10 New Directions For WWE After WrestleMania 39 (Night 1)

9. Austin Theory’s Slow Burn Main Event Ascent

WWE WrestleMania 39 Triple H Rhea Ripley
WWE.com

WrestleMania opened with a landmark win over John Cena for Austin Theory, and instantly put to bed his (at times) nightmarish post-Vince McMahon retirement period under Triple H. Memories of his Money In The Bank woes evaporated when he pinned Cena in SoFi.

Later, Theory signed off on the show by cutting a brief promo asking if people believed in him now. WWE certainly does, and they'll eventually strap a main event-sized rocket to Austin. That climb starts immediately; beating JC on the grandest show of the year, and doing so in the opener, is massive for the guy.

The only way is up.

It's promising that Theory's United States Title is coming along for the trip too. Credit where it's due here - Triple H has done stellar work to present both the US and Intercontinental belts as meaningful prizes that absolutely have a place on the calendar's biggest supercards.

Next stop: Theory hitting headliners out the park.

Contributor

Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.