Austin Theory Reveals Behind-The-Scenes Creative, Working With The Rock, and Career-Defining Moments
October 4, 2024 • 18 mins
Join us as @WWE star, Austin Theory, talks about his involvement in major storylines, and the surreal moments that have shaped his career. Theory also opens up about working with The Rock and other WWE legends.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to The Battleground Podcast, all things pro and exclusive
interviews with some of your favorite wrestlers.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Podcast stop It, What's up you guys? Welcome back into
iHeartRadio's official wrestling podcast, The Battleground Podcast.
Speaker 3 (00:29):
It is Battle from one.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
O five to nine the Right Nashville's classic rock station,
and of course, Friday Night SmackDown is here in our backyard,
literally down the street from us Bridge Don Arena. And
joining us on the show, we got the Man, the myth,
the legend, and he's been on this show multiple times,
so we can now consider him a friend.
Speaker 3 (00:45):
Austin Theory joins the show. Austin, how are you doing, sir?
Speaker 4 (00:48):
I'm doing great and I'm super excited to be coming
back to Nashville. It's always a good time in Nashville.
That's where the party is at.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
Absolutely, and you and Grays are gonna hit up Broadway
after the show on Friday night or what?
Speaker 4 (00:59):
Oh, me and Grayson we got so many plans for Friday.
You know, we might beat up the Bloodline. I don't know, Wait,
that might have been too far. Let's see, you know,
maybe Cody Roads. Maybe we'll beat up Cody Roads. That's
you know it's a better option, and uh yeah, Broadway, man,
there's a lot of bars over there. There's a lot
of you know, opportunities to showcase your singing skills. So
(01:19):
maybe Grayson can do that. You know, he's a good singer.
If you guys didn't know.
Speaker 3 (01:23):
Oh really, no he's not.
Speaker 4 (01:26):
I wouldn't.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
I would not be surprised if as it gets he's
just got the accent, you know, that's.
Speaker 4 (01:32):
All he's got. He's got that accent. That's it.
Speaker 3 (01:35):
Of course, WW right now is tremendous that it's on fire.
The product is great.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
You can grab tickets still available ticketmaster dot com. But
let's just kind of dive right into it. You've been
in some high profile storylines recently. What's something about the
creative process behind the scenes, pulling back the curtain a
little bit that fans would be surprised to know about
your involvement in.
Speaker 4 (02:00):
I would have to say, man, with the creative process now,
it's very hands on and there's a lot of opportunity
for us superstars to you know, make tweaks, make changes,
have our own ideas and you know them, not be
shut down them, you know, actually having the opportunity to
be looking at and say, well, you know, maybe we
(02:21):
could go somewhere with this, or that's not really the plan,
but you know that that might have something to it.
So it's very hands on, but it's also very uh,
you know it being the creative. It's very creative for
all of us because we're all being able to create.
And you know, when it comes to what we do
as sports entertainers professional wrestlers is showing our art. So
(02:42):
that creativity is so important for us to have in
our own hands. And I feel that way now that
we do have it.
Speaker 2 (02:49):
Yeah, and it's you can you could tell as you're
watching it from you know, previous regimes. Now with Hunter
and Sean taking over and everything else, you could tell
like it's a little bit more relaxed that the camera,
the production, the pyros, the vignettes. The thing that I
really like is shooting the interest ins, like for example,
(03:10):
Jay Uso coming in from the crowd.
Speaker 3 (03:12):
I know you don't really want to hear me talking
about Jay on the show, but you know what, I
love though.
Speaker 4 (03:17):
You know, and I'd love to beat him up, so hey,
we can talk about him all you want.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
I mean, he's got a he's got a title around
his way, so there's obviously a target on his back.
Speaker 3 (03:26):
So I mean, maybe we see Austin after that IC title.
Speaker 4 (03:29):
Hey never been in the Continental Champion, you know. But
I'm definitely marking off the boxes of all these titles
and briefcases and whatever you want to call these achievements.
I'm taking them all.
Speaker 3 (03:40):
Yeah, absolutely, for sure.
Speaker 5 (03:43):
We recently saw you guys in NXT popped in from
her parents there. Well, I mean, do you guys, is
there any motivation for any like, are you just looking
for a fight anywhere at this point?
Speaker 4 (03:56):
I mean, Grayson, we you know, we like to really
look at the field of you know where we're at,
and it's huge. You know, you have NXT, you have
Monday Night Raw, you have SmackDown. I've been on Monday
Night Raw. Grayson hasn't, but I'm sure in the future
you'll see him there. But SmackDown. You know, we've been
running smack Down. We're always in the main event. You
(04:16):
always see us out there with celebrities, Hall of famers,
World Champs. It doesn't matter because me and Grace and
Waller are the two guys you put out there with anybody,
and we get the job done, and you know we're entertaining.
