superstar Austin Theory reckons his mentor could still get the job done in the ring.
The 25-year-old star – who has been taken under the wing of his real life billionaire boss on screen over the past few months – is set to face commentator and former NFL athlete Pat McAfee at WrestleMania 38 next month.
However, there had been rumours that McMahon himself was going to get the match against McAfee, and Theory has admitted.
He exclusively told Metro.co.uk: ‘I mean, he’s ready to go – but I think I got this one. There’s no need for Mr. McMahon for this one.’
While Theory looks set to do the work in-ring, he’ll still be making use of the advice he’s got from McMahon, covering everything from delivery on camera to matters of timing.
One lesson Vince has taught Austin on-screen has been to ‘expect the unexpected’, and that’s no more true than the last-minute nature of their partnership coming into fruition.
‘I remember it was like… I found out literally that day. I was like, “Wait what?” How do you take this in? But that’s the thing about WWE is always being prepared,’ he said.
‘I wouldn’t have imagined I’d be wrestling Pat McAfee at WrestleMania and Mr. McMahon would be my mentor leading up to that. It’s a pretty wild life.’
A few weeks beforeon the Raw after Survivor Series, the pair had their first meeting and spent 15 minutes ‘getting to know’ each other and building up some sense of understanding.
He explained: ‘Wanting to invest in someone, you wanna make sure, “OK, this person’s on the same page as me, they share the same goals”. That’s kinda how it was, it was real organic, letting him get to know who Austin is and basically what my goals are and what I see for my future.’
Of course, since joining the Raw brand last year, Austin’s been able to learn from plenty of veterans, ranging from Finn Balor and Kevin Owens to Rey Mysterio and AJ Styles.
‘It’s just crazy,’ he admitted. ‘And just the knowledge – each one is a different individual and they have a different preference on how to do something. It’s really cool to be able to soak all that in so early.
‘You’ll find that, with giving these big opportunities – whatever lesson they can give me, I can go ahead and apply it.’
However, WrestleMania 38 presents a whole different challenge as he steps in the ring with McAfee, a man who has just two official WWE matches to his name, having before featuring in the 2020 edition of WarGames.
‘I think that he’s definitely an athlete, obviously his resume shows that. He definitely has a lot of personality and that’s something big in WWE. But he’s facing Austin Theory,’ the rising star smiled.
‘I’ve been asked a lot, “How am I preparing for this?” Pat’s doing all the preparing, I have nothing to prepare for. I’m gonna wipe the mat clean with this guy.’
For all the bravado though, it’s clear Theory is excited to finally live out a lifelong dream by having a WrestleMania match in front of a packed crowd in Dallas, Texas.
‘Just having that real WrestleMania experience that I haven’t had, and I’ve been craving for so long,’ he said. ‘It’s gonna be so exciting, especially being on that Sunday, just bringing it home. It’s gonna be fun.’
WWE WrestleMania 38 airs on April 2 and 3 at 1am on the WWE Network.
