Austin Theory will defend the WWE United States Championship against John Cena at WrestleMania 39 this weekend.
During a recent interview with Stadium Astro, Theory discussed how his onscreen pairing with Vince McMahon came into being. Prior to his retirement last year, McMahon was heavily featured in Theory’s storyline, even helping him seek revenge against Pat McAfee at WrestleMania 38.
You can check out some highlights from the interview below:
On what led to his onscreen pairing with Vince McMahon: “It all came from the conversation we had when I was doing the dark matches before I got to the main roster. I had like a 15-minute meeting with him and it was just about, ‘who are you?’ I think he was starting to notice and hear from producers and agents and other people that were there that had been around me. They had been talking highly of me and he wanted to know who this person was. Sitting in that 15 minutes, I just let him know my passion and my work ethic and who I am as a person.”
On some advice McMahon gave him backstage: “I think that’s what led to it. I think he wanted to test me on that because I remember the first thing I ever did on TV, he walked up to me, I was about to go out, this was when I was starting the selfie thing, he said, ‘Go out there and be confident like I know you are.’ That’s always stuck with me because I am confident and I stick with that and that’s what has always gotten me here and I can back it up. Just having that opportunity with him, it was amazing, and I’m glad that I was able to share who I am and it was enough for him to give me a chance.”