That's what this is about, you know, But yeah, man,
we're just I feel like when it came to NXT,
you look back, I never got a championship opportunity in NXT.
(04:37):
Grayson never got one as well. So tag team championships,
grab those, go to SmackDown, grab those, like, just take
all the tag championships. But I feel like also too,
when you look at NXT and you have two guys
like us come down there, I think we kind of
straighten everybody up and they're like, oh wow, like these
are two young dudes that are getting it on the
(04:57):
main roster. And we're young too, but we're in NXT,
which NXT is amazing, and I mean you saw last
night the arena full, the new championships, the matches, the
way the superstars are in the ring, their next level.
But I think when two guys like us come down there,
it really makes everybody go, oh whoa, Like there is
another level and age really isn't the thing here, Like
(05:20):
it's about just being that good and being able to
prove yourself.
Speaker 3 (05:24):
Right for sure.
Speaker 2 (05:25):
And I know recently we had a conversation with Tamaso
about you know, superstars being up on the main roster
and then going to NXT and how fans kind of
think that that's like a punishment per se. But what
is your thought on that, because I mean it seems
like everything is cohesive. You have everybody on this brand,
this brand and this brand. But again, like you said,
we could show up anywhere and it's not like a
(05:46):
punishment according to the you know, IWC.
Speaker 4 (05:50):
I think you know, like we all saw NXT right,
Like you have the Performance Center, that's where I started
when I got signed, and then you slowly get on
NXT TV and then eventually you make it to the
main roster. But it's crazy how the feeling of NXT
has changed and the caliber of superstars that they have
and the level they perform on the arenas they go to,
(06:11):
how they showcase those stars. Man, you can't really argue
that it's not a main roster feel. So to me,
I feel like WWE, it's this universe and we have
all these different you know, almost planets. You know, you
got smacked Down, you got RAW, you got NXT. So
I think it's it's so cool to look at it
as Wow, there's all these new characters there's all this
(06:33):
new talent. Let's see how an Austin Theory would collaborate
with this star, or Grayson Waller would collaborate with this star.
So I look at it more so as you know,
anybody that's on TV and the WWE, whether it's NXTTV, SmackDown,
or ROW, you're looking at a superstar. That person made
it out of millions and there's a reason they're there.
(06:55):
So for me to go to NXT, it's not a
step back, it's not a downgrade. It's not a know
like do I have to like get worked on or
do I have to get better at something. It's none
of that. It's just about elevating everybody and all of
us being in there together. It just makes us all
better and it improves the WWE for sure.
Speaker 5 (07:16):
So the three current tag team champions would be the Bloodline,
Judgment Day, and then an NXT. Nathan Frasier in axiom, Yeah, well,
I was just say objectively, if you had to go
after a set of belts, who do you think would
you would have the best chance of defeating?
Speaker 4 (07:35):
You know, I don't really look at it as like, oh,
what's the best chance, because me, I love the risk.
I love to be all in. I love the chaos.
A lot of people would say, hey, you know the
blood Line. I made that joke at the beginning. Lead
the blood Line out of it. The only reason I'd
leave the blood Line out is because, you know, anytime
you got a close chance of beating them, there's like
a new guy. I'm like, who is this? Who is
(07:57):
this guy? Get this USO out of here? You know
what I mean? Hard to keep up, Yeah, but as
far as you know the other tag team championships go
Judgment Day, me and Grace and Waller would drop them.
We could do that on Raw and NXT. I mean,
we've already made a point. You know. We got little
Nathan Fraser that looks like Kurt Cobain, and we got
the Power Ranger Axiom over here. These two guys they
(08:19):
call themselves Phraxium. Now as we do make fun of them,
they're both very impressive. They both you know, they've they've
done their thing, They've proved it. That's why they're the champs.
But we definitely know we're taking those NXT Tag Team championships.
Me and Grace and Waller are on the same page.
It's scary, man, and there's only one way those people
are gonna go, and that's atown down under Oo.
Speaker 3 (08:39):
Man, that's gonna be fun.
Speaker 2 (08:41):
Of course, speaking of fun, SmackDown is at the Bridge
That Arena Friday night, WW makes their return.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
You can still grab tickets ticketmaster dot com.
Speaker 2 (08:51):
Now, a little bit ago you had mentioned talking about
working with legends and Hall of famers and whatnot. Has
there ever been a moment while working with his legends
where you're like, in your head, You're like, man, this
is unreal, Like I'm really doing this.
