Edge, John Cena, Randy Orton & Triple H inspired WWE star to be a wrestler (Exclusive)

Many of today's WWE Superstars grew up watching wrestling in the 2000s. Austin Theory, born in 1997, has made no secret of the fact that he was a huge John Cena fan as a child.

Theory will defend the United States Championship against Cena in a first-time-ever match at WrestleMania 39. On February 20, the 25-year-old recorded a statement-making win over another one of his childhood heroes, Edge, on RAW.

In an interview with Sportskeeda Wrestling's Riju Dasgupta, Theory said Randy Orton and Triple H were also among his idols:

"Is it not believable if I say I'm part of the 'Let's go Cena!' side?! Is that not believable? For me growing up, though, I definitely supported John Cena. I liked what he stood for, and John Cena was one of those, Randy Orton was one of those, Triple H, Edge. Man, it's just so many to name. I could just keep going, but those guys were the ones that really inspired me and made me wanna do this for the rest of my life." [From 02:06 – 02:40]

Watch the video above to hear Theory's thoughts on the possibility of wrestling Randy Orton and Stone Cold Steve Austin one day.

Austin Theory's path to facing John Cena at WWE WrestleMania 39

In October 2021, Austin Theory moved from NXT to RAW as part of the WWE Draft. A month later, he became the protégé of Vince McMahon.

The highlight of Theory's 2022 arguably came at WrestleMania 38. Despite losing to former NFL star Pat McAfee, he still got the opportunity to share the WrestleMania stage with McMahon and Steve Austin.

Embrace The Now and The Forever #mytime #alldayaustintheory #raw30 https://t.co/iRsD1CY1hx

Since then, the 25-year-old has become a two-time United States Champion. He also won the 2022 Men's Money in the Bank ladder match before unsuccessfully cashing in the contract on then-US Champion Seth Rollins.

Do you think Austin Theory should beat John Cena? 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) and Sony Sports Ten 4 (Tamil and Telugu) channels on 2nd & 3rd April at 5:30 am IST.

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