If Saturday evening’s Royal Rumble is the official place to begin for the highway to WrestleMania, then WWE United States Champion Austin Theory is seeking to make a history-making end.
Muscle & Fitness sat down with the 25-year-old to search out out why he started his path to professional wrestling as a aggressive bodybuilder, his ideas on a dream match with John Cena, and why victory within the Royal Rumble may set a precedent in WWE.
As a childhood fan of WWE, Theory understood that his heroes of the squared circle had nice physiques, and so he set about constructing his personal.
“One of the biggest things with a WWE Superstar is that you see somebody who you don’t see every day,” says Theory. “So, that’s a guy that works out a lot and for me, at 12-years-old, I was looking for what could get me ready for WWE ‘right now,’ and it’s a crazy mindset to have as a kid but I was like: ‘man I could start working out to get ready for this.’ So, it’s been a continual progression from 12, all the way to now, at 25. I just worked out almost every single day, and it was all about preparing myself for WWE. Along the way there was a bodybuilding show, but the bodybuilding show was just in hopes of trying to get a tryout with WWE.”
Theory didn’t simply enter his first bodybuilding present at age 17, he got here first besides, taking residence the prize within the NPC Mr. Teenage Georgia competitors. Theory can chortle, now, that when he received that present, his telephone didn’t ring off the hook from WWE like he anticipated, so as a substitute, he obtained himself on the corporate’s radar by wrestling on the unbiased scene till they lastly took discover.
Austin Theory trains virtually each single day
Theory could now not compete for gracing the bodybuilding stage, however he nonetheless appears stage prepared and wows followers together with his outlined abs and bulging biceps each week on WWE tv. His love of the health club actually is stronger than ever. “I honestly take a rest day when I really feel like I need it, because to me, working out pretty much every day keeps my body feeling alive, and awake, and feeling good,” he says.
Many WWE followers have additionally noticed that Theory has lots in frequent with the legendary John Cena. Not solely did they each compete in bodybuilding earlier than professional wrestling, however their in-ring abilities and boyish beauty make these guys seem like minimize from the identical fabric. It’s no shock to study then, that Theory grew up being influenced by “Super Cena.”
“That’s who captured my attention, and that’s kind of what set everything off for me,” says Theory. When questioned about the potential of sooner or later going through his hero, a match that thousands and thousands of professional wrestling followers hope may sooner or later occur, Theory understands how epic that will be. “That would be a hell of a match,” he says. “How would it go? I mean, we’re in the now, you know? And John Cena’s in the past, man. It is what it is. I’ve got a lot of respect for that man, but we’re in the ‘now’ so I think we all know how that would go.”
Never one to be missing in self-confidence, Theory appreciates that to carve out his personal establish, he’ll have to separate himself from icons like Cena, and because the United States champion, he’s doing simply that. He’s additionally entered himself into Saturday evening’s Royal Rumble the place, ought to he win, he’ll earn a World title match at WrestleMania 39. Still, profitable this marathon, over-the-top battle royal, requires greater than muscle. “Look at me last year, I was in there for over 20 minutes. I came in at number three. You have to make sure that your lungs are ready to take in a lot of air, and especially; you’ve got to outlast 29 other WWE Superstars,” says the voice of expertise.
But ought to Theory pull it off and outlast the opposite 29 rivals as a way to win this thirty sixth annual Royal Rumble, earlier than 1000’s of followers within the Alamodome in San Antonio, TX, (broadcast stay on Peacock within the United States, and WWE Network internationally), then he may, in “theory” make historical past. By profitable the Rumble, and hanging on to the U.S. Championship, Theory may discover himself concerned in World, and U.S. Championship matches at WrestleMania in April. This could be an unprecedented state of affairs. “I think that would be amazing,” says Theory. “Especially when you can be somebody that does something for the first time. Who knows? I could win the Royal Rumble, walk into WrestleMania and walk out with the championships. That would be pretty sweet.”