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

1. WWE Totally F*cked Him

Austin Theory
WWE.com

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.

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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.