Former WWE Champions Praise Austin Theory

When it comes to generating heat in pro wrestling, Austin Theory might have captured lightning in a bottle. Theory is Vince McMahon's "hand-picked" next-big-thing, and he also has the backing of other prominent figures who believe he'll one day be the company's biggest bad guy.

Former WWE champions, hall of famers, and top executives spoke out about Theory's promising future in a new feature by ESPN's Mike Coppinger on Thursday.

"He's a kid that's hungry and that's a big thing with him," Bobby Lashley told ESPN. "Some of these kids, they wanna see if they can kind of wait for their turn. He's the kid that's like, 'No, I'll step up.' And if you step up, you're gonna be seen and you're gonna be heard. And right now, he's seen and heard by a lot of people."

Lashley said Theory is "so young," but that "he's got all the tools and everything that he needs right now."

Theory, 25, told ESPN he first fell in love with wrestling when he saw a local Deep South Wrestling show when he was 8 and then began watching John Cena on "WWE Raw." Theory "instantly was connected to it," he said.

Triple H said Theory is still "improving his game" but added that "he's smart." 

"He listens to the crowd, he listens to the people," Triple H added. "He sees all the stuff that's going on, and he adapts his game on a regular basis."

Even The Undertaker spoke to Theory's bright future with WWE.

"Theory is gonna be one of those [top] guys," Undertaker said. "He's a natural heat-getter, but he's gotta develop a mean streak. Once he does that, once he develops a good mean streak, then he's gonna be a real, real viable heel."