3 WWE Stars Who Should’ve Been The Masked Man Instead Of Austin Theory
The mystery man storyline kicked off at WWE Survivor Series 2025, when a masked attacker helped The Vision to defeat CM Punk and his team in the men’s Wargames match.
He then started assisting The Vision and Logan Paul, costing babyfaces big matches against the heels and creating a ton of buzz online.
Week after week, he jumped people from behind, screwed finishes, and vanished into the crowd.
The big reveal finally went down on the December 15 episode of Raw, when the masked man revealed his identity, and it turned out to be Austin Theory.
On paper, Austin Theory isn’t a bad choice. He’s young, talented, and WWE clearly wants him on TV again after his latest absence.
But from a story point of view, the reveal feels a little random.
Theory has no real history with The Vision, no long-term beef tied into the angle, and no emotional hook that explains why he’d suddenly become their masked hitter.
It kinda looks like WWE just slotted him into the role because he was ready to return and needed a fresh storyline, instead of telling a deeper story that matched the months of build.
That said, there are other stars who, I personally believe, could’ve been a better fit to be revealed as a masked man than Austin Theory.
Here are my top three picks:
#3 Montez Ford
Someone like Montez Ford as the mystery man would’ve been a killer choice. He’s been locked in tag-team competition with Angelo Dawkins for years.
And he still hasn’t had a proper singles run on the main roster.
If the whole idea was to give a guy a push, Ford absolutely fits that bill.
Unmasking as the attacker and joining The Vision could’ve launched him as a serious solo star overnight.
#2 Ricky Saints
Ricky Saints would’ve been another smart pick. He was ruling NXT with the NXT Championship before losing it to Oba Femi.
Dropping the title could’ve been an indication that a main roster call-up is coming.
Plus, fans also felt that Saints teased a heel turn during his locker room interaction with Je’Von Evans at NXT Deadline.
Using the masked man reveal to bring Saints up as a cold, calculated heel would’ve made total sense and instantly justified the NXT title loss.
#1 Randy Orton
WWE’s own platforms hyped Randy Orton up heavily in fan speculation before the reveal, and he’s been directionless for a while, with people begging for a full heel turn.
If the mask were to be the one behind the mask when it came off on RAW, the fans’ reaction would’ve blown the roof off the building.
WWE could have easily turned it into a main-event story with CM Punk or Cody Rhodes, with Orton chasing his 15th World title run.
As fun as it is to see Theory get a shot, it’s hard not to feel like WWE left some massive storytelling money on the table with those other options.