Not too long ago, Austin Theory was dubbed the “future of the WWE” and was hand-picked by Vince McMahon to be the next young superstar in the company. For a while, it seemed this would be the case. Theory was winning mid-card championships and even becoming the youngest Money in the Bank winner in history. Even with his short name change to “Theory,” he was strapped to a rocket and set for takeoff.

In a shocking turn of events, Vince McMahon retired from the WWE back in July, leaving more questions unanswered than answered. One of the questions was what the WWE would do with Theory moving forward. You have a bright, young star with one of the most talked about prizes in the company, but the only issue is he had no direction.

Unfortunately for Theory, he won the Money in the Bank briefcase during one of the most incredible runs the WWE has ever seen. Roman Reigns is unbeatable right now, and if he were to be beaten, it sure wasn't going to be against Theory cashing in his briefcase. They could've waited for Theory to cash in against whoever beats Reigns, but that takes a lot away from the man who achieves that feat. They had until July to figure out a plan for Austin Theory, but their hands were tied at the end of the day.

Fast forward to last Monday night, when the WWE universe saw the first-ever Money in the Bank cash in on a mid-card championship. Theory tried to take advantage of a beaten-down Seth Rollins and win the United States championship for a second time. After interference from Bobby Lashley, Theory lost the match and his briefcase.

This decision left EVERYBODY wondering what Triple H was thinking. Why would you have Theory waste the briefcase on the United States championship? Theory could've cashed in on Roman and lost, so at least he would've lost going for the World Titles. He could've even gone down to NXT and cashed in on Bron Breakker to become the new NXT Champion. It wouldn't make much sense, but Charlotte did it after winning the Royal Rumble in 2020, so why not?

The point is, the WWE could've gone in a few different directions that would've ended better for Theory. But not all hope is lost. You have to find as much good in the bad as possible, and some good might come out of this for Austin Theory.

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Does Austin Theory look stupid for being the first superstar to cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase on a mid-card title? Of course he does, but the WWE can spin this storyline to help take Theory to the next level. It seems we already have seen the start of that after Austin Theory destroyed Dolph Ziggler during their match on Raw, and the beatdown continued after the bell rang.

After hearing all the backlash and boos from the fans, Theory finally snapped. And to add to this, Theory ended the show on top. He beat up a victorious Seth Rollins after his grueling title defense against Finn Balor. He showed a more aggressive and edgier side to his character that we hadn't seen before, and we may not have ever seen if he hadn't lost his Money in the Bank briefcase.

Austin Theory looked pretty bad a few weeks ago, but at the end of the day, Triple H knows what's best for business, and Theory losing his briefcase may have been the best thing for him. Without the briefcase, Triple H can naturally build up Theory without throwing him into the world title picture when he isn't ready.

One day Austin Theory will be a World Champion, but that day isn't going to be anytime soon. For now, let's enjoy this story of Theory that is about to unfold in front of our very eyes. Hopefully, fans will have a different opinion on him in the future.