4 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE SmackDown (Aug 11)

1. WWE Totally F*cked Him

Austin Theory should be cracking skulls backstage.

The cocky heel scored a massive win over John Cena at WrestleMania 39 and seemed to have the world at his feet following a rough patch in late-2022. Since then, he's been absolutely overlooked by the same writers who instruct commentary teams to tell you Theory is the future of the entire promotion.

Figure that one out! Also, he just jobbed to last-minute replacement Rey Mysterio in less than three minutes to lose the United States Title. This is not meant as a negative against Rey, but...seriously? Theory gets a lengthy title reign and this is how WWE chooses to end it? Things might get worse for him before they get better too.

Mysterio is on the 'Grayson Waller Effect' next week, so it seems Austin will be left in the dust and creative will be onto a shiny new heel toy. Lengthy title reigns only work when workers come out of them better than they went in. That wasn't the case with Theory.