Backstage News on Austin Aries' WWE Release

It was announced on Friday night that Austin Aries had been released from the WWE. PWTorch.com is now reporting that Austin Aries requested his WWE release because he wasn't happy with being "pigeonholed as a Cruiserweight and felt that he had more to offer than being a 205 Live wrestler." It was also noted that Aries had a reputation backstage for having a bad attitude, which could have led to his release being granted.

Aries officially signed with WWE in January of 2016 and debuted on NXT on the March 2nd episode. His last WWE match was a losing effort against Neville at WWE Extreme Rules on June 4th, 2017.

If Aries really felt unhappy with being a Cruiserweight, it would be hard to blame him. As long as 205 Live is around, no star on the show has much of a chance moving into any other main roster storylines.

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In his time with WWE, Aries has been bogged down by multiple injuries, so fans had grown accustomed to his prolonged absence. During the latest hiatus, Aries was promoting his book "Food Fight" which is based on his vegan lifestyle. The media tour was a generous one as Aries sat down media conglomerates like ESPN and Sports Illustrated.

It took Aries 17 years to earn a WWE contract. Before his opportunity with the wrestling conglomerate, Aries was a champion in both IMPACT Wrestling and Ring of Honor. In a recent interview with Sports Illustrated, Aries commented on how familiar WWE felt due to so much overlap with today's WWE roster and his Independent journey.

"A lot of us began in Ring of Honor. There is Samoa Joe, AJ Styles, Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens, as well as Bobby Roode, Roddy Strong, and Eric Young in NXT. That's the old adage about the cream rising to the top. It took a little different path to rise, but it's nice to look around the locker room and see a bunch of guys who worked hard and deserve to be where they are. This is a group of guys who are going to keep professional wrestling alive and well."

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Aries did get his WrestleMania moment, thought. At the latest installment WrestleMani 33, Aries fought the Cruiserweight Champion, Neville in the show's opening bout.

PWTorch noted that it's likely that Aries will work independent dates soon. They added that while he would likely appear at some high profile independent shows, "it seems unlikely ROH would be a landing spot for him unless some fences were mended."