Speaker 3 (09:06):
What was that feeling and what was it for you?
Speaker 4 (09:11):
Man? I have to say, like every opportunity or a
moment that I've you know, had the honor of being
a part of, I really take every moment in Like
I can remember a lot of moments, so specifically, I
remember the Rock promo. I've never met the Rock before.
There's a couple of guys in the back, you know,
they've met him at the performance center, or they've met
(09:32):
him on the main roster, never had an interaction with him.
And thirty minutes before that whole segment took place, I
met the Rock and we went out there and just
how he told me, sorry, how He told me that
we're going to create magic out there. You're going to
feel it, so just just feel it out there. And
I did, and just how the crowd just reacts to
(09:53):
him and it's just magic man, And that moment really
stuck out for me. And you know that goof Pat
McAfee was in there too. Whatever.
Speaker 2 (10:02):
Yeah, And that's that's always a cool thing because you
can that you could see that that magic happening on TV.
You could feel it through the TV. I know as
a fan, like, uh, you know, watching Monday Night Raw.
A buddy of ours who is a professional wrestler's name
is Colby. He was actually one of the security guards
in the Hell in the Cell match or the Hell
in the Cell promo, and like I'm sitting there watching
(10:24):
it and I'm like, you could just kind of feel
him taking everything in as just being like, you know,
one of those guys.
Speaker 4 (10:29):
And hey, you know your your friend Colby being an extra.
You know he might become a world champ. You know
that's usually how it goes, right. Yeah.
Speaker 5 (10:37):
Well, and he was in the ring with Punk and
Drew McIntyre, so I mean he's he's off to a
good start.
Speaker 4 (10:42):
You know. It's a good start to his story.
Speaker 3 (10:44):
Dude, Yeah, absolutely for sure. So you know, is there
a you know, you've you've done a lot of stuff.
Speaker 2 (10:51):
I know, last time we had you on, my my
son presented brought in some old promos from uh Pass
Wrestling promotions that you have worked for with Chammpionships and
you had that on everything. Is there a specific match
or moment, because I mean your career is still going
that looking back, you think completely redefined you as a performer.
Speaker 4 (11:13):
M you know, I feel like maybe not specifically a match, right,
but I think all these little moments, like we were
saying before, like we had the rock situation, We've had
the scene of situation, We've had the Stone Colt stunner,
We've had Jelly Roll, We've had it just keeps going,
you know, even having the match with Pat McAfee. I mean,
(11:35):
look what Pat McAfee's doing now and what he was
doing before. You know, the guy doesn't stop as much
as he sucks, you know. But yeah, it's just for me,
I think that all of these moments define me. And
I think ever since I started on the main roster,
I'm learning, but I'm also figuring it out more so
now and I think having these little pieces here and there,
(11:58):
it's either you know, you could take some stuff from
there or you can just let it be what it
is and move on. And for me, it's just little things.
You know, it builds your confidence. I've always been confident,
but you can definitely build your confidence the comfortability out
there grabbing a mic and really just being able to
flow getting in the ring, the bell ringing and you
(12:19):
not thinking of anything, just flowing in there, you know.
And I think where I'm at now, I've definitely grown
as a performer, and I think it's just hard to
narrow down a specific match or moment because I think
it just takes all of those to make me who
I am. And still, like you said, I'm very early
on in my career and I feel like, man, the
stuff that I've done is amazing, especially in the last
(12:41):
three years, but man, that's nothing compared to what I'm
gonna do. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (12:45):
Absolutely, And you talk about like just the being in
the ring with Jelly.
Speaker 3 (12:52):
Roll, Pat McAfee, the Rock, all these celebrities.
Speaker 2 (12:55):
It's got to be a good feeling for you that
you know, WW could come to you and say, hey, Austin,
and we need you to go into this ring and
take a choke slam from Jelly Roll.
Speaker 3 (13:03):
We need you to go and be with this celebrity.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
That's got to be a good feeling for you that
they entrust you with those kind of things.
Speaker 4 (13:10):
Yeah. Absolutely, And speaking on the Jelly Roll situation, it
wasn't going to be a choke slam, yea. I heard
little ideas of, hey, maybe a choke slam or this,
but I think like a scoop slam was actually going
to be what it was. And I remember, you know,
being in the ring with everybody and going to Triple
H and being like, hey, like just trust me on this.
(13:31):
Let him give me a choke slam. I'll make it
look amazing. All he has to do is put his
arm up and sure enough, man, we went out there
and it looked amazing. It trended like crazy, it was
all over the place. But it's just understanding, like that
job of what you need to do that night. And
I think always understanding why I'm doing something, and Okay,
(13:52):
is this gonna, you know, help, this is this what
we're trying to do for the company right now in
the position you're putting me in, and I just I'm
all in. I'm never like ah or disappointed and stuff
like that. I have a huge opportunity. I got a moment.
