WWE's Austin Theory Gets Into Heated Exchange With News Reporter In Australia

WWE is currently in Perth, Australia, gearing up for this weekend's Elimination Chamber premium live event. However, during a media appearance this morning, former United States Champion Austin Theory got into a heated verbal exchange with The West Australian's editor-in-chief, Anthony De Ceglie. Theory took offense to De Ceglie calling wrestling "fake," and ended up walking out of the interview. A video of the incident is currently circulating online.

Backing up his claim, De Ceglie told Theory that WWE wrestlers were "not actually hitting each other." The West Australian's report of the altercation claimed De Ceglie also told Theory wrestling was not as "hard" as Australian Rules Football or Rugby League. Theory ultimately felt disrespected and told De Ceglie, "Just because you're in charge of some s**t around here, man, doesn't mean you can talk to me like this." De Ceglie told Theory he didn't mean to offend him, but the 26-year-old wasn't having any of it. "You're saying what I do is easy, and you're in front of all your people in here talking about my job is easy," Theory said. "You couldn't walk a damn day in my shoes." Theory then squared up to De Ceglie and threatened to get physical before WWE security intervened. 

Although it's not the first time a wrestler has taken offense during a media interview, it appears this incident is purely an angle, as The West Australian report refers to one of its workforce as "Kay Fabe." Of course, kayfabe is the term used to describe the scripted nature of professional wrestling. They wrote, "One staff member Kay Fabe said it looked like a genuine fight was going to break out."