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Several WWE Superstars have undergone name alterations since Triple H became the company's creative figurehead. Austin Theory, known simply as Theory for a brief period in 2022, has opened up about the decision to temporarily alter his name.
In April 2022, the 25-year-old's first name was removed during Vince McMahon's tenure as WWE's head of creative. Four months later, Triple H gave the United States Champion his first name back as one of his first major name alterations as WWE's Chief Content Officer.
In an interview with Sportskeeda Wrestling's Riju Dasgupta, Theory made it clear that he had no issue with Triple H changing his name:
"When it comes to a change, that obviously means that I have changed, and I think it is definitely for the better. I think Austin Theory will go through a bunch of different evolutions of himself, but I think every time we get a different evolution, I'm gonna be better. And I think we all can see that this change has been great because it is. Like you said, it's leading me into the biggest match of my career, and that's WrestleMania 39 against John Cena." [From 01:15 – 01:43]
Watch the video above to hear Theory's thoughts on the possibility of facing Randy Orton and Stone Cold Steve Austin one day.
Why did Triple H change Austin Theory's name?
It has been speculated that Austin Theory's first name was removed to prevent fans from confusing him with WWE Hall of Famer Steve Austin.
In January 2023, Triple H explained in an interview with ESPN why he wanted Austin Theory to be known by his full name again:
"It's a little bit hard to just refer to him as Theory. And even to me, it was a little awkward when he was announced, like 'Theory!' It's weird. Is that Stone Cold Steve Austin coming in? Is it confusing for fans? I'm of the opinion that if you don't know the difference between Austin Theory and Stone Cold Steve Austin, there's already a problem, right? So, we're fixing the wrong end of the problem."
LA Knight (fka Max Dupri) and Matt Riddle (fka Riddle) are among the other WWE Superstars who reverted back to their old names in 2022.
Do you prefer Austin Theory or Theory as a WWE character name? Let us know in the comments section below.
Watch the LIVE coverage of WWE WrestleMania 39 on Sony Sports Ten 1, Sony Sports Ten 3 (Hindi) & Sony Sports Ten 4 (Tamil & Telugu) channels on 2nd & 3rd April at 5:30 am IST.
Please credit Sportskeeda Wrestling and embed the video if you use Austin Theory's quotes from this article.