It's the WWE. It's the place I wanted to be
my entire life. There's not one other place I'd ever go.
This is it. So I'm locked in, man. So whatever
(14:15):
the opportunity is at the moment, or whoever the guy is,
it doesn't matter. If it's the Rock or Jelly Roll,
doesn't matter. You know I'm all in.
Speaker 5 (14:23):
Then yeah, well, you know it's been incredible obviously, even
going I don't think you mentioned, but your match for
John Cena. Obviously the company trust you.
Speaker 3 (14:34):
That's evident.
Speaker 5 (14:35):
We've got a lot of wrestling to go for twenty
twenty four, Bad Blood's coming up Survivor Series, and then
we're right back at the Rumble in the road to WrestleMania.
What are your plans or goals for the rest of
this year heading into the new year? In the reset
in January.
Speaker 4 (14:49):
Man, I have to tell you, when you say Royal Rumble,
my mind goes straight to winning that thing. For me.
That match has always been one of the coolest matches
for me. I can't exactly remember the year. But I
remember when I was living back in Georgia, going up
to Atlanta and getting to go see the Royal Rumble.
This is the one I believe Edge returned at. And
I even remember telling my grandfather. He was sitting next
(15:11):
to me and we're like right by the stage, so
you couldn't really see the ring or anything. But every
time somebody got eliminated, they'd walk to the side and
I'd have one of those little scroll cameras and I'd
take a picture of them. But I remember telling my grandfather.
I was like, Edge is going to come back. He's
going to come back, and he was like, Noah, no way,
And then he came back and he just kind of
gave me a look. But those little moments like that,
I remember when my grandfather because he's always been around
(15:33):
me and always took me to wrestling. But also that
Royal Rumble, just how cool that matches. How you can
just change your career trajectory like so fast. You know,
you go straight to the main event of WrestleMania and
you can become a champion. And I think anybody if
they say this isn't it, they're lying. Anybody that's ever
wanted to be in the WWE. They've wanted the main
(15:54):
event WrestleMania and win that title. And that's always going
to be my biggest goal, I feel like, and once
I accomplished that, I already know myself. If I don't stop,
I'm gonna want more. But that's definitely the goal. So
I have to say, coming up, man, it's that Royal Rumble.
I want that Royal Rumble this year. Nice.
Speaker 2 (16:11):
Well, you know, you can ask several of your other
wrestlers that have co hosts and well not co hosts,
you can ask several other people on the roadcast on
this show.
Speaker 3 (16:22):
They're in good graces to winning titles.
Speaker 2 (16:24):
We had Naya Jackson and while she went on to
win the Women's heavyweight Championship, and Tiffany Stratton came on,
she went on to win money in the bank. So
you came on, you put it out there that you
want to win the Royal Rumble.
Speaker 5 (16:35):
So very good chests, very good chance.
Speaker 2 (16:38):
Austin Theory will be your twenty twenty five Royal Rumble
champion there in Indianapolis. And then you can give Pat
McAfee the bird because I'm sure he'll be their ringside.
Speaker 4 (16:45):
Hey, I know he will be and he'll love that moment,
every second of it. Like you said, the twenty twenty
five Royal rumble, it's mine. But speaking of that twenty five,
I know you mentioned earlier that you know this Friday
Nashville tickets are on sale ticketmaster dot com. But speaking
of that twenty five, you can get tickets as low
as twenty five dollars. That's insane. You get to see me,
(17:05):
how talented I am, how good I look. Only twenty
five dollars. That's a little disrespectful, but you know what,
you get that opportunity, so don't miss it. Twenty five dollars.
It's how load the tickets.
Speaker 3 (17:15):
Are well, Austin, it's an honor and the privilege to
have you up.
Speaker 2 (17:18):
I know. We got to wrap things up and look
forward to seeing your Friday night in Nashville Bridge Don Arena.
Speaker 3 (17:23):
Before we let you go, you want to say anything to.
Speaker 2 (17:25):
People that are watching or listening to this right now,
even though you just did the promo for buy tickets.
Speaker 4 (17:29):
Yeah, hey, make sure you guys watch smack Down this
Friday in Nashville and also next Tuesday on NXT. We're
brand new on the CW you better check it out
because me and Grace and Waller are going to be
the new NXT Tag Team Champions and we're going to
take those titles everywhere. And then, you know, like we
talked about on here, the bloodline, better watch yourselves. You know,
(17:50):
you might have a bunch of family members, but me
and Grace and Waller, we're yeah, we don't have that
many family members. Never mind, just forget about the bloodline.
