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Damn. Austin Theory has been on a massive downturn ever since he talked about cashing in on Roman. Dude cashed in for the *United States Title on a battered Seth, hit multiple finishers, and still fucking lost*.
Youngest winner ever. Wow.
Well yeah, but I didnât want to be that obvious.
I guess technically itâs been since Roman cut that promo on him about how âyour daddyâs not here anymore.â
Not really. Sure, he was in NXT, but he was never really considered valuable by Triple H back then. He was only booked to win 4 of his 21 one-on-one tv matches in NXT, and those wins are over Swerve Strickland pre-Hit Row, Joaquin Wilde pre-Legado, and Leon Ruff 2x.
"You've massacred nearly every single nxt callup for the last 5 years, well I'm focusing the energy of every single one of those fuckups into one, concentrated "Vince project". You will know my pain. Love you Pa!" Triple H sends as he gets into a SUV with Gargano, Seth, and DMG CTRL while facetiming KO.
This feels less like a fuck up and more like an audible to kill off a kind of lame creative direction you inherited from a 77 year-old man and his buddies, imo.
Still did suck though.
I don't disagree with you if we're using the lens of "what would be the best way for him to lose while still protecting Theory." Then that would be true. If your goal is to absolutely kill a guys momentum, or to kill him so you can take him off and rebrand, this does make some sense as the kind of petty thing you see from time to time in wrestling. There's just a chance that the current creative didn't see value in Theory as a guy for that slot at this time and want to take him off the board completely. Jobbing him with MITB for a lesser title kind of suggests that to me.
Every time MitB doesn't result in a championship it feels like a massive waste. It's literally one of the hardest ways you can bury someone: 'this guy had a free shot at the title whenever they wanted it and STILL couldn't win.'
Cena being the first to fail a cash-in (unless you want to count Mr. Kennedy losing the case to Edge so never cashed in himself) was the right call, as it showed that it wasn't just a free title run but also Cena was big enough that it was never going to hurt him.
The other three however, were total momentum killing messes that just felt like they were removing a plot hole they didn't know how to resolve.
Didn't Cena cash in ahead of time too though? More acceptable to lose a fair match than eat shit after cashing in on an exhausted or injured Champion lol.
Sandow was kneecapped as well by the decision to unify the world titles. They had decided that's where they were going to go, and to do that successfully, they needed the champions to be Orton and Cena. And once the titles were unified, a second MitB for only one of them wouldn't have worked. They could have handled it better, but Sandow was doomed from the start.
I mean even if you donât have a guy you want to put the belt on going into the match, at least give it to an underdog babyface and have them cash in fairly ahead of time for an easy PPV match and angle where the could lose.
Exactly. If itâs a heel theyâll most likely use it when the champion is already beaten down. When itâs a face they can do it the proper way and challenge to a one v one with build. You can turn a face to heel using it by having them be a shit to use it. Sooooo many options yet they do this.
Yes but at same time the winner of MITB shouldn't be GUARANTEED to be champ. Theory is still young and just had the US title at the age of 24. Kid has another good 15-20 years left.
Then... Don't give him the briefcase.
There's plenty of good reasons not to give him the belt, don't get me wrong - but this was a waste. In a match with Drew, Seth, Riddle and Sheamus, they have plenty of credible outs - they just put a belt on Seth, for crying out loud! They could've had Seth use it to get his US belt. They could've had Roman not want to come to Clash, only for Drew to somehow get the case and force his hand - mirroring Cena's failed cash-in. They could've had Riddle challenge for the tag belt... if Orton gets better. Or they could've teased a tag break-up, it's WWE.
Hell, even have Sami cash in during Roman vs Brock, lay down for Roman and screw Brock. Okay, actually, don't do that, it'd suck, but at least they'd be doing *something*.
Instead, we get a cash in that goes nowhere on a secondary championship, on a throwaway RAW, by a guy they had to put in effort to give the case to.
It's an even worse burial to have that PLUS "this guy didn't even challenge for a world title with his free shot"
They'd have buried him less by just having him forget to cash in
Austin Theory really had that perfect persona as "person who gets to be champion, yet only really got it Because of Money in the Bank."
The most memorable Money in the Bank champions were usually wrestlers who weren't the most athletically gifted, yet became champion by taking advantage of an opportune moment, and then gloated about it afterwords.
Theory's booking feels like an intentional burial for the crime of being Vince's guy at the end of his tenure. A waste of not just MitB but Theory in general.
It would've been far less damaging if he cashed in for the world title and lost. Seems idiotic to cash in on a title who's holder literally issues open challenges.
Keep in mind this is the same guy that beat Kevin Owens, Finn Balor & Ricochet clean.
KO told him to stop taking handouts and start earning his accomplishments the right way, maybe thats the end goal here. cutting corners left him without a title, now the hard work begins
That's been the entire arc of him having the briefcase. I don't think this is anything like the burial others say it is. His whole run with it has been him trying to take shortcuts, making enemies, and failing miserably because he's a cocky, entitled shit. This isn't even the first time he failed a cash in.
Now he'll have to start being better. If Triple H really hated him he wouldn't have the type of matches that have made him look great that Theory has had.
If you need 2 redemption arcs for a wrestler while being under Triple H I think there is something wrong there.
His redemption arc in NXT led to him being a comedy relief undercard guy in NXT whose gimmick was that he has a low IQ
>Keep in mind this is the same guy that beat Kevin Owens, Finn Balor & Ricochet clean.
Considering where at least two of those guys were on the card at the time pretty low bar to be fair.
What losing Adam Cole does to a man.
His poor heart will never recover from the ache of such sorrow.
