One of the few WWE stars to beat John Cena breaks character to praise reigning champions
Despite his impressive record as a 16-time world champion, even the legendary John Cena has experienced both victories and defeats throughout his WWE career. Recently, Austin Theory, who famously defeated The Cenation Leader at WrestleMania 39 broke his on-screen villainous persona to praise two current champions in the promotion.
The Unproven One successfully defended his United States Championship against Cena at the Showcase of the Immortals in 2023. Notably, Theory became the only WWE Superstar to retain his US Title against the 47-year-old star, unlike Big Show and Rusev in the past.
Meanwhile, Nathan Frazer and Axiom, collectively known as Fraxiom, emerged victorious as the NXT Tag Team Champions by defeating Baron Corbin and Bron Breakker of The Wolfdogs. Although they briefly lost the titles in August 2024, Fraxiom successfully reclaimed the championship from Chase U's Andre Chase and Ridge Holland in a match held at NXT No Mercy earlier this month.
In a recent interview with the Battleground Podcast, Austin Theory broke his heel persona to acknowledge the impressive achievements of Nathan Frazer and Axiom. The WWE SmackDown Superstar even jokingly compared Frazer to Kurt Cobain and Axiom to a Power Ranger but ultimately expressed his determination to defeat them and claim the NXT Tag Team Championship.
"We got little Nathan Frazer that looks like Kurt Cobain and we got the power ranger, Axiom over here. These two guys call themselves Fraxiom. Now, as we do make fun of them, they're both very impressive. They've done their thing, they've proved it, that's why they are the champs. But we definitely know, we're taking those NXT Tag Team Championship," Theory said. [From 08:00 to 08:19]
You can check out the entire episode below:
Austin Theory reveals why major WWE faction is off limits
On the Friday Night SmackDown brand, The Bloodline's Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa currently hold the WWE Tag Team Championship after The Bloodline defeated #DIY's Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa.
During the same interaction on the Battleground Podcast, Austin Theory explained that he hasn't targeted The Bloodline because they consistently introduce new family members whenever they seem vulnerable.
"The only reason I'd leave The Bloodline out is because anytime you got a close chance of beating them, there's like a new guy. I'm like, 'Who's this?' Get this Uso out of here," he said.
It remains to be seen if Austin Theory and Grayson Waller of the A-Town Down Under can win the NXT Tag Team Championship on the CW Network in the coming weeks.
If you use the above quotes, please credit the Battleground podcast and embed the video, giving an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.