Welcome to The Battleground Podcast, all things pro and exclusive
interviews with some of your favorite wrestlers.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Podcast stop It, What's up you guys? Welcome back into
iHeartRadio's official wrestling podcast, The Battleground Podcast.
Speaker 3 (00:29):
It is Battle from one.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
O five to nine the Right Nashville's classic rock station,
and of course, Friday Night SmackDown is here in our backyard,
literally down the street from us Bridge Don Arena. And
joining us on the show, we got the Man, the myth,
the legend, and he's been on this show multiple times,
so we can now consider him a friend.
Speaker 3 (00:45):
Austin Theory joins the show. Austin, how are you doing, sir?
Speaker 4 (00:48):
I'm doing great and I'm super excited to be coming
back to Nashville. It's always a good time in Nashville.
That's where the party is at.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
Absolutely, and you and Grays are gonna hit up Broadway
after the show on Friday night or what?
Speaker 4 (00:59):
Oh, me and Grayson we got so many plans for Friday.
You know, we might beat up the Bloodline. I don't know, Wait,
that might have been too far. Let's see, you know,
maybe Cody Roads. Maybe we'll beat up Cody Roads. That's
you know it's a better option, and uh yeah, Broadway, man,
there's a lot of bars over there. There's a lot
of you know, opportunities to showcase your singing skills. So
(01:19):
maybe Grayson can do that. You know, he's a good singer.
If you guys didn't know.
Speaker 3 (01:23):
Oh really, no he's not.
Speaker 4 (01:26):
I wouldn't.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
I would not be surprised if as it gets he's
just got the accent, you know, that's.
Speaker 4 (01:32):
All he's got. He's got that accent. That's it.
Speaker 3 (01:35):
Of course, WW right now is tremendous that it's on fire.
The product is great.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
You can grab tickets still available ticketmaster dot com. But
let's just kind of dive right into it. You've been
in some high profile storylines recently. What's something about the
creative process behind the scenes, pulling back the curtain a
little bit that fans would be surprised to know about
your involvement in.
Speaker 4 (02:00):
I would have to say, man, with the creative process now,
it's very hands on and there's a lot of opportunity
for us superstars to you know, make tweaks, make changes,
have our own ideas and you know them, not be
shut down them, you know, actually having the opportunity to
be looking at and say, well, you know, maybe we
(02:21):
could go somewhere with this, or that's not really the plan,
but you know that that might have something to it.
So it's very hands on, but it's also very uh,
you know it being the creative. It's very creative for
all of us because we're all being able to create.
And you know, when it comes to what we do
as sports entertainers professional wrestlers is showing our art. So
(02:42):
that creativity is so important for us to have in
our own hands. And I feel that way now that
we do have it.
Speaker 2 (02:49):
Yeah, and it's you can you could tell as you're
watching it from you know, previous regimes. Now with Hunter
and Sean taking over and everything else, you could tell
like it's a little bit more relaxed that the camera,
the production, the pyros, the vignettes. The thing that I
really like is shooting the interest ins, like for example,
(03:10):
Jay Uso coming in from the crowd.
Speaker 3 (03:12):
I know you don't really want to hear me talking
about Jay on the show, but you know what, I
love though.
Speaker 4 (03:17):
You know, and I'd love to beat him up, so hey,
we can talk about him all you want.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
I mean, he's got a he's got a title around
his way, so there's obviously a target on his back.
Speaker 3 (03:26):
So I mean, maybe we see Austin after that IC title.
Speaker 4 (03:29):
Hey never been in the Continental Champion, you know. But
I'm definitely marking off the boxes of all these titles
and briefcases and whatever you want to call these achievements.
I'm taking them all.
Speaker 3 (03:40):
Yeah, absolutely, for sure.
Speaker 5 (03:43):
We recently saw you guys in NXT popped in from
her parents there. Well, I mean, do you guys, is
there any motivation for any like, are you just looking
for a fight anywhere at this point?
Speaker 4 (03:56):
I mean, Grayson, we you know, we like to really
look at the field of you know where we're at,
and it's huge. You know, you have NXT, you have
Monday Night Raw, you have SmackDown. I've been on Monday
Night Raw. Grayson hasn't, but I'm sure in the future
you'll see him there. But SmackDown. You know, we've been
running smack Down. We're always in the main event. You
(04:16):
always see us out there with celebrities, Hall of famers,
World Champs. It doesn't matter because me and Grace and
Waller are the two guys you put out there with anybody,
and we get the job done, and you know we're entertaining.
