Austin Theory was shocked to find out that Vince McMahon would no longer be involved with WWE.
Former WWE CEO Vince McMahon announced his retirement on July 22nd. The announcement came amidst allegations of sexual misconduct aimed at McMahon while an investigation into the matter from WWE’s Board of Directors was underway.
Before he departed the company, McMahon became an on-screen mentor to Austin Theory. McMahon even introduced the young Superstar to the ring at WrestleMania for his match against Pat McAfee.
In an interview with CBS Sports’ Shakiel Mahjouri, Theory recalled how he felt when he heard the news of McMahon’s retirement. One of his first thoughts revolved around McMahon’s successor, who ended up being Stephanie McMahon.
“So to me, the first thing you think of is like, ‘Well then who’s in charge?’ As soon as I found out who the team was, Stephanie, Triple H, Nick Khan, Bruce Prichard, I have a good relationship with all of them.”
“But I think the Mr. McMahon retirement got a lot of us because, you know, we’ve seen him forever. He laid the foundation. Literally, there’s all these Superstars because of Mr. McMahon. I think it was just kind of like, wow, like, that’s really happening. So that’s kind of where it got me there.”
Theory then discussed Triple H taking over Vince McMahon’s role as Head of Creative. The 25-year-old wrestled on NXT when Triple H was still hands-on with the brand.
“But as far as creative and the future, no worries about that just because of the talent and being with Triple H before, and knowing his strategies and his creative power, and his direction of how he looks at things. Not only having him, but we have Stephanie, we have Nick Khan, we have Bruce Prichard, and these are all eyes that are on the game in different ways.”
“I think when it comes to that foundation Mr. McMahon has laid for us, okay, here’s these people to give us a bunch of creativity and here it is. I think it’s no better time than now, especially even just speaking on the talent that’s involved now that’s on the roster. We have a hell of a roster. So it’s very exciting to know what the future is and it’s going to be very competitive.”
After McMahon’s shocking announcement, WWE revealed that Stephanie McMahon and Nick Khan would take over as co-CEOs of the company. Triple H was then named Head of Creative and has since brought back many ex-WWE talents.
H/t – Wrestlingnews.co