing, Chris, dramatically, I don’t know if it’s laziness, I would love to hear an explanation for this… the vignette, bro, the build-up, the six-to-eight-week build-up before we even see this person, so now you’re anticipating seeing that person,” Russo said.
Theory moved from NXT to RAW in the WWE Draft in October. The up-and-coming superstar defeated Dominik Mysterio, Jeff Hardy, and Rey Mysterio on RAW before unsuccessfully challenging Big E for the WWE Championship last month.
Please credit Sportskeeda Wrestling if you use quotes from this article.