Triple H Believes WWE Raw Star Has "It"

Before Paul "Triple H" Levesque took over main roster creative responsibilities, Vince McMahon had seemingly found his next face of the company. McMahon began appearing in an on-screen capacity to mentor Austin Theory, the NXT upstart that was drafted to Monday Night Raw in Fall 2021. With the boss in his corner, Theory was gifted title shots, a Royal Rumble spot, and a prominent position on weekly episodes on television. Theory's stock peaked this past summer when he was given a late entry into the men's Money in the Bank match, which he went on to win.

After McMahon retired, Theory's momentum slowed. He lost mini-feuds to Kevin Owens and Johnny Gargano and failed to cash in his Money in the Bank contract successfully. That said, a bumpy couple of months course-corrected at WWE Survivor Series, as Theory won back the WWE United States Title and continues to hold it to this day.

Speaking to ESPN, Triple H emphasized that he sees Theory with all the potential in the world.

"Austin Theory has it, and then some. Do I think he has all the potential to be one of the biggest stars in the business? Absolutely," Triple H said. "What determines that? A lot of that is up to him now. You give him little bits of things here and there. He's improving his game. He's smart. He listens to the crowd, he listens to the people. He sees all the stuff that's going on, and he adapts his game on a regular basis."

Theory has undergone a number of subtle changes under Triple H's regime, including his ring name. For the bulk of 2022, Theory went only by his last name, a switch that had been common in McMahon's WWE.

"It's a little bit hard to just refer to him as Theory," Triple H noted regarding giving Theory his first name back. "Even to me, it was a little awkward when he was announced, like 'Theory!' It's weird. [Are people thinking], 'Is that 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin coming in?' Is it confusing for fans? I'm of the opinion that if you don't know the difference between Austin Theory and 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin, there's already a problem, right? So, we're fixing the wrong end of the problem."

Austin Theory competes in the men's Royal Rumble match this Saturday.