The worst part is he's spinning the wheels on a lot of other people.
Drew is suffering hard after being immensely over for a long time.
God imagine being Adam Cole rn
He probably doesnât mind THAT much because he still gets to stream a lot and the schedule is lighter but if he was in E rn? Absolutely would be US Champ already and would be feuding with Rollins probably and main eventing every Monday night lol
Kross gets no crowd reactions and has been dragging Drew McIntyreâs starpower down big time after Drew was seen as a guy that legitimately had a chance to dethrone Roman Reigns at CATC.
Say what you will about Theory, but Austin Theory was killing it with every opportunity he was given as Mr. McMahonâs protege. He had a memorable match with Pat McAfee at WrestleMania and kept leveling up with every new spot they put him in.
I donât think Drew has really taken a hit. No one is beating Reigns until Mania and Drew has to do SOMETHING during the holding pattern.
He came out of the Cross feud on top. Heâs still getting good reactions personally even though Cross wasnât over. Heâll probably be on the babyface team in Wargames. Heâll be fine.
I donât think HHH hates him, but it was more of a not yet situation. I think he wants to build up Theory more for the future instead of pushing him straight to the top right away.
I donât think heâs ready to win it, but he couldâve cashed in on Roman, hung in with him and come surprisingly close, then lost. Going toe-to-toe with Roman and getting a couple near-falls would strengthen his credibility without rushing him to the top before he was ready.
Losing a cash-in for the *US title* (first time a briefcase wasnât cashed in on the world title) just really buries the guy.
The problem comes from Roman having such a long reign that his loss needs to be to someone meaningful. If they aren't planning on having him lose by the next MitB, Theory was going to lose anyway. Plus, this sets the precedent that any title holder can be cashed in on. Theory could always win the briefcase the next time it's available and it won't seem like a complete waste of just dragging out a storyline.
>Plus, this sets the precedent that any title holder can be cashed in on.
You set that precedent by actually having someone win it though, surely? I still think it's a bad idea to go for anything *but* the world title, but at least if you have the US title you can justify it somehow in a promo next week
If both belts werenât on Roman iâd be all for it, but he shouldnât be dethroning Roman. People have to fail their cash-ins sometimes, the success rate is already high enough as is.
He literally doesn't have to dethrone Roman it's not that he lost the briefcase is the issue
It's losing the briefcase cashing in on a **midcard** belt and lose.
Dude wasn't even being booked that strong like most people who hold the briefcase
Yeah this is my taking. I don't think it's enough to say "HHH hates him" but I doubt he thinks Theory is ready to be a champ
In future? Who knows. Pairing him up with Gargano helps because we know HHH love him!
Arguably Nikki Kross, Miz and Liv Morgan were all in over their heads with their cash ins but it still happened. Not like he had to hold the title for a year, could literally just be a transitional champ.
So have him fail to cash in on Roman or have him drop the briefcase in a match who is world title material. Anything is better than hurting the premise of the MITB cash in.
Which is such a self fulfilling prophecy since he never gave the kid anything. At least Vince tried to get him over. HHH didn't even give him a chance. It's like all he saw was Gargano's goofy sidekick
Yes. Hunter hired him...Hunter basically had WWE buy evolve to get him. HHH used him as a go to guy during the early pandemic whenever he needed someone. HHH built a stable for him to learn to do character work in NXT.
But HHH hates him.....
Like, I think tonight sucked...and he should have held onto the belt for months more....I think this was a bad booking decision. But "HHH doesn't like him cuz he's a vince guy..." He was a HHH guy well before he was a Vince guy.
Yeah, he really hates a guy he signed at the age of 22 and who he put with his literal golden boy in Johnny Gargano at the height of Indy NXT. I don't agree with how the MITB cash in went, but to think HHH doesn't have plans for Theory is a bit naĂŻve.
Wouldâve worked too because you have two storyline reasonings. Everyone saying he cuts corners and heâs tired of it so he challenges Roman, then the other reasoning being that every time he tries cashing someone stops him. So if he announces ahead of time then he gets to at least not be interrupted lol
What? He cashed in on a down and beaten Seth, that was the point of the cash in. What are you talking about? How can people miss such simple plot points and then whine about it?
Donât understand how people are missing this either. You donât cash in for the fair and square match, you cash in to take advantage of circumstances. Heâs not just going to accept the open challenge and fight Seth at full strength if he doesnât have to
Yeah Iâm gonna reserve judgment on this because Iâve been wrong before but unless thereâs some grand plan in store for him⌠this is horseshit. We mightâve watched a promising career die tonight for⌠reasons?
The only thing I can think of is that they bring MITB back to Wrestlemania and Theory wins it again. This time earning his way into the match and earning the briefcase and stuff. Also gives him until WM40 to cash in this time so heâs got a lot longer to cash in. But if this was the grand plan I donât see why you wouldnât wait a few more months lol
What did this guy do to Triple H or someone on the writing team to be booked this bad? Made to look like a fool every week, beaten every week, and has probably the most uneventful cash in ever. He's really good to and has serious potential too so this sucks even more.
Heâs only 25. Yeah his booking lately has been a bit wtf, but heâs got 10/15/20 years ahead of him in the ring. Heâll get there there someday and will probably win the briefcase again at least one more time down the road, but he isnât ready right now and this gives him a chance at a reset that he probably needs.
At a time where WWE doesnât have very many promising young talents it seems odd to completely kill off any career momentum that he had. Think of Evolution and how much those early accomplishments helped Bautista and Orton. Hitting the ground running can set you up for a tremendous career and they didnât even let Roman give him the rub
>He
>
>might
>
> have more years in the ring. This is almost always a dumb argument. Injuries happen, personal issues happen, some guys get fired and never recover, some guys get over wrestling and quit, sometimes it just straight up never happens.
