Austin Theory

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Austin Theory
Austin Theory at Alpha 1.jpg
Theory in July 2018
Birth nameAustin White
Born (1997-08-02) August 2, 1997 (age 24)
McDonough, Georgia, U.S.[1]
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Austin Theory
Billed height6 ft 1 in (185 cm)[1]
Billed weight220 lb (100 kg)[1]
Billed fromMcDonough, Georgia
Trained byAR Fox
WWE Performance Center
DebutMay 2016[1]

Austin White (born August 2, 1997) is an American professional wrestler and bodybuilder. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Austin Theory. Prior to WWE, he wrestled on the independent circuit, including several promotions under the World Wrestling Network umbrella, such as Full Impact Pro (FIP) and Evolve – along the way winning the WWN Championship, FIP World Heavyweight Championship and the Evolve Championship.

Early life[]

Austin White was born on August 2, 1997 in the Atlanta suburb of McDonough, Georgia. In 2015, he placed first in the NPC Georgia Bodybuilding Championship, Teen Men category when he was 17.[2][3]

Professional wrestling career[]

Early years (2016–2019)[]

On May 5, 2016, he made his professional wrestling debut under the ring name Austin Theory, defeating AR Fox at a WWA4 event to win the WWA4 Heavyweight Championship.[4] Theory made his Progress Wrestling debut on April 1, 2017 at a Progress and Evolve joint show, where he lost to Keith Lee in a four way match, that also involving Jason Kincaid and Blaster McMassive.[5] On August 12, Theory lost to Mark Haskins in a four way match, that also involving Mark Andrews and Keith Lee.[6] At Chapter 67, Theory teamed with Jinny to defeat Will Ospreay and Kay Lee Ray.[7]

On August 12, 2016, Theory made his World Wrestling Network debut at Full Impact Pro (FIP)'s Heatstroke, alongside AC Mack.[8] On January 7, 2017, at Style Battle, Theory was defeated by AR Fox.[9] At FIP Everything Burns, Theory defeated Anthony Henry.[10] Theory made his Evolve debut at Evolve 78, defeating Darby Allin.[11][12][13] At Evolve 79, Theory lost a four-way match to Chris Dickinson.[14] At Evolve 80, he lost to Ethan Page.[15] At Evolve 84, he was defeated by Lio Rush.[16] At Evolve 88, he defeated Ethan Case.[17] The next night at Evolve 89, he defeated Trent Beretta.[18]

At Evolve 97, Theory defeated Fred Yehi to win the FIP World Heavyweight Championship.[19] At FIP Everything Burns, Theory retained his title against Martin Stone.[20] At Evolve 100, Theory failed to win the Evolve Championship against Zack Sabre Jr.[21] At Evolve 103, Theory defeated Keith Lee to win the WWN Championship, ending Lee's 175 day reign.[22][23][24] At Evolve 106, Theory lost the WWN Championship to Joey Janela.[25] On September 30 at Accelerate, he lost the FIP World Heavyweight Championship to Anthony Henry.[26] At Evolve 117, Theory defeated Fabian Aichner and Roderick Strong to win the Evolve Championship.[27] At Evolve 139 on November 9, 2019, he lost the Evolve Championship to Josh Briggs.[28]

On June 16, 2018, Theory made his debut for Mexican promotion The Crash Lucha Libre by losing to Rey Horus.[29] On March 2, 2019, Theory defeated Willie Mack, Bárbaro Cavernario and Sansón to win The Crash Heavyweight Championship.[30] On June 14, Theory made his Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre debut representing The Crash, teaming with Carístico and Volador Jr. to defeat Rush and La Peste Negra (Bárbaro Cavernario and Negro Casas).[31]

WWE[]

Prior to his signing with the company, he participated in a WWE tryout in February 2018.[2] On April 8, during day 4 of WrestleMania Axxess, Theory retained his WWN Championship by defeating Marcel Barthel.[32]

NXT and Raw (2019–2020)[]

On August 15, 2019, it was announced that he had signed a contract with WWE, and would start reporting to the WWE Performance Center.[33] On the December 25 episode of NXT, Theory made his in-ring debut, accepting an open challenge against Roderick Strong for the NXT North American Championship, but failed to win the title.[34] On the January 8, 2020 episode of NXT, Theory achieved his first victory by defeating Joaquin Wilde.[35]

