Clarification On Austin Theory's WWE Status After Internal Roster Removal (WWE News)

Backstage update on WWE's Austin Theory.

by Andrew Pollard
Austin Theory
WWE.com

With WWE's A-Town Down Under having been quietly split up last month, there's now somewhat of an update on Austin Theory's current status.

For those who may have missed it, the 21 July edition of Raw saw Grayson Waller make a throwaway backstage comment to the New Day about how Austin Theory was injured and how the A-Town Down Under tandem was officially done. Waller then offered to join Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston, which has been an ongoing saga in the weeks since.

This week saw rumblings that Theory had been removed from WWE's internal roster, and Fightful Select now has some clarification on that, noting that the former United States Champion hasn't been completely removed from the roster, but that he's instead currently listed alongside injured talent such as Zoey Stark and Ilja Dragunov.

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There are no details right now on what particular injury Austin Theory is dealing with, nor the severity of that injury. Hopefully, it's nothing too serious for the 28-year-old Georgia native.

Grayson Waller Austin Theory
WWE

In terms of in-ring, Theory was last in action on the 14 July WWE Main Event taping, where he lost to El Grande Americano. As for A-Town Down Under, they last teamed on the 26 June broadcast of Main Event, coming up short against the War Raiders.

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Grayson Waller hadn't wrestled for a month or so after that War Raiders bout, but has since returned to the ring in recent weeks, first against Penta on Main Event, then in Raw matches against Sheamus and, on this past week's Raw, again against Penta.

Having first teamed together in August 2023, the clear highlight of A-Town Down Under's time together was winning the WWE Tag Team Championships in a six-team ladder match at WrestleMania 40. That said, that title reign itself was a smidge underwhelming, lasting 90 days and featuring just one title defence - against the Street Profits - before the team lost the gold to DIY.

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While there was no big on-screen angle for A-Town Down Under's split, it remains to be seen whether Austin Theory will have Grayson Waller in his crosshairs as and when he returns to TV.

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Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.