Last month, we learned that 76-year-old WWE Chairman Vince McMahon was looking to step back into the ring at WrestleMania for one more match...against Pat McAfee. The match didn't fill fans with a great deal of excitement, though it certainly felt like a bout that would bring a certain level of spectacle to the Show of Shows.
The plan was to set the stage for the match during McMahon's appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, and a backstage segment on RAW suggested Austin Theory would show up to somehow cause the eventual clash. Well, there was no sign of him during the interview and all McMahon ended up doing was offering McAfee - who wrestled Adam Cole in NXT - a shot at competing at WrestleMania.
In the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer reveals that McMahon vs. McAfee was the plan, with Theory set to step in and take the Chairman's bumps. However, Vince seemingly had second thoughts about advertising a match he couldn't deliver, with the previously reported "smoke and mirrors" simply not something he wanted to do.
It's said that Vince will still be part of the match, likely appearing at ringside. There's still a possibility he will be added to the card, though if so, it would end up being a handicap bout.
Either way, this is either going to help propel Theory into the main event scene on a permanent basis or crash and burn with fans. We know that McAfee is competent in the ring and throwing Vince into the mix certainly adds some star power...whether Theory can stand out among so many gimmicks, however, remains to be seen.