Austin Theory Comments On Slap He Received From Vince McMahon

As a guest on the latest episode of the WWE After the Bell Podcast, Austin Theory joined the show to talk about his current role on Monday Night RAW and the steps it's taken him to get to this moment in his career. The 24-year-old spoke about the impact that John Cena has had on his career and revealed a time the Hollywood star spent a day speaking to talent at the WWE Performance Center.

"When I got signed to WWE, we were at the Performance Center one day and we got told we needed to stay, there was going to be a meeting and then got told John Cena was coming in," Austin Theory recalled. "Cena came in, talked to all of us for probably about an hour and then he specifically said 'Hey, I've got nothing going on today so if anybody wants to talk individually or privately, we can.' I thought that was cool, he literally stayed. I remember waiting because each person he would talk to for a while. I just remember waiting for three hours just to talk to him and there was only a few bit of us. I remember a lot of people leaving and I noticed that. The one person that was the face for WWE for so long and you have nothing to ask him?

"I remember waiting there and went in and I was so nervous, I didn't even really know what to say at first and the first thing he said to me was 'Hey, how are you and what can I help you with?' I just remember not even knowing what to ask him, I got to tell this dude that he was such a motivation for me in my life. When I say it people are like 'Oh you were a John Cena fan,' but it's a little deeper than that just because as a kid when you watch anything, you're super influenced by it. Whatever somebody's attitude is or personality or the decisions they make, it's very influential. I was picked on a lot and a lot of it was because I watched wrestling but I knew if I could make it to Monday or Friday, I was good. Just watching Cena was always that pull away from real life."

On this past Monday's show, Austin was slapped by Vince McMahon, continuing their storyline surrounding Theory being revealed as the one who stole Cleopatra's $100 million golden egg from Mr. McMahon's desk at Survivor Series. According to Fightful Select, the original plans for the golden egg were "much worse with stakes much lower."

Theory spoke about being on television with Vince McMahon in recent weeks and how significant it is to him. The 24-year-old also revealed that he's watched the video of himself getting slapped by his boss hundreds of times and revealed what the slap felt like.

"When you think wrestling and you think wrestling God, it's Vince McMahon," Theory said. "I think when I'm sitting there and talking with him it's like wow, it doesn't get any bigger than this and already. I probably watched the video of getting slapped a hundred times. I would just say don't upset Vince McMahon because he's got some hands man."

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit WWE After the Bell with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.