While recent developments on Monday Night Raw have pointed to the potential expansion of MVP’s recently formed heel stable, another villainous mid-card group might be losing one member, as reports suggest that Austin Theory might be headed back to NXT after a brief main roster stint.
Citing a members’ only report from Mike Johnson on PWInsider Elite , WrestlingNews.co wrote that WWE doesn’t appear to have any long-term plans for Theory, who was added to Zelina Vega’s stable in the lead-up to WrestleMania 36 . As noted, he was called up from NXT as the faction’s short-term replacement for the then-injured United States Champion Andrade, but apparently ended up staying a bit longer than expected, as he continued to appear on Raw in the weeks that followed the event.
“They seem to be teasing the beginning of Austin Theory getting tossed out of the group,” Johnson was quoted as saying. “When Austin Theory debuted at WrestleMania I was told he was not long for the group. He was there basically to help cover things up in terms of what was needed while Andrade was injured, but the long-term plan was not to keep him with Zelina Vega and friends.”
In its recap of this week’s episode of Raw , Cageside Seats described how the dissension within Vega’s stable played out, as Theory confronted Angel Garza after his victory over Akira Tozawa, with Vega stepping in to break up the fight between the two. This was followed by WWE Champion Drew McIntyre hitting the ring and attacking Theory, Garza, and Andrade before the show went to a commercial break.
.@Zelina_VegaWWE knows how to spot and promote the ABSOLUTE BEST talent #WWERaw has to offer. Straight to the top I go. ? MONDAY NIGHT THEORY ALL DAY!!! pic.twitter.com/ZSuWfA785U
— Austin Theory (@_Theory1) May 11, 2020
According to WrestlingNews.co , Raw executive director Paul Heyman was responsible for Theory’s main-roster call-up, as WWE chairman Vince McMahon wasn’t too familiar with the 22-year-old’s background during his time in NXT. However, there were some rumors from two weeks ago suggesting that he would eventually be sent back to the black-and-gold brand, as some company officials reportedly believe he needs more seasoning in order for him to reach his potential as one of WWE’s more promising young talents.
While most signs point to Theory’s main-roster stint coming to an end soon, that doesn’t appear to be the case for two other recent call-ups from NXT. As previously reported by The Inquisitr , WWE officials appear to be quite high on 6-foot 5-inch Australian wrestler Brendan Vink, who has recently been teaming with Shane Thorne on Monday Night Raw , with veteran grappler MVP acting as their manager and mentor.