That's what this is about, you know, But yeah, man,
we're just I feel like when it came to NXT,
you look back, I never got a championship opportunity in NXT.
(04:37):
Grayson never got one as well. So tag team championships,
grab those, go to SmackDown, grab those, like, just take
all the tag championships. But I feel like also too,
when you look at NXT and you have two guys
like us come down there, I think we kind of
straighten everybody up and they're like, oh wow, like these
are two young dudes that are getting it on the
(04:57):
main roster. And we're young too, but we're in NXT,
which NXT is amazing, and I mean you saw last
night the arena full, the new championships, the matches, the
way the superstars are in the ring, their next level.
But I think when two guys like us come down there,
it really makes everybody go, oh whoa, Like there is
another level and age really isn't the thing here, Like
(05:20):
it's about just being that good and being able to
prove yourself.
Speaker 3 (05:24):
Right for sure.
Speaker 2 (05:25):
And I know recently we had a conversation with Tamaso
about you know, superstars being up on the main roster
and then going to NXT and how fans kind of
think that that's like a punishment per se. But what
is your thought on that, because I mean it seems
like everything is cohesive. You have everybody on this brand,
this brand and this brand. But again, like you said,
we could show up anywhere and it's not like a
(05:46):
punishment according to the you know, IWC.
Speaker 4 (05:50):
I think you know, like we all saw NXT right,
Like you have the Performance Center, that's where I started
when I got signed, and then you slowly get on
NXT TV and then eventually you make it to the
main roster. But it's crazy how the feeling of NXT
has changed and the caliber of superstars that they have
and the level they perform on the arenas they go to,
(06:11):
how they showcase those stars. Man, you can't really argue
that it's not a main roster feel. So to me,
I feel like WWE, it's this universe and we have
all these different you know, almost planets. You know, you
got smacked Down, you got RAW, you got NXT. So
I think it's it's so cool to look at it
as Wow, there's all these new characters there's all this
(06:33):
new talent. Let's see how an Austin Theory would collaborate
with this star, or Grayson Waller would collaborate with this star.
So I look at it more so as you know,
anybody that's on TV and the WWE, whether it's NXTTV, SmackDown,
or ROW, you're looking at a superstar. That person made
it out of millions and there's a reason they're there.
(06:55):
So for me to go to NXT, it's not a
step back, it's not a downgrade. It's not a know
like do I have to like get worked on or
do I have to get better at something. It's none
of that. It's just about elevating everybody and all of
us being in there together. It just makes us all
better and it improves the WWE for sure.
Speaker 5 (07:16):
So the three current tag team champions would be the Bloodline,
Judgment Day, and then an NXT. Nathan Frasier in axiom, Yeah, well,
I was just say objectively, if you had to go
after a set of belts, who do you think would
you would have the best chance of defeating?
Speaker 4 (07:35):
You know, I don't really look at it as like, oh,
what's the best chance, because me, I love the risk.
I love to be all in. I love the chaos.
A lot of people would say, hey, you know the
blood Line. I made that joke at the beginning. Lead
the blood Line out of it. The only reason I'd
leave the blood Line out is because, you know, anytime
you got a close chance of beating them, there's like
a new guy. I'm like, who is this? Who is
(07:57):
this guy? Get this USO out of here? You know
what I mean? Hard to keep up, Yeah, but as
far as you know the other tag team championships go
Judgment Day, me and Grace and Waller would drop them.
We could do that on Raw and NXT. I mean,
we've already made a point. You know. We got little
Nathan Fraser that looks like Kurt Cobain, and we got
the Power Ranger Axiom over here. These two guys they
(08:19):
call themselves Phraxium. Now as we do make fun of them,
they're both very impressive. They both you know, they've they've
done their thing, They've proved it. That's why they're the champs.
But we definitely know we're taking those NXT Tag Team championships.
Me and Grace and Waller are on the same page.
It's scary, man, and there's only one way those people
are gonna go, and that's atown down under Oo.
Speaker 3 (08:39):
Man, that's gonna be fun.
Speaker 2 (08:41):
Of course, speaking of fun, SmackDown is at the Bridge
That Arena Friday night, WW makes their return.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
You can still grab tickets ticketmaster dot com.
Speaker 2 (08:51):
Now, a little bit ago you had mentioned talking about
working with legends and Hall of famers and whatnot. Has
there ever been a moment while working with his legends
where you're like, in your head, You're like, man, this
is unreal, Like I'm really doing this.
Speaker 3 (09:06):
What was that feeling and what was it for you?