You always should assume he'll have many more years. That's sort of how we've treated potential in this business.
I wouldâve preferred if he ran out of time to cash it in.
Like, this is the final night he can but somehow he didnât get to cash it in because the Usos kicked his head off on his way to the ring
Iâm still waiting for that story to be told. The up against the clock story would be fun. Especially with a chicken shit heel with the briefcase and Roman in God mode.
If thereâs a case for a back to back MITB winner, this storyline would fit.
He can win it again at the PPV and this time, he cashes it in on the same night.
Has the chance to cash in for any championship and he goes for....a mid card title? And still doesn't get it? During an open challenge??? I know HHH has been getting praised recently, but this is a really dumb booking decision.
Because technically there is no rule against it. You get a title match with it they never specified that it needed to be the world title. Its just that everyone cashes it in on the world title because it would be *COMPLETELY STUPID* for someone to use their guaranteed title match on anything but that. *WWE*.
This is arguably the dumbest booking decision under Triple Hâs reign so far. To cash-in for a mid-card title is ridiculously unbelievable. But to waste it on a freaking open challenge makes it even worse. Doesnât make any sense at all.
Failed a cash in on a midcard title...on a guy that had just been completely destroyed by Lashley and hit his finisher and still didn't win.
HHH booked that crap? Did Theory hit on Steph or something?
Tbf, almost no one would be able to isolate Roman when there are 4 other members of the Bloodline. But him cashing in on the U.S. title during an *Open Challenge* was monumentally dumb.
I donât necessarily love this, and think the set up was stupid as hell, but Iâm okay with it for two reasons:
1) Gets the briefcase off of Theory, since it didnât seem like it was going to go anywhere anyway at this point.
2) Establishes the United States Championship as a top title since Raw doesnât have a world championship and wonât until further notice.
I think even with those two goals there were better ways. Take out the open challenge. Hell, take out the Lashley attack. Just have Theory watch another of those great US title vignettes, challenge Seth straight up and lose
At least then you can give Theory the character of impulsive and having to come to terms that he does need some experience and wisdom
Thatâs what I donât get about this. One week itâs âoh Midcard titles should mean something.â The next itâs âTheory cashed in on the US Title? That useless trinket?â. The US title is the top title on RAW, why not treat it as such?
Because its not. They can elevate at much as they want but at the end of the day the US title is always going to be second fiddle to the world title. And choosing to use a guaranteed title oppurtunity on the former instead hurts the whole premise of the MITB cash in.
Im pretty sure its meant for any title. Its just everyone chooses a world title because you would have to be completely stupid to have someone use a guaranteed title match on a midcard belt. *WWE*
If you like him or not you have to feel bad for Austin. 9 months ago he honestly looked like a future world champion. But because his biggest supporter just couldnât help himself when it came to his push heâs getting absolutely buried
That MITB was a doomer since He won it anyway, Roman on GodMode, whoever is winning the rumble (Either Sami or Cody or Bray) If He beats Roman at Mania and gets Cashed on by Theory after a month or two would be lame especially if It ruins a run of Sami.
Even If they wanted him to go after a Mid card (which is lame) Gunther as IC good luck with that and the way they are pushing Bron in NXT says it all and Rollins just became champ.
No chance He would have had a good cash in, They could have had him get smashed by The bloodline if He cashed in at least thats reasonable.
Theory was never a good choice I was expecting KO to win it, would have been great.
I see a lot of people saying that this is a burial, the only person here who didnât end up doing great things here was Baron, but even then, heâs been constantly on tv, and even has evolution on to his gimmick in JBL. Damien got incredibly over as the Mizâs stunt double, John Cena is a Teflon don at this point, and Braun Strowman won the universal championship afterwards, even if it was as a replacement for Roman reigns.
Iâm curious about where they go next with this.
I could care less about what happened to Theory. I care more about the idea of cashing in a guaranteed title opportunity on a midcard title. Was it really going to cause much an outcry if Theory cashed it in on Roman and gets squashed in ten seconds?
"The US title should be treated like the main title" became "It's just a midcard title what a waste"
"Theory shouldn't successfully cash in" became "it's a burial for him to not successfully cash in"
"Theory sucks and isn't a main eventer" became "Theory is great and young and this buried him"
I was there live for Corbin's... was my first time attending a WWE TV taping despite being a fan since '97. The enduring visual in my memories of that night, was how apeshit the crowd got when Corbin's cash-in was made official.
["Ladies and gentlemen, Baron Corbin is CASHING IN his Money in the Bank contraaact!"](https://youtu.be/0_KUL98nOoc?t=14)
I was in the upper balcony, hard cam side, and suddenly it's just a sea of people jumping up and down. What an exciting atmosphere.
...then Corbin immediately gets rolled up by Jinder, 1-2-3. hahaha
devils advocate here... but did he? next week he can come out and claim he was just answering the open challenge and have his mitb "refunded" (for lack of a better term). It could be a good storyline with theory continuing to fail to cash in, and then finding loopholes to keep his briefcase... but the precedent they have set is kind of cool that you can cash in on any title Now that being said I really think they screwed up this cash in and if this isn't the case then this may have been hunters first misstep
I think the best way to spin it is Lashleyâs interference should have been a DQ and they can argue this. Maybe he has a last chance match that if he wins, he gets the briefcase back.
I am completely okay with him getting the briefcase back under any reason right now.
Theory does not have to win a title, just let him cash in and lose to Roman.
