Triple H might be looking to alter Austin Theory's trajectory on the red brand after he unsuccessfully cashed in his Money in the Bank contract on Seth Rollins last week.
The King of Kings has completely changed the landscape of WWE since Vince McMahon's retirement. Hunter has also tweaked several storylines that were in progress under McMahon's regime. Several stars have benefitted under the Hall of Famer's creative vision, including Sami Zayn and Bobby Lashley.
Last week, Austin Theory cashed in his MITB contract during an open challenge issued by Seth Rollins for the United States Championship and lost. According to a recent report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (WON), Triple H wants Theory to become a top guy and drop his selfie gimmick:
"The show is all about making Austin Theory dump in the selfie thing which quite frankly, if you’re gonna make him a top guy, you needed to dump it. That was very much the second-match guy gimmick anyway. So they’re dumping that and trying to get him to be more of a vicious guy and put him in there. He lost to Seth last week, but they’re gonna go with the big Seth Rollins and Austin Theory feud, it looks like. Maybe even on the pay-per-view."
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Last night, Austin Theory snapped and viciously attacked Dolph Ziggler, which caused him to lose the match. This could indicate that the upstart might let go of his current gimmick in the coming weeks.
What did Austin Theory do in NXT under Triple H's regime?
In 2019, Triple H hired Austin Theory from Evolve and assigned him to the black-and-gold brand. However, he was quickly called up to the main roster, and after a brief run, he returned to NXT.
In 2020, Austin Theory won the Year-End Award for Future Star of NXT. He received several championship matches and proved his credibility inside the squared circle in the Triple H-led brand.
The highlight of Theory's run on NXT was teaming up with Johnny Gargano and forming The Way. By the end of 2021, he was moved to the main roster, where he became Vince McMahon's protege.
It will be interesting to see what the future holds for the former Money in the Bank winner after he blindsided Seth Rollins on the latest episode of RAW.
Do you think Austin Theory will win the United States Championship from Rollins? Sound off in the comments section below.