Speaker 4 (09:11):
Man? I have to say, like every opportunity or a
moment that I've you know, had the honor of being
a part of, I really take every moment in Like
I can remember a lot of moments, so specifically, I
remember the Rock promo. I've never met the Rock before.
There's a couple of guys in the back, you know,
they've met him at the performance center, or they've met
(09:32):
him on the main roster, never had an interaction with him.
And thirty minutes before that whole segment took place, I
met the Rock and we went out there and just
how he told me, sorry, how He told me that
we're going to create magic out there. You're going to
feel it, so just just feel it out there. And
I did, and just how the crowd just reacts to
(09:53):
him and it's just magic man, And that moment really
stuck out for me. And you know that goof Pat
McAfee was in there too. Whatever.
Speaker 2 (10:02):
Yeah, And that's that's always a cool thing because you
can that you could see that that magic happening on TV.
You could feel it through the TV. I know as
a fan, like, uh, you know, watching Monday Night Raw.
A buddy of ours who is a professional wrestler's name
is Colby. He was actually one of the security guards
in the Hell in the Cell match or the Hell
in the Cell promo, and like I'm sitting there watching
(10:24):
it and I'm like, you could just kind of feel
him taking everything in as just being like, you know,
one of those guys.
Speaker 4 (10:29):
And hey, you know your your friend Colby being an extra.
You know he might become a world champ. You know
that's usually how it goes, right. Yeah.
Speaker 5 (10:37):
Well, and he was in the ring with Punk and
Drew McIntyre, so I mean he's he's off to a
good start.
Speaker 4 (10:42):
You know. It's a good start to his story.
Speaker 3 (10:44):
Dude, Yeah, absolutely for sure. So you know, is there
a you know, you've you've done a lot of stuff.
Speaker 2 (10:51):
I know, last time we had you on, my my
son presented brought in some old promos from uh Pass
Wrestling promotions that you have worked for with Chammpionships and
you had that on everything. Is there a specific match
or moment, because I mean your career is still going
that looking back, you think completely redefined you as a performer.
Speaker 4 (11:13):
M you know, I feel like maybe not specifically a match, right,
but I think all these little moments, like we were
saying before, like we had the rock situation, We've had
the scene of situation, We've had the Stone Colt stunner,
We've had Jelly Roll, We've had it just keeps going,
you know, even having the match with Pat McAfee. I mean,
(11:35):
look what Pat McAfee's doing now and what he was
doing before. You know, the guy doesn't stop as much
as he sucks, you know. But yeah, it's just for me,
I think that all of these moments define me. And
I think ever since I started on the main roster,
I'm learning, but I'm also figuring it out more so
now and I think having these little pieces here and there,
(11:58):
it's either you know, you could take some stuff from
there or you can just let it be what it
is and move on. And for me, it's just little things.
You know, it builds your confidence. I've always been confident,
but you can definitely build your confidence the comfortability out
there grabbing a mic and really just being able to
flow getting in the ring, the bell ringing and you
(12:19):
not thinking of anything, just flowing in there, you know.
And I think where I'm at now, I've definitely grown
as a performer, and I think it's just hard to
narrow down a specific match or moment because I think
it just takes all of those to make me who
I am. And still, like you said, I'm very early
on in my career and I feel like, man, the
stuff that I've done is amazing, especially in the last
(12:41):
three years, but man, that's nothing compared to what I'm
gonna do. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (12:45):
Absolutely, And you talk about like just the being in
the ring with Jelly.
Speaker 3 (12:52):
Roll, Pat McAfee, the Rock, all these celebrities.
Speaker 2 (12:55):
It's got to be a good feeling for you that
you know, WW could come to you and say, hey, Austin,
and we need you to go into this ring and
take a choke slam from Jelly Roll.
Speaker 3 (13:03):
We need you to go and be with this celebrity.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
That's got to be a good feeling for you that
they entrust you with those kind of things.
Speaker 4 (13:10):
Yeah. Absolutely, And speaking on the Jelly Roll situation, it
wasn't going to be a choke slam, yea. I heard
little ideas of, hey, maybe a choke slam or this,
but I think like a scoop slam was actually going
to be what it was. And I remember, you know,
being in the ring with everybody and going to Triple
H and being like, hey, like just trust me on this.
(13:31):
Let him give me a choke slam. I'll make it
look amazing. All he has to do is put his
arm up and sure enough, man, we went out there
and it looked amazing. It trended like crazy, it was
all over the place. But it's just understanding, like that
job of what you need to do that night. And
I think always understanding why I'm doing something, and Okay,
(13:52):
is this gonna, you know, help, this is this what
we're trying to do for the company right now in
the position you're putting me in, and I just I'm
all in. I'm never like ah or disappointed and stuff
like that. I have a huge opportunity. I got a moment.
