Is John Cena Elevating or Burying Austin Theory Ahead of Career-Defining Match?
Stop me if you've heard this before, but John Cena is back in time for WrestleMania season.
The 16-time world champion appeared on the latest episode of Raw in his hometown of Boston and accepted an unlikely challenge for the United States Championship.
On April 1-2, The Show of Shows will return to Hollywood for the first time since 2005. It's fitting that the star of Peacemaker, a successful wrestler turned actor, should participate in the festivities.
At the biggest wrestling event of the year, Cena will face Austin Theory for the title he helped to popularize with his Open Challenge.
One would assume WWE would use such a high-profile name in a more newsworthy matchup. Instead, it went with a story-driven encounter, a growing trend during Triple H's tenure as head of creative.
Theory has drawn comparisons to his idol since he officially made the jump to the main roster. So, this must be a dream match for him, but he just seemed out of his league this week as the veteran eviscerated him on the mic.
This left many fans wondering who this U.S. title match is for. Surely, WWE wouldn't build the young upstart back up just for Cena to humiliate him on The Grandest Stage of Them All? However, there appears to be more than meets the eye in their upcoming WrestleMania 39 match.
The Austin Theory Experiment
WWE is clearly invested in Theory, and it's not hard to see why.
The 25-year-old has the look, athleticism, solid mic skills and underrated in-ring work. The potential is there, but he hasn't showcased that "it" factor we've seen from the cream of the crop yet.
For that reason, it's difficult for some fans to understand why WWE has dedicated so much time to developing him into a big star. In a vacuum, it makes sense, but it becomes less understandable when you consider all of the talented names from NXT who deserved a similar push.
Even more, hardcore wrestling fans notoriously reject any names the company has hand-picked to be a top guy. Consider how long it took Roman Reigns to overcome that stigma or how hard it is to buy into someone like Charlotte Flair as a sympathetic protagonist.
Some viewers would argue Theory's work with Vince McMahon following Survivor Series 2021 put him back on track after a forgettable Raw debut a year prior. Sharing segments with the executive chairman, and one of the most well-known characters in pro wrestling, certainly made him more visible.
However, it turned out to be a gift and a curse because he became the target of WWE's biggest critics. Frankly, it grew impossible to escape the assessment that he hadn't earned this or that he wasn't ready for the spotlight, especially after he won the men's Money in the Bank ladder match last July.
The new regime made the right call, took the risk and started over with his character. Many viewers may have bemoaned his failed cash-in, but it was a stroke of genius to lean into the perception of Theory. The move gave him a chance to prove himself on the mic and deliver some great matches without the weight of challenging Reigns eventually.
No Shortcuts on The Road to Immortality or Obscurity
This change of direction made Theory an ideal opponent for Cena.
Yes, it does seem like WWE is giving him another major opportunity he doesn't deserve yet on the surface. Nevertheless, this time it's a part of the story the company has been telling for at least five months.
The Leader of the Cenation initially refused to accept his challenge because he still sees him as the brash clout-chaser who got Mr. McMahon's attention. Who was he to arrogantly add his name to a star-studded list of WrestleMania opponents like Bray Wyatt, The Undertaker, The Rock, Edge, Randy Orton, Shawn Michaels, and Triple H?
More to the point, the face of the Ruthless Aggression era has been in his shoes, and he didn't want to play a part in cutting another blossoming star. After all, it's arguably the lesson he learned in his last appearance at The Showcase of the Immortals as Wyatt forced him to look in the mirror in their Firefly FunHouse match.
If that seems like a stretch, consider the fact that he hasn't wrestled at the event in three years and he has lost his last two matches on the card.
At this point in his career, Cena is hyper-aware of his legacy and the product. He knows what many fans think of him, and more importantly, he knows the perception of Theory.
His retort may have seemed too brutally honest, but it mirrored Kevin Owens' sentiment from the Sept. 12, 2022 episode of Raw. Coincidentally, The Prizefighter made a name for himself in his main roster debut by answering Cena's open challenge for the U.S. title in 2015.
Speaking of coincidences, surely there's some continuity here as Theory made it his goal to win the U.S. title again and recently defeated one his idol's most notable rivals, Edge. Whether it was intentional or not, it painted the picture of a man who failed to live up to expectations and tried to remake himself in his hero's image.
At any rate, having Cena dress him down in front of a partisan crowd and address the elephant in the room isn't a burial. No, it's a way to position his opponent as someone who is completely out of his depth going into a city where he is well-known outside of the wrestling bubble.
This is what sports enthusiasts would call a trap game for the 45-year-old. It's up to Theory to step on that stage and prove his detractors wrong. This is his chance to create a moment that will dispel their first impression of him.
Cena isn't trying to bury a young man who he sees in himself when he was The Prototype. No, he's giving him a chance to sink or swim.
This WrestleMania match is an attempt to pull a performance out of Theory worthy of all the hype: To find the fighting spirit under all of that bravado.