Theory appeared on the March 30 episode of Raw as an associate of Zelina Vega, establishing himself as a heel. Theory teamed with Angel Garza and Seth Rollins, where they were defeated by Kevin Owens and Raw Tag Team Champions The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford).[36][37] At WrestleMania 36, Theory teamed with Garza to unsuccessfully challenge The Street Profits for the Raw Tag Team Championship.[38][39] The following night on Raw, Theory and Garza were once again defeated by The Street Profits in a rematch for the titles.[40] After defeating Akira Tozawa on the April 13 episode of Raw, Vega's other associates, Garza and Andrade joined him in beating down Tozawa as all three posed together, confirming their status as a faction.[41] However, on the May 18 episode of Raw, he was attacked by Andrade and Garza after accidentally costing them a tag team match against Apollo Crews and Kevin Owens, thus kicking him out of the faction.[42] Later that same night, he assisted Seth Rollins and Murphy in attacking Aleister Black, formally joining Rollins' group as a disciple.[43] However, following the June 22 episode of Raw, he stopped appearing with Rollins and Murphy.[44]

The Way (2020–2021)[]

On the August 26 episode of NXT, Theory returned to television by interrupting Bronson Reed, moving back to the brand.[45][46] He then made his in-ring return on the September 8 episode of NXT, losing to Reed. Following this, Theory would spend most of his time in NXT as an enhancement talent, often losing his matches to the likes of Kushida, Dexter Lumis, and others. Theory would reveal himself as the newest member of the Gargano family at NXT TakeOver: War Games by helping Johnny Gargano win the NXT North American Championship for a record setting third time. He then appeared on the December 9 episode to reveal he was part of a villainous faction called The Way with Gargano, his wife Candice LeRae, and Indi Hartwell. The following week, Theory teamed up with Gargano to defeat Kushida and Leon Ruff.

In January 2021, Theory and Gargano took part in the 2021 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic but were eliminated in the first round by Kushida and Leon Ruff on the January 20 episode of NXT. For the next few months, Theory would primarily help Gargano retain the North American Championship against numerous opponents. Following a loss to Kyle O'Reilly on the July 20 episode of NXT, Theory took an absence from NXT television. On the NXT 2.0 premiere, Theory returned to attend the Indi Hartwell and Dexter Lumis wedding.

Storyline with Mr. McMahon (2021–present)[]

As part of the 2021 Draft in October, Theory was drafted to the Raw brand.[47] On the October 4 episode of Raw, Theory made his return to the brand as a heel by attacking Jeff Hardy following his loss to Damian Priest.[48] The following week on Raw, Theory would defeat Hardy and again the next week.[49][50] On the October 25 episode of Raw, Theory would enter a short feud with The Mysterios, defeating Dominik Mysterio that night and would defeat Rey Mysterio by disqualification the following week.[51][52] On the November 15 episode of Raw, after Rey Mysterio was injured by Bobby Lashley, Theory would be announced as his replacement in the Raw men's team at Survivor Series.[52][53] At the event, Theory would eliminate Sheamus before being eliminated by Jeff Hardy.[54]

The following night on Raw, it was revealed that Theory took Cleopatra's Egg from Mr. McMahon, leading to McMahon to reward Theory a WWE Championship against Big E in the main event that night for "showing intestinal fortitude", which he lost.[55] Over the following weeks, Theory would be given career advice by McMahon. On the January 17, 2022 episode of Raw, after defeating Finn Bálor, McMahon would reward Theory a spot in the Royal Rumble match. On January 29 at Royal Rumble, Theory would enter the match as the third entrant, lasting 22 minutes before being eliminated by AJ Styles. On the January 31 episode of Raw, Theory would defeat Kevin Owens in a Elimination Chamber qualifying match.[55] At Elimination Chamber, Theory failed to win the WWE Championship after being last pinned by Brock Lesnar in a match also involving Seth Rollins, AJ Styles, Riddle and the defending champion Bobby Lashley. Toward the end of the Elimination Chamber match, Lesnar and Theory generated buzz when Lesnar delivered his finishing move, the F-5, throwing Theory from the top of one of the Chamber's pods down to the floor.[56]

On the February 28, 2022 episode of Raw, Theory would attempt to bribe McMahon into having himself accompany him to his interview with Pat McAfee, however this idea was shot down by McMahon. That same week on Smackdown, Theory would appear despite being on the other brand and would confront McAfee, announcing that he would be McAfee's opponent at WrestleMania.[57]

Championships and accomplishments[]

Bodybuilding[]

Professional wrestling[]

References[]

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