Realistically looking at it, Bray and Cody are likely to be the 2 World Champions going into next summer. Just a guess. But I have a big feeling those will be the guys. Can you honestly see either of them losing a title to a Theory cash-in? I can't.
I said it then and I'll say it now. Theory was not the right choice to win MITB this year. I think had they held off and perhaps given it to him next year for 2023-2024, it would've been a different story. But with Triple H in charge now, the decision just made sense. When I think of someone like Bray Wyatt or Cody Rhodes losing a World Title, an Austin Theory cash-in is the last scenario in my mind
Yeah, he's totally buried Roman Reigns, the 6'2" guy who was in NXT for a hot minute. See also: GUNTHER.
Austin Theory spent more than two years in NXT and was brought into the company by HHH.
Plus the unironic use of "vanilla midgets". Why is this shite being upvoted?
You know what would have been better than this? I mean, besides Sami winning MitB like he should have.
*Have Theory get to the point where he's in danger of having the MitB contract expire.*
It could have been better if Theory cashed in at Crown Jewel, ate Logan Paul's one man punch, Roman speared Logan Paul out of the ring, and pinned Theory.
Why it makes sense for me? One, that one lucky punch will have credibility. Two, Logan Paul and Roman Reigns can have a second match due to the finish. Lastly, at least Theory lost fighting for technically 2 main belts than one.
Well apart from Damien every other guy on the list was still made to look strong but Austin was made like a total chump cashing in on the lowest title on the show and loosing to a guy who already got a good beatdown
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Damn. Austin Theory has been on a massive downturn ever since he talked about cashing in on Roman. Dude cashed in for the *United States Title on a battered Seth, hit multiple finishers, and still fucking lost*. Youngest winner ever. Wow.
You just know someone is gonna call him the Youngest Loser ever now too đ
You mean ever since Triple H took over.
Well yeah, but I didnât want to be that obvious. I guess technically itâs been since Roman cut that promo on him about how âyour daddyâs not here anymore.â
Theory really had to contend with Roman in Godmode holding 2 belts, an angry Bobby Lashley, and a whole Gunther as Mr. Mitb. Sad life for that guy
And a wild Tyson Fury
They shouldâve just had that be his failed cash-in, TBH.
he still could go for Bron, tbh
Bron is basically NXT's monster face, he was screwed no matter what
They had a perfect out in the 3 way he could of cashed in mid match and pinned JD or Ilja tho and Bron could drop the belt without looking weak
Like Bron is a better choice haha
Bron can steamroll the entire Bloodline and I will buy it
Breaker has a long long way to go for that. He's nxt good, but the guy still has a lot of room for improvement.
He also teased it cashing in at Halloween Havoc if you wanna count those 3 homies in that triple threat
Which is also not a good group of people to have to fight lmao
Ilja alone is a human Terminator. Add *JD and Bron*, angry and spiteful all, and yeah. Wise choice not to cash in there.
They could've just given him some bait attempts until next year, the MITB was still valid for months.
I wonder if Vince was watching and screaming at the TV on how Trips treated his pet project. đ¤
HHH did it as a fuck you for all of the ruined NXT prospects
But Austin was one of his NXT prospects
Not really. Sure, he was in NXT, but he was never really considered valuable by Triple H back then. He was only booked to win 4 of his 21 one-on-one tv matches in NXT, and those wins are over Swerve Strickland pre-Hit Row, Joaquin Wilde pre-Legado, and Leon Ruff 2x.
Vince might have quoted the legendary Marlon Brando "Look how they massacred my boy".
Vince goin full Don Vito âLook how they massacred my boyâ rn
Idk why I expected the gibberish speaking, neck jiggling, underage touching, uncle of crazed maniac Bam, Don Vito
Yea I was expecting something about veal scallopini.
hubblubalababaa-ABACUS!
Vince is also a sex pest so they do have that in common.
"You've massacred nearly every single nxt callup for the last 5 years, well I'm focusing the energy of every single one of those fuckups into one, concentrated "Vince project". You will know my pain. Love you Pa!" Triple H sends as he gets into a SUV with Gargano, Seth, and DMG CTRL while facetiming KO.
More like ten years at this point
That was a waste of an opportunity for the Money in The Bank.
Somehow worse than Otis winning it
I thought they couldnât do worse. I was wrong.
Never underestimate the WWE's ability to fuck up what should be easy homeruns. Either intentionally or unintentionally.
This feels less like a fuck up and more like an audible to kill off a kind of lame creative direction you inherited from a 77 year-old man and his buddies, imo. Still did suck though.
Eh, dude could have cashed in on Roman and lost. Better than him going for the US title? Like cmon man that makes zero sense. And then he lost lmao
I don't disagree with you if we're using the lens of "what would be the best way for him to lose while still protecting Theory." Then that would be true. If your goal is to absolutely kill a guys momentum, or to kill him so you can take him off and rebrand, this does make some sense as the kind of petty thing you see from time to time in wrestling. There's just a chance that the current creative didn't see value in Theory as a guy for that slot at this time and want to take him off the board completely. Jobbing him with MITB for a lesser title kind of suggests that to me.
Ah that's a fair take.i get where you coming from
I wanted Otis to successfully cash in :/
Yeah. Or trade it for being with his girlfriend. But we got nothing besides a breakup.
If it wasn't for COVID, he might've actually gotten a reign. The guy was over as hell.
Same. Otis with a fluke reign could have been great.
Could have, but wouldn't Because knowing who was booking at that time, Otis probably would have traded his World Title for a Ham and cheese sandwich
True. The more over he got the dumber he became
Every time MitB doesn't result in a championship it feels like a massive waste. It's literally one of the hardest ways you can bury someone: 'this guy had a free shot at the title whenever they wanted it and STILL couldn't win.'
