WrestleMania season is upon us and so are the endless rumours about the match card for the Grandaddy of them all. And one rumour that is gathering a lot of momentum involves current United States Champion Austin Theory.

The Rock’s potential involvement has been eagerly discussed for months now. A dream match against his younger cousin Roman Reigns has been heavily rumoured for the show’s closing night two main event.

‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin has also been in training. The Texas Rattlesnake came out of retirement after 19 years last year to face Kevin Owens. Now it appears the Bionic Redneck may have got the taste for another marquee ‘Mania match.

But one of the most interesting rumours surrounding this year’s Hollywood showpiece revolves around the aforementioned Austin Theory.

Austin Theory Ready For Superstardom After Rollercoaster 2022

Theory has enjoyed and endured a chaotic last 12 months. At the beginning of 2022, he was seemingly Vince McMahon’s hand-picked star of the future.

Then, he lost to SmackDown commentator Pat McAfee at WrestleMania. Then he won Money In The Bank. Oh, and then there was THAT failed cash-in.

But fast forward to January 2023 and Theory is in a much more promising and established spot.

As a now two-time US Champion, the 25-year-old finally seems poised to realise his enormous potential. And if the rumours are true, he could realise it on the grandest stage of all against one of the grandest opponents.

Austin Theory vs John Cena

The Atlanta native has been heavily touted for a money match against John Cena.

The 16-time World Champion is primed for his first proper WrestleMania outing (discounting 2020’s cinematic ‘Firefly Funhouse’ caper with Bray Wyatt) since 2018.

Such a monumental level of the opponent would serve as a dream match for Theory, who idolised Cena growing up.

Now, there’s a very good chance the US Champ will be standing across the ring from the Doctor of Thuganomics on either the 1st or 2nd of April.And Theory is more than ready for it.

In fact, during a recent exclusive interview with SPORF, Theory had some words of warning for his childhood hero.

“John Cena Needs to be Prepared For Me”

When asked how he would theoretically prepare for a match with Cena, Theory provided a confident answer. And one which called out the Peacemaker star.

“How would I prepare for John Cena? I’m ready, man. I think I’m already there. I don’t think there’s any preparing for that. For me at least. For other people, sure. That’s a hell of a mountain to climb.

“John Cena needs to be prepared for me. For sure, man. For sure.”

Cena last performed on the final SmackDown of 2022. That night he would team with former foe Kevin Owens to take down Undisputed Universal Champion Roman Reigns and Sami Zayn.

A one-on-one outing with Austin Theory provides a much different prospect altogether, however.

Should Theory retain his US Title until ‘Mania, it would represent the third time Cena has challenged for the belt at WrestleMania. He has previously defeated Big Show and Rusev for it at WrestleMania 20 and 31 respectively.

Fuel was added to the fire of a rumoured bout between Theory and Cena recently when it was revealed the pair had filmed content together in Tampa, Florida.

The duo also briefly share an interaction in the new trailer for WWE 2K23, which dropped this week.

Triple H and co. have big plans for Austin Theory this year, and it looks as if the United States Champion is prepared for all of them.

WWE’s Royal Rumble will broadcast live from the Alamodome, San Antonio at 1 AM GMT on Sunday, January 29th 2023. 

Tune in via the WWE Network or on BT Sports.