The easy way or the hard way? 4 ways WWE can make Austin Theory a believable world title threat

Austin Theory is one of WWE's fastest-rising stars. The 25-year-old Superstar has, in the past year alone, won the United States championship and shared the ring with icons such as Stone Cold Steve Austin. He is the current Money in the Bank contract holder and has consistently feuded with main event-level talent since winning the briefcase.

Theory is firmly entrenched in the upper tier of the card, which suggests that the company sees him as a future world champion. If he is to achieve this via a successful MITB cash-in, he faces a race against time.

The selfie-enthusiastic star needs to establish himself as a credible threat to the likes of Roman Reigns before next July or risk wasting his golden opportunity to become a future megastar.

Let's put our thinking caps on and look at four ways WWE can make Austin Theory a credible world title threat as quickly as possible.

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#4: WWE could book Austin Theory to win over veterans

The youngster needs some big wins to gain momentum

As mentioned earlier, Austin Theory has become a fixture in the upper mid-card and main event scenes of WWE by consistently facing top talent. He has been in the ring with just about every former world champion of recent times, even facing Brock Lesnar himself at Madison Square Garden. This has worked wonders for his opponents, who are guaranteed to get the crowd on their side by tormenting him.

While the youngster has excelled as a cowardly heel, he almost always comes out on the losing side. If he is to build enough momentum to be a real threat who can plausibly hold a world title, he needs to start winning some feuds.

Having victories over the likes of Johnny Gargano, Kevin Owens, and AJ Styles would make him a more credible threat to Roman Reigns and any future successors.

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#3: Theory could temporarily lose the MITB contract

Hitting rock bottom could be the spark that Theory needs to shoot to the top

Since Vince McMahon retired from WWE, Austin Theory has gone on a losing streak. The long-term story told with him seems to be that of a proverbial spoilt brat learning to walk on his own. For this arc to reach its full potential, the star could be booked to temporarily lose his most prized possession, the MITB briefcase.

Losing the last on-screen protective device "handed" to him by his former mentor would see him hit rock bottom. From there, he would have to build himself up again, win the contract back and earn the WWE Universe's respect in the process.

It could even engineer a babyface turn and make a cash-in on a heel like Roman Reigns more desirable if done right.

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#2: Austin Theory would be a much bigger threat with a stable behind him

Austin Theory's run with the Money In The Bank briefcase has been compared to some of the past winners. Stars such as Seth Rollins and The Miz successfully cashed in on their contracts despite initially being dismissed as non-believable threats to the megastar champions. While Rollins' win was received much better than The Miz's, both first-time world champions later became credible enough to hold the titles again.

One key similarity shared by The Architect and The A-Lister's run with the contract was the fact that they had backups. While the former had the power of The Authority behind him, the latter often had Alex Riley by his side. Putting a stable behind Theory would instantly make him a threat to anybody and guarantee a successful cash-in.

All his former "The Way" stablemates are back in the company, and he has a cordial relationship with Alpha Academy. Either of these teams getting behind him would do wonders for Theory's credibility

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#1: Austin Theory could align himself with a manager

Austin Theory's rise to the WWE main event scene began with Mr. McMahon acting as his mentor. With the most powerful man in the company behind him, he always seemed to have a chance to defeat any rival. Since the chairman retired, the selfie-clicking former champion seems much less of a threat.

Pairing him with a manager or a mentor could restore the menace of his gimmick in an instant. Having someone like Paul Heyman or rumored-to-be-returning JBL in his corner, stacking the cards in his favor with upper management, would be great for Theory's credibility.

Better yet, having an authority figure like WWE Official Adam Pearce pulling the strings for him would allow him to progress as he did under Mr. McMahon's tutelage.