"He's just sitting up there eating popcorn" - WWE veteran comments on Austin Theory being an afterthought on SmackDown

Legendary wrestling manager Jim Cornette has shared his thoughts on how Austin Theory has been booked recently in WWE.

The SmackDown star has been United States Champion for over 250 days, as he captured the gold at Survivor Series last year. The last time he defended it at a Premium Live Event was at Backlash in May. His next challenger is Santos Escobar, who defeated Rey Mysterio on the blue brand last week to become the #1 number contender after the WWE Hall of Famer suffered an injury.

Speaking on the latest edition of the Jim Cornette Drive-Thru, the wrestling veteran reviewed the match and commented on Austin Theory becoming an afterthought.

"Well yeah, it's because he's always sitting in the f**king stands watching whoever's gonna... this whole tournament to determine who's gonna wrestle him but in the meantime, he's just sitting up there eating popcorn."

He added:

"Maybe somebody somehow sold this idea on a boy, it'll really build up somebody for Theory but in the process they've just had Theory sitting around watching what's going on. And I'd imagine he was not going to be interfering in this, even originally, if it had gone the way it was supposed to go because there was no reason for it, Escobar was winning. Yeah so he's kinda [meh]," said Cornette. [6:47-7:37]

Could Santos Escobar dethrone Austin Theory to become the new United States Champion?

The LWO member and the US Champion collided in a singles match two weeks ago on SmackDown, and the former emerged victorious. In their next match, the coveted title will be on the line.

Happy birthday!! @_Theory1 I’ll deliver your present in a week… #ANDNEW
👊🏽☠️❤️‍🔥 #PorLaRaza twitter.com/wwe/status/168…

Escobar has beaten Theory before, and it's possible he could do it again. If Austin Theory loses the US Title to Santos Escobar, it might not surprise many fans, as the latter is seemingly in the midst of a big push by the higher-ups.

Would you like to see Santos become the next US Champion? Sound off in the comments below!

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit the Jim Cornette Drive-Thru and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.