Watch: Austin Theory steals the victory at the jaws of defeat to retain his United States Championship at Backlash

Austin Theory outsmarted Bobbly Lashley and Bronson Reed to steal the victory and retain his United States Championship at Backlash.

Watch: Austin Theory steals the victory at the jaws of defeat to retain his United States Championship at Backlash

Austin Theory, Bobby Lashley and Bronson Reed (via-WWE)

WWE Backlash aired live from Puerto Rico on May 6. With not many championship matches booked for the show, the ones for the title turned out to be great ones. Out of the three titles defended at Backlash, one was the United States Championship. It was a triple-threat match between Austin Theory, Bobby Lashley, and Bronson Reed.

The match started at a slow pace, with Theory being mauled by the two powerhouses. As Lashley and Reed took Theory out, it was time for the moment everyone was waiting for. Both men landed hard-hitting maneuvers on each other, dishing out as much damage as they could.

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As fans know, Theory is an opportunist, and he played smart during the whole match. The US Champion dealt easy damage to both powerhouses. The match picked up pace slowly, with all men landing big blows to each other. Austin Theory even teamed up with Reed to take out Lashley, but their alliance was short-lived as the challenger turned on The US Champion.

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Bronson Reed even pulled out some amazing high-flying moves outside of the ring to take out Bobby Lashley. But The US Champion was ready to take advantage of it. Reed missed a moonsault off the top rope on Theory and met with a vicious spear from Lashley. Theory was quick to read the situation and threw Lashley out of the ring to steal a victory and defend his US Championship. Watch the final moments of the match here:

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Future looks bright for Austin Theory in WWE

Austin Theory
Austin Theory (via-WWE)

This was Austin Theory’s first title defense after his WrestleMania 39 match against John Cena. He overcame the challenge of defeating the 16-time World Champion, and although his victory didn’t come clean, a win is still a win. At Backlash, he again gave an impressive performance to defend his title in a triple-threat match against two of the most dominant wrestlers in WWE.

The promotion is booking him strongly, as he could be the next face of the company in the coming years. First Theory was considered Vince McMahon’s favorite child and was believed to be given preferential treatment. However, the reigning United States Champion got an even more solid push when Triple H took over the creative reigns. 

After a failed Money in the Bank cash-in, fans believed he would lose all his credibility and become a jobber. But WWE showed confidence in his in-ring skills and promos and has booked him strongly in the last few months. It will be interesting to see what WWE has in store for Austin Theory in the future. Can he become the next face of the company?

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