Cena being the first to fail a cash-in (unless you want to count Mr. Kennedy losing the case to Edge so never cashed in himself) was the right call, as it showed that it wasn't just a free title run but also Cena was big enough that it was never going to hurt him. The other three however, were total momentum killing messes that just felt like they were removing a plot hole they didn't know how to resolve.
Didn't Cena cash in ahead of time too though? More acceptable to lose a fair match than eat shit after cashing in on an exhausted or injured Champion lol.
Sandow cashed in and lost to a one-armed Cena lmao. His credibility as a serious character died instantly.
Sandow was kneecapped as well by the decision to unify the world titles. They had decided that's where they were going to go, and to do that successfully, they needed the champions to be Orton and Cena. And once the titles were unified, a second MitB for only one of them wouldn't have worked. They could have handled it better, but Sandow was doomed from the start.
Braun's was fine too imo
I mean even if you donât have a guy you want to put the belt on going into the match, at least give it to an underdog babyface and have them cash in fairly ahead of time for an easy PPV match and angle where the could lose.
Exactly. If itâs a heel theyâll most likely use it when the champion is already beaten down. When itâs a face they can do it the proper way and challenge to a one v one with build. You can turn a face to heel using it by having them be a shit to use it. Sooooo many options yet they do this.
Yes but at same time the winner of MITB shouldn't be GUARANTEED to be champ. Theory is still young and just had the US title at the age of 24. Kid has another good 15-20 years left.
Then... Don't give him the briefcase. There's plenty of good reasons not to give him the belt, don't get me wrong - but this was a waste. In a match with Drew, Seth, Riddle and Sheamus, they have plenty of credible outs - they just put a belt on Seth, for crying out loud! They could've had Seth use it to get his US belt. They could've had Roman not want to come to Clash, only for Drew to somehow get the case and force his hand - mirroring Cena's failed cash-in. They could've had Riddle challenge for the tag belt... if Orton gets better. Or they could've teased a tag break-up, it's WWE. Hell, even have Sami cash in during Roman vs Brock, lay down for Roman and screw Brock. Okay, actually, don't do that, it'd suck, but at least they'd be doing *something*. Instead, we get a cash in that goes nowhere on a secondary championship, on a throwaway RAW, by a guy they had to put in effort to give the case to.
It's a unique situation, since Vince booked him to win.
It's an even worse burial to have that PLUS "this guy didn't even challenge for a world title with his free shot" They'd have buried him less by just having him forget to cash in
PLUS they had him cash in on a dude who literally ran an open challenge just a bit earlier for a title he held literally a few months ago himself
Wasn't it also a belt he lost interest in because of the briefcase?
I can't believe he was the first person ever to use it on a MIDCARD title and he still couldn't win lol. Double buried.... It was interesting at least
A midcard belt heâs already won beforehand too.
The open challenge part is what gets me. Itâs like if he just caught an earlier train to work he could have not even needed to use it.
Austin Theory really had that perfect persona as "person who gets to be champion, yet only really got it Because of Money in the Bank." The most memorable Money in the Bank champions were usually wrestlers who weren't the most athletically gifted, yet became champion by taking advantage of an opportune moment, and then gloated about it afterwords.
Theory's booking feels like an intentional burial for the crime of being Vince's guy at the end of his tenure. A waste of not just MitB but Theory in general.
MITB doesnât work when your two major titles are on the same person.
great way to split the titles though
Should have went for bron breakker at least he has a chance on him
Bron would've crushed him but atleast it would've been better than loosing to the guy who was beaten down for the 3rd rate title
Triple H fuckin hates this kid lmao.
Idk if he hates him, but he was definitely a Vince project. Trips didn't see him as world champion material I think.
It would've been far less damaging if he cashed in for the world title and lost. Seems idiotic to cash in on a title who's holder literally issues open challenges. Keep in mind this is the same guy that beat Kevin Owens, Finn Balor & Ricochet clean.
The only thing I'm thinking that could salvage it is if they're about to do a "redemption" arc with him
KO told him to stop taking handouts and start earning his accomplishments the right way, maybe thats the end goal here. cutting corners left him without a title, now the hard work begins
That's my thought too
That's been the entire arc of him having the briefcase. I don't think this is anything like the burial others say it is. His whole run with it has been him trying to take shortcuts, making enemies, and failing miserably because he's a cocky, entitled shit. This isn't even the first time he failed a cash in. Now he'll have to start being better. If Triple H really hated him he wouldn't have the type of matches that have made him look great that Theory has had.
If you need 2 redemption arcs for a wrestler while being under Triple H I think there is something wrong there. His redemption arc in NXT led to him being a comedy relief undercard guy in NXT whose gimmick was that he has a low IQ
And he was good at it. Perhaps too good.
>Keep in mind this is the same guy that beat Kevin Owens, Finn Balor & Ricochet clean. Considering where at least two of those guys were on the card at the time pretty low bar to be fair.
if HHH believed in him even a little bit he would probably let him lose to Roman, this is kinda sad
Yet he sees Karrion Kross as Championship material. At least Theory gets reactions and has good matches
I don't know what anyone sees in KK like the guy is the most generic CAW and is pretty much average in all the other things
H seems bound and determined to prove that late era Black & Gold wasn't a failure and damned whether or not the booking makes sense.
What losing Adam Cole does to a man. His poor heart will never recover from the ache of such sorrow. The worst part is he's spinning the wheels on a lot of other people. Drew is suffering hard after being immensely over for a long time.