It's the WWE. It's the place I wanted to be
my entire life. There's not one other place I'd ever go.
This is it. So I'm locked in, man. So whatever
(14:15):
the opportunity is at the moment, or whoever the guy is,
it doesn't matter. If it's the Rock or Jelly Roll,
doesn't matter. You know I'm all in.
Speaker 5 (14:23):
Then yeah, well, you know it's been incredible obviously, even
going I don't think you mentioned, but your match for
John Cena. Obviously the company trust you.
Speaker 3 (14:34):
That's evident.
Speaker 5 (14:35):
We've got a lot of wrestling to go for twenty
twenty four, Bad Blood's coming up Survivor Series, and then
we're right back at the Rumble in the road to WrestleMania.
What are your plans or goals for the rest of
this year heading into the new year? In the reset
in January.
Speaker 4 (14:49):
Man, I have to tell you, when you say Royal Rumble,
my mind goes straight to winning that thing. For me.
That match has always been one of the coolest matches
for me. I can't exactly remember the year. But I
remember when I was living back in Georgia, going up
to Atlanta and getting to go see the Royal Rumble.
This is the one I believe Edge returned at. And
I even remember telling my grandfather. He was sitting next
(15:11):
to me and we're like right by the stage, so
you couldn't really see the ring or anything. But every
time somebody got eliminated, they'd walk to the side and
I'd have one of those little scroll cameras and I'd
take a picture of them. But I remember telling my grandfather.
I was like, Edge is going to come back. He's
going to come back, and he was like, Noah, no way,
And then he came back and he just kind of
gave me a look. But those little moments like that,
I remember when my grandfather because he's always been around
(15:33):
me and always took me to wrestling. But also that
Royal Rumble, just how cool that matches. How you can
just change your career trajectory like so fast. You know,
you go straight to the main event of WrestleMania and
you can become a champion. And I think anybody if
they say this isn't it, they're lying. Anybody that's ever
wanted to be in the WWE. They've wanted the main
(15:54):
event WrestleMania and win that title. And that's always going
to be my biggest goal, I feel like, and once
I accomplished that, I already know myself. If I don't stop,
I'm gonna want more. But that's definitely the goal. So
I have to say, coming up, man, it's that Royal Rumble.
I want that Royal Rumble this year. Nice.
Speaker 2 (16:11):
Well, you know, you can ask several of your other
wrestlers that have co hosts and well not co hosts,
you can ask several other people on the roadcast on
this show.
Speaker 3 (16:22):
They're in good graces to winning titles.
Speaker 2 (16:24):
We had Naya Jackson and while she went on to
win the Women's heavyweight Championship, and Tiffany Stratton came on,
she went on to win money in the bank. So
you came on, you put it out there that you
want to win the Royal Rumble.
Speaker 5 (16:35):
So very good chests, very good chance.
Speaker 2 (16:38):
Austin Theory will be your twenty twenty five Royal Rumble
champion there in Indianapolis. And then you can give Pat
McAfee the bird because I'm sure he'll be their ringside.
Speaker 4 (16:45):
Hey, I know he will be and he'll love that moment,
every second of it. Like you said, the twenty twenty
five Royal rumble, it's mine. But speaking of that twenty five,
I know you mentioned earlier that you know this Friday
Nashville tickets are on sale ticketmaster dot com. But speaking
of that twenty five, you can get tickets as low
as twenty five dollars. That's insane. You get to see me,
(17:05):
how talented I am, how good I look. Only twenty
five dollars. That's a little disrespectful, but you know what,
you get that opportunity, so don't miss it. Twenty five dollars.
It's how load the tickets.
Speaker 3 (17:15):
Are well, Austin, it's an honor and the privilege to
have you up.
Speaker 2 (17:18):
I know. We got to wrap things up and look
forward to seeing your Friday night in Nashville Bridge Don Arena.
Speaker 3 (17:23):
Before we let you go, you want to say anything to.
Speaker 2 (17:25):
People that are watching or listening to this right now,
even though you just did the promo for buy tickets.
Speaker 4 (17:29):
Yeah, hey, make sure you guys watch smack Down this
Friday in Nashville and also next Tuesday on NXT. We're
brand new on the CW you better check it out
because me and Grace and Waller are going to be
the new NXT Tag Team Champions and we're going to
take those titles everywhere. And then, you know, like we
talked about on here, the bloodline, better watch yourselves. You know,
(17:50):
you might have a bunch of family members, but me
and Grace and Waller, we're yeah, we don't have that
many family members. Never mind, just forget about the bloodline.
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