Theory expects the unexpected in a post-Vince McMahon WWE

In his first big interview post-SummerSlam, Theory detailed his relationship with Triple H and the advice he received from Vince McMahon.

There was a time in the not-too-distant past of WWE history – the then of Then. Now. Forever. – when fans couldn't escape don't-call-him-Austin Theory.

Though he was initially drafted onto RAW out of NXT in the 2021 WWE Draft as the final pick of Night 1, Theory rapidly became a fixture of both of the company's marquee brands, with spots on SmackDown becoming increasingly common once he became the apple of Vince McMahon's eye and the Money in the Bank briefcase holder. Theory feuded with, well, about a third of the roster, with only Otis and Chad Gable of the Alpha Academy taking a liking to the former member of The Way, and even after losing his belt at Money in the Bank “premium live event,” the youngest United States Champion somehow became even more prominent across the Universe, which, considering how some previous briefcase holders were booked – Otis anyone? – isn't always a guarantee.

And yet, when Mr. McMahon retired from his duties due to the fallout of paying $19.6 million in hush money payments out to former employees, some wondered what would happen to Theory. Would he remain a prominent player on at least RAW? Would he have a character change without his “manager” by his side? And what about the briefcase? While McMahon likely would have pulled the trigger on Theory leaving SummerSlam with some sort of belt to generate some cheap heat, surely Triple H wouldn't stoop to that level.

Well, as it turns out, there really hasn't been much going on with Theory. Since running out during the main event of SummerSlam, with the briefcase holder getting geeked out before he could even officially cash in, Theory has wrestled exactly one match, a win over Ricochet at the WrestleMania 39 Launch Party, but other than that, it's like he just sort of disappeared from the weekly creative plans – which, considering his X-Pac-level heat with a very sizeable segment of the fanbase, is probably a good thing.

So what gives? Is Theory about to get hit with a soft or even a hard reboot? Will he get embarrassed as a way to stick it to Mr. McMahon and his much-maligned preferences? Or could he be thrust back into NXT in order to avoid getting in the way of any storylines planned for Dexter Lumis? Fortunately, Theory actually stopped by the YouTube channel of multi-hyphenate Denise Salcedo to discuss the matter at the aforementioned WrestleMania 39 Launch Party, and needless to say, it was a fascinating conversation.

Theory thinks he will be just fine in the new WWE Universe.

Though it feels like forever ago, there was a time when Theory was a pretty popular member of the NXT faction The Way. He had funny segments with Indi Hartwell, butted heads with Johnny Gargano in a weird father-son sort of vibe, and ultimately was considered polished enough to be worthy of a spot on the main roster despite flaming out during his initial run on RAW as a member of Seth Rollins' “Monday Night Messiah” congregation.

Because of this experience in NXT, Theory actually claims that he has a pre-existing relationship with the current lead of WWE's creative, Paul “Triple H” Levesque, as he detailed to Denise Salcedo via a transcription from Jeremy Lambert of Fightful.

“I knew Triple H back when I was in NXT and had a great time. Came up to the main roster, still had a great time. Change can always scare people because it's different and there's not that comfort level of what you're used to, but with change, and with somebody like Stephanie, Nick Khan, Triple H, and Bruce Prichard, there is so much creativity there that we haven't seen. It's time to have something fresher and newer. It's a bunch of different minds now and I feel there is no better group of people to takeover this than them.”

Alright, as far as non-answers go, that's a pretty good one; while he didn't give any specific example of how he had a good relationship with Levesque, he did mention all of the key figures and lauded their creativity. Spoken like someone who wants to get on their boss's good side, but what about his former boss? The fans want to know, what did Theory really think about Mr. McMahon's retirement?

Unfortunately, Theory didn't get into too much detail – and Salcedo was presumably told not to press on the issue – but he did share what he felt was the biggest lesson he learned from the former CEO.

“I would say, the best thing I learned from Mr. McMahon, as funny as it was that we said it on TV, the mindset that he had and expect the unexpected. When he said that, it was like, ‘Wow, this is pretty much how it works.' When we talk about my career, expect the unexpected. I wouldn't have expected all of that to happen. With Mr. McMahon retiring, I think we all felt like we would never have seen that day. John Cena recently said it, if there was a Mount Rushmore of sports entertainment, it would have one person on it and it would be Mr. McMahon. I believe in that as well because he's an icon. There is nobody that has created something as huge as this and made it as successful as this as Mr. McMahon. Triple H even says it, those are hell of shoes to fill. WWE never stops and it's never going to stop and we all know the legacy Mr. McMahon held for this place and now it's time to do what he wants and that's to keep it going.”

Hmm… do you know what? That actually is pretty sound advice; one year ago, Theory certainly didn't expect he'd be the Money in the Bank briefcase holder, and a month ago, he certainly didn't expect to be off of television entirely because his former booker would retire in disgrace – what to expect next, therefore, is probably unexpected too.