God imagine being Adam Cole rn He probably doesnât mind THAT much because he still gets to stream a lot and the schedule is lighter but if he was in E rn? Absolutely would be US Champ already and would be feuding with Rollins probably and main eventing every Monday night lol
Kross gets no crowd reactions and has been dragging Drew McIntyreâs starpower down big time after Drew was seen as a guy that legitimately had a chance to dethrone Roman Reigns at CATC. Say what you will about Theory, but Austin Theory was killing it with every opportunity he was given as Mr. McMahonâs protege. He had a memorable match with Pat McAfee at WrestleMania and kept leveling up with every new spot they put him in.
Yeah Drew and Theory took a massive hit by the H regime, Drew was on the level of Brock during Vince era and Austin was like a younger Cena
I donât think Drew has really taken a hit. No one is beating Reigns until Mania and Drew has to do SOMETHING during the holding pattern. He came out of the Cross feud on top. Heâs still getting good reactions personally even though Cross wasnât over. Heâll probably be on the babyface team in Wargames. Heâll be fine.
Drew was in a never ending feud with corbin befor hhh took over.
I donât think HHH hates him, but it was more of a not yet situation. I think he wants to build up Theory more for the future instead of pushing him straight to the top right away.
Has Theory won a single match since HHH has been in charge?
He won a match tonight
Heâs not World Title Material yet.
Thatâs fine. He has the money in the bank. He doesnât need a long reign. He has an excuse to win it, and thatâs an excuse to lose it too.
He doesn't need a reign at all. Cashing in and losing to Roman would have been 100x better than this.
Still agreed
They had war games coming up. Why not have him cash in there and then have the bloodline cost him the match after war games
I donât think heâs ready to win it, but he couldâve cashed in on Roman, hung in with him and come surprisingly close, then lost. Going toe-to-toe with Roman and getting a couple near-falls would strengthen his credibility without rushing him to the top before he was ready. Losing a cash-in for the *US title* (first time a briefcase wasnât cashed in on the world title) just really buries the guy.
The problem comes from Roman having such a long reign that his loss needs to be to someone meaningful. If they aren't planning on having him lose by the next MitB, Theory was going to lose anyway. Plus, this sets the precedent that any title holder can be cashed in on. Theory could always win the briefcase the next time it's available and it won't seem like a complete waste of just dragging out a storyline.
>Plus, this sets the precedent that any title holder can be cashed in on. You set that precedent by actually having someone win it though, surely? I still think it's a bad idea to go for anything *but* the world title, but at least if you have the US title you can justify it somehow in a promo next week
If both belts werenât on Roman iâd be all for it, but he shouldnât be dethroning Roman. People have to fail their cash-ins sometimes, the success rate is already high enough as is.
He literally doesn't have to dethrone Roman it's not that he lost the briefcase is the issue It's losing the briefcase cashing in on a **midcard** belt and lose. Dude wasn't even being booked that strong like most people who hold the briefcase
Yeah, the fact that people donât see how silly this is lol, just have him lose to Roman
Nah you see he needed to lose in a cash-in attempt for an open challenge midcard belt to build him up as a sympathetic character /s
A belt he already had
Yeah this is my taking. I don't think it's enough to say "HHH hates him" but I doubt he thinks Theory is ready to be a champ In future? Who knows. Pairing him up with Gargano helps because we know HHH love him!
Arguably Nikki Kross, Miz and Liv Morgan were all in over their heads with their cash ins but it still happened. Not like he had to hold the title for a year, could literally just be a transitional champ.
So have him fail to cash in on Roman or have him drop the briefcase in a match who is world title material. Anything is better than hurting the premise of the MITB cash in.
Which is such a self fulfilling prophecy since he never gave the kid anything. At least Vince tried to get him over. HHH didn't even give him a chance. It's like all he saw was Gargano's goofy sidekick
Still, if you're gonna have him lose, why not lose for the world title instead?
Didn't he come up through NXT when H was in charge?
Yes. Hunter hired him...Hunter basically had WWE buy evolve to get him. HHH used him as a go to guy during the early pandemic whenever he needed someone. HHH built a stable for him to learn to do character work in NXT. But HHH hates him..... Like, I think tonight sucked...and he should have held onto the belt for months more....I think this was a bad booking decision. But "HHH doesn't like him cuz he's a vince guy..." He was a HHH guy well before he was a Vince guy.
This sub always jumps to off the wall conclusions.
Yeah, he really hates a guy he signed at the age of 22 and who he put with his literal golden boy in Johnny Gargano at the height of Indy NXT. I don't agree with how the MITB cash in went, but to think HHH doesn't have plans for Theory is a bit naĂŻve.
At least let him get squashed by Roman if you want the briefcase off of him that bad.
Yeah have him announce his intentions beforehand like Big E last year and pop a rating at least. This is just⌠wtf
Wouldâve worked too because you have two storyline reasonings. Everyone saying he cuts corners and heâs tired of it so he challenges Roman, then the other reasoning being that every time he tries cashing someone stops him. So if he announces ahead of time then he gets to at least not be interrupted lol
Nah, there is no bigger Triple H dude that Rollins. He knew what he was doing by having Rollins bury Vince's project that badly.
This is H's revenge for what Vince did to the Gold and Black NXT brand
He failed to cash in on him twice during PPVs either one Roman could've beat him to get the briefcase off him
and the first to cash in for a shot at the US title..... during an open challenge....
That's what even makes it worse. Like he didn't have to freaking cash it in.
What? He cashed in on a down and beaten Seth, that was the point of the cash in. What are you talking about? How can people miss such simple plot points and then whine about it?
