It seems like a distant memory, but at one point Austin Aries was wrestling within WWE. He got his start in NXT, had some Takeover matches against names like No Way Jose & Shinsuke Nakamura. After an injury to his eye, he’d be moved to 205 Live on commentary, and eventually find himself in a feud with the then WWE Cruiserweight Champion Neville (aka PAC in AEW). This feud would even take Aries to Wrestlemania. After losing that feud, Aries would be gone from WWE, and that was that. For one of the best wrestlers in the world, on a roster that contained some of his past peers like AJ Styles & Daniel Bryan winning World Championships, many are wondering what went wrong for Aries.
Austin Aries Felt The Deck Was Stacked Against Him Coming Into WWE
During a guest appearance for the “In The Room” podcast from VOC Nation, Aries would speak on what he personally felt went wrong for him in WWE. “I can give you six different answers depending on what talking point I want to use, but at the end of the day, it wasn’t my decision there. It was nothing that I asked for, and it was nothing that I was given a heads up that was coming. That question is probably better to ask Vince or to the people that were in charge. I’ll be honest, I came in as a short, old white dude. I’m 5’8/5’9 in my boots. I was 38 years old. I came in basically on secret, double probation that’s what I was told.”
The reasoning of coming in as a ‘short, old white dude’ would hold some weight if it wasn’t for both Finn Balor & AJ Styles coming into WWE to huge success. They came in around similar ages, and proved themselves to be valuable assets for the company.
Known For His Bad Attitude
Looking at how many bridges he has burnt in his time with wrestling, and especially looking to the finish of the main event match from Bound For Glory 2018 when Aries lost to Johnny Impact (Morrison), it’s more likely he was let go due to his attitude issues. They have been well documented by many throughout wrestling, and based on the fact that no company seems to want him on their roster? It checks out in the end.
He would even touch on this within the interview. “I’m sure I can be a pain in the ass because I have my own opinions. Those aren’t always welcome in a high pressure situation where they’re just trying to dump out content. I’ve used the analogy, when you’re hired there, they want you to be a line cook. I’m a gourmet chef. When I’m trying to add some of my own ideas on how the recipe can be improved, they say that they’re McDonald’s. We sell a billion.”
Austin Aries is still one of the best between the ropes, he has an incredible backlog of matches in Ring Of Honor, Impact Wrestling, WWE and more. He’s engaging on the microphone, carries himself well as a champion, and is all around great. It’s just a shame that there are others who can offer the same feeling, but without the risk of no selling the finish of your biggest match of the year.
Do you think Austin Aries didn’t work out in WWE due to his age and height? Let us know what you think in the comment section down below.
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