Austin Theory believes his WWE Money in the Bank storyline deserved a better payoff.
Theory originally won the Money in the Bank briefcase in 2022 after being added as a surprise eight entrant, a decision heavily associated with then-WWE Chairman Vince McMahon’s creative direction.
His major cash-in attempt came at SummerSlam 2022, where he tried to cash in during the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship main event. However, he was quickly taken out by Brock Lesnar. His final attempt came on the November 7, 2022 episode of Raw, where he unsuccessfully attempted to cash in on Seth Rollins for the United States Championship.
Appearing on IMPAULSIVE, Theory was asked by Logan Paul whether he felt robbed after failing to successfully cash in his Money in the Bank contract. Theory didn’t hesitate in his response, saying, “Yes.”
When Paul followed up, Theory doubled down on his answer. He then explained how he felt the story could have been handled differently. In particular, Theory focused on his brief feud with Roman Reigns.
“Yes. Yes. I will say I’m going to run the play always. If we really needed to be this way, I think for me, I just felt like even with the moment I had with Roman — I believe it was maybe at Barclays Center — and he said, ‘Your daddy’s not here anymore.’ In that moment, I wanted to say the same thing to him. In a way, it’s like he’s a Vince guy as well. Not in a way, he was.”
Austin Theory On His Build To Money In The Bank Cash-In
Theory added that while he understood he was unlikely to win the world title from Reigns. However, he felt the build to his eventual cash-in could have been presented differently.
“I felt like there could have been a moment. I knew I wasn’t going to get the title off Roman. But even building it to seem like, ‘Oh, here we go,’ and then I lose to him, whatever. Just give it more of a payoff because it felt cool. I did a lot of cool things with it.”
Theory also reflected on the physical briefcase itself, noting it still sits in his office as a reminder of the run.
“I still think it’s funny how I have it in my office hanging and it’s real dented. I love when people see it and say, ‘Bro, you murdered people with that, huh?’ I’m like, ‘No, Brock Lesnar murdered me with it. And it sucked.’ It’s crazy.”
Austin Theory was most recently seen on the June 29 episode of RAW, which fans can revisit through WrestleZone’s coverage here.
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