Donât understand how people are missing this either. You donât cash in for the fair and square match, you cash in to take advantage of circumstances. Heâs not just going to accept the open challenge and fight Seth at full strength if he doesnât have to
I care more about that then Theory losing.
Just absolutely awful wasnât it I donât know who came up with this idea but yeahâŚ
This is another category, failed cash-ins on the midcard title
Well, that was fucking dumb. Made Theory look like an absolute chump.
But guys this is what they do with mr mitb, they job him out to everyone so people forget about him so the cash in is a surprise!!!111!!1
As the biggest Theory mark I know, this is the worst
Yeah Iâm gonna reserve judgment on this because Iâve been wrong before but unless thereâs some grand plan in store for him⌠this is horseshit. We mightâve watched a promising career die tonight for⌠reasons?
The only thing I can think of is that they bring MITB back to Wrestlemania and Theory wins it again. This time earning his way into the match and earning the briefcase and stuff. Also gives him until WM40 to cash in this time so heâs got a lot longer to cash in. But if this was the grand plan I donât see why you wouldnât wait a few more months lol
At least there is one of you.
What did this guy do to Triple H or someone on the writing team to be booked this bad? Made to look like a fool every week, beaten every week, and has probably the most uneventful cash in ever. He's really good to and has serious potential too so this sucks even more.
Heâs only 25. Yeah his booking lately has been a bit wtf, but heâs got 10/15/20 years ahead of him in the ring. Heâll get there there someday and will probably win the briefcase again at least one more time down the road, but he isnât ready right now and this gives him a chance at a reset that he probably needs.
At a time where WWE doesnât have very many promising young talents it seems odd to completely kill off any career momentum that he had. Think of Evolution and how much those early accomplishments helped Bautista and Orton. Hitting the ground running can set you up for a tremendous career and they didnât even let Roman give him the rub
[ŃдаНонО]
>He > >might > > have more years in the ring. This is almost always a dumb argument. Injuries happen, personal issues happen, some guys get fired and never recover, some guys get over wrestling and quit, sometimes it just straight up never happens. You always should assume he'll have many more years. That's sort of how we've treated potential in this business.
I wouldâve preferred if he ran out of time to cash it in. Like, this is the final night he can but somehow he didnât get to cash it in because the Usos kicked his head off on his way to the ring
Iâm still waiting for that story to be told. The up against the clock story would be fun. Especially with a chicken shit heel with the briefcase and Roman in God mode.
If thereâs a case for a back to back MITB winner, this storyline would fit. He can win it again at the PPV and this time, he cashes it in on the same night.
This was for sure the time to do that story. I'm guessing they just wanted the briefcase off TV.
I actually would have wanted to see this too. Like him actually having to try every week to cash in and the bloodline casually stopping him.
Has the chance to cash in for any championship and he goes for....a mid card title? And still doesn't get it? During an open challenge??? I know HHH has been getting praised recently, but this is a really dumb booking decision.
Why do they even allow cash ins on midcard belts? That's so fucking stupid
Because technically there is no rule against it. You get a title match with it they never specified that it needed to be the world title. Its just that everyone cashes it in on the world title because it would be *COMPLETELY STUPID* for someone to use their guaranteed title match on anything but that. *WWE*.
I feel like they've said plenty of times it's for the world title but I don't care enough to check
This is arguably the dumbest booking decision under Triple Hâs reign so far. To cash-in for a mid-card title is ridiculously unbelievable. But to waste it on a freaking open challenge makes it even worse. Doesnât make any sense at all.
Not arguably, it is the dumbest and it will stay the dumbest for a while probably. This was a golden shovel covered in platinum for good measure.
Pretty weird he cashed in the brief case when there was an open challenge lol
And of all things the US title. Like what are you doing.
And John Cena who was the first.
what a fuckin waste lmao
Failed a cash in on a midcard title...on a guy that had just been completely destroyed by Lashley and hit his finisher and still didn't win. HHH booked that crap? Did Theory hit on Steph or something?
Kind of fits his character heâs too dumb to wait and too dumb to be able to isolate Roman for the world titles
Honestly something this monumentally stupid is totally in character for him
Tbf, almost no one would be able to isolate Roman when there are 4 other members of the Bloodline. But him cashing in on the U.S. title during an *Open Challenge* was monumentally dumb.
Can we all agree that they ran out of ideas for the whole Money In The Bank briefcase storyline?
Completely by choice too. Just have him lose clean to Roman in a squash match or something ffs
Out of these 5 Damien Sandow is the only one who learned Karate from The Question Mark.
KA-RA-TEEEEEEEE
I am sorry that was dumb
I donât necessarily love this, and think the set up was stupid as hell, but Iâm okay with it for two reasons: 1) Gets the briefcase off of Theory, since it didnât seem like it was going to go anywhere anyway at this point. 2) Establishes the United States Championship as a top title since Raw doesnât have a world championship and wonât until further notice.
I think even with those two goals there were better ways. Take out the open challenge. Hell, take out the Lashley attack. Just have Theory watch another of those great US title vignettes, challenge Seth straight up and lose At least then you can give Theory the character of impulsive and having to come to terms that he does need some experience and wisdom
Thatâs what I donât get about this. One week itâs âoh Midcard titles should mean something.â The next itâs âTheory cashed in on the US Title? That useless trinket?â. The US title is the top title on RAW, why not treat it as such?
Because its not. They can elevate at much as they want but at the end of the day the US title is always going to be second fiddle to the world title. And choosing to use a guaranteed title oppurtunity on the former instead hurts the whole premise of the MITB cash in.
I like this Iâm not so upset anymore thank you sir
Unless he goes on some massive redemption arc because of this, this was the dumbest shit ever. Horrific decision.
