Austin Theory is under intense pressure before WrestleMania match against John Cena due to a big reason, says AEW star

As announced by WWE, Austin Theory and John Cena will open Night One of WrestleMania 39, and Matt Hardy has revealed why the placement of the match might put a lot of pressure on the United States Champion.

For someone just 25 years old, Austin Theory has done a commendable job of securing a match against John Cena at The Grandest Stage of Them All. Theory grew up idolizing the Cenation Leader, and to share the ring with his wrestling hero will be a dream come true for him.

However, kicking off a mega event like WrestleMania isn't easy, and Matt Hardy noted that Theory was pushed into a "pressure-filled" spot on the card pretty early in his career.

Hardy, though, had a lot of faith in Austin Theory's abilities and admitted to being impressed by the young star's rise in WWE. Here's what the AEW star had to say on The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy podcast:

"It's a big deal! It's a very pressure-filled spot for Austin Theory. But I feel like he's been doing well. I'm sure he will rise to the occasion," said the former WWE star. [9:00 - 9:15]

Matt Hardy also briefly opened up about John Cena's role at another major WrestleMania show, and the AEW star wasn't surprised to see 'Big Match John' in a prominent angle.

Hardy explained that The Cenation Leader is part of the WrestleMania festivities to increase the PLE's buy rate as he had nothing but praise for his former WWE co-worker:

"I'm going to say this for Isiah (Kassidy) and Ethan (Page); he's (John Cena) going to boost the ratings, man! He's going to make sure the WrestleMania buy rate is up. He's going to get back to the hotel, man, tune it in, buy the pay-per-view, and boost the buy rates!" [9:16 - 9:45]

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Matt Hardy on the importance of having a solid opener at WWE WrestleMania

While headlining a WWE show is always considered the highest honor for talent, superstars wrestling in the first match of the evening also have an equally important assignment.

Matt Hardy stated that the superstars who wrestle in the opening contest have a lot of responsibility to satisfy a seemingly hot crowd, who have probably waited hours for the show to begin.

Not every wrestler gets the chance to main event at 'Mania, and Hardy admitted that he would sign up to compete in the in-ring opener without hesitation as the live audience always reacts well to them.

He added:

"It's cool, man! I think it's going to be a fun spot, especially being the first match at WrestleMania. You know, to me, I feel like, if you can't be in the last match, the main event, I just would want to be in the first match because that's going to be red hot. The crowd hasn't seen anything yet, and they are going to go nuts." [9:46 - 10:10]

What are your predictions for Theory vs. Cena? Share them in the comments section below.

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Please credit "The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy" and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling when using quotes from this article.