6 Ups & 3 Downs From WWE Payback 2023 (Results & Review)

1. In Need Of A Reboot

Austin Theory
WWE.com

There are wrestlers you see on your TV screen who just scream, “Go away for a few months and come back with a fresh start.” Austin Theory has to be one of those superstars.

Theory has been a fixture on WWE programming for a couple years now, but he has yet to really connect. Sure, his in-ring work is technically fine, and he had a decent United States Championship match with Rey Mysterio Saturday night, but he elicited almost no reaction despite battling one of the most popular superstars in WWE history.

This is a guy who beat John Cena at WrestleMania just five months ago and has gained literally nothing from it other than a useless talking point he repeats ad nauseum with no impact.

On a six-match card for Payback, the US title match was easily the most forgettable of the bunch, with Theory being only a couple upgrades above a Create-A-Wrestler character. He desperately needs to take some time away, find himself and come back.

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Contributor
Contributor

Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fortunately became a fan in time for WrestleMania III and came back as a fan after a long high school hiatus before WM XIV. Monday nights in the Carlson household are reserved for viewing Raw -- for better or worse.