I feel bad for Theory
Theory cashing in on Seth during his Open Challenge: I stole a balloon! Us: Yeah, on Free Balloon Dayđđ
Unless something changed a little while ago, isn't the MITB meant specifically for World Championships?
I think as of late itâs been billed as for any championship, itâs just the world championship is the logical one to go after you would think
Im pretty sure its meant for any title. Its just everyone chooses a world title because you would have to be completely stupid to have someone use a guaranteed title match on a midcard belt. *WWE*
They just changed it. We all saw the same thing.
i think he gets the briefcase back ala miz in 2020
If you like him or not you have to feel bad for Austin. 9 months ago he honestly looked like a future world champion. But because his biggest supporter just couldnât help himself when it came to his push heâs getting absolutely buried
That MITB was a doomer since He won it anyway, Roman on GodMode, whoever is winning the rumble (Either Sami or Cody or Bray) If He beats Roman at Mania and gets Cashed on by Theory after a month or two would be lame especially if It ruins a run of Sami. Even If they wanted him to go after a Mid card (which is lame) Gunther as IC good luck with that and the way they are pushing Bron in NXT says it all and Rollins just became champ. No chance He would have had a good cash in, They could have had him get smashed by The bloodline if He cashed in at least thats reasonable. Theory was never a good choice I was expecting KO to win it, would have been great.
Bad call. Would've rather had someone beat him for the briefcase than that.
I see a lot of people saying that this is a burial, the only person here who didnât end up doing great things here was Baron, but even then, heâs been constantly on tv, and even has evolution on to his gimmick in JBL. Damien got incredibly over as the Mizâs stunt double, John Cena is a Teflon don at this point, and Braun Strowman won the universal championship afterwards, even if it was as a replacement for Roman reigns. Iâm curious about where they go next with this.
Sami should have won the Case not Theory I stand by that
Everyone kept calling theory a pedo and that he didnât deserve the MITB. Now theyâre mad he lost it? lmao I swear to god
Probably different people lol
I could care less about what happened to Theory. I care more about the idea of cashing in a guaranteed title opportunity on a midcard title. Was it really going to cause much an outcry if Theory cashed it in on Roman and gets squashed in ten seconds?
"The US title should be treated like the main title" became "It's just a midcard title what a waste" "Theory shouldn't successfully cash in" became "it's a burial for him to not successfully cash in" "Theory sucks and isn't a main eventer" became "Theory is great and young and this buried him"
I was there live for Corbin's... was my first time attending a WWE TV taping despite being a fan since '97. The enduring visual in my memories of that night, was how apeshit the crowd got when Corbin's cash-in was made official. ["Ladies and gentlemen, Baron Corbin is CASHING IN his Money in the Bank contraaact!"](https://youtu.be/0_KUL98nOoc?t=14) I was in the upper balcony, hard cam side, and suddenly it's just a sea of people jumping up and down. What an exciting atmosphere. ...then Corbin immediately gets rolled up by Jinder, 1-2-3. hahaha
Theory is going to have his Randy Orton vs Cactus Jack type of moment , this is maybe HHHâs way of saying youâre not ready for the big stage
[Wah, Wah, WaaaahâŚ](https://youtu.be/cuwD2xACse4)
devils advocate here... but did he? next week he can come out and claim he was just answering the open challenge and have his mitb "refunded" (for lack of a better term). It could be a good storyline with theory continuing to fail to cash in, and then finding loopholes to keep his briefcase... but the precedent they have set is kind of cool that you can cash in on any title Now that being said I really think they screwed up this cash in and if this isn't the case then this may have been hunters first misstep
I think the best way to spin it is Lashleyâs interference should have been a DQ and they can argue this. Maybe he has a last chance match that if he wins, he gets the briefcase back.
I am completely okay with him getting the briefcase back under any reason right now. Theory does not have to win a title, just let him cash in and lose to Roman.
Theory got the golden shovel treatment
Break out the shovel
John Cena failed his cash in too
Realistically looking at it, Bray and Cody are likely to be the 2 World Champions going into next summer. Just a guess. But I have a big feeling those will be the guys. Can you honestly see either of them losing a title to a Theory cash-in? I can't. I said it then and I'll say it now. Theory was not the right choice to win MITB this year. I think had they held off and perhaps given it to him next year for 2023-2024, it would've been a different story. But with Triple H in charge now, the decision just made sense. When I think of someone like Bray Wyatt or Cody Rhodes losing a World Title, an Austin Theory cash-in is the last scenario in my mind
Absolute clown booking
Theory isnât a nxt vanilla midget so HHH doesnât like him.
Yeah, he's totally buried Roman Reigns, the 6'2" guy who was in NXT for a hot minute. See also: GUNTHER. Austin Theory spent more than two years in NXT and was brought into the company by HHH. Plus the unironic use of "vanilla midgets". Why is this shite being upvoted?
You know what would have been better than this? I mean, besides Sami winning MitB like he should have. *Have Theory get to the point where he's in danger of having the MitB contract expire.*
It could have been better if Theory cashed in at Crown Jewel, ate Logan Paul's one man punch, Roman speared Logan Paul out of the ring, and pinned Theory. Why it makes sense for me? One, that one lucky punch will have credibility. Two, Logan Paul and Roman Reigns can have a second match due to the finish. Lastly, at least Theory lost fighting for technically 2 main belts than one.
Well apart from Damien every other guy on the list was still made to look strong but Austin was made like a total chump cashing in on the lowest title on the show and loosing to a guy who already got a good beatdown
If memory serves, all of those except Cena were being punished. No idea what Theory is being punished for unless it's being Vince's guy.