"Heels are dead" - Austin Aries gets honest about being a real bad guy in the wrestling business

It appears living his life like a heel has taken a toll on Austin Aries.

Former WWE Superstar and IMPACT Wrestling World Champion Austin Aries has played up the heel character on television and social media for a number of years now, but it seems like that might be coming back to haunt him.

WWE Hall of Famer Bully Ray took to social media on Sunday night, daring someone in the wrestling industry to be a "real heel." Austin Aries felt the need to give an honest response to this.

"I feel like I tried to be. To the point that fans and even some in the back truly hate me. It didn't work out how I'd envisioned. You can't do anything that legitimately offends or angers people anymore or they have to be 'in on it' otherwise it's not accepted. Heels are dead," Austin Aries tweeted.

---

Austin Aries is currently wrestling for the NWA

Austin Aries is currently wrestling for the NWA. He made his debut for the company at their Hard Times 2 pay-per-view on December 4, defeating Rhett Titus in a match to advance in their current tournament to crown a Junior Heavyweight Champion.

While Austin Aries has reportedly burned bridges at companies like WWE and IMPACT Wrestling, NWA owner Billy Corgan had nothing but positive things to say about working with Aries on a recent episode of Busted Open Radio.

If Aries is staying away from the idea of being a heel going forward, it will be interesting to see what he'll be able to do as part of the NWA roster in 2022.

What do you make of Austin Aries' comments? Do you think living the heel lifestyle in the age of social media is something that can still be done? Let us know your thoughts by sounding off in the comments section below.