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Former WWE Superstar Austin Aries recently appeared on VOC Nation's "In The Room" podcast, where he revealed some details about his time in WWE and what went led to him getting released from the company just a little over 18 months after he had signed. He mentioned that it was not his decision and he hadn't asked for a release. (h/t WrestlingInc)
"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."
"I came in being told that, not that I wasn't welcome, but that I had to be on my 'best behavior.' Despite all of that and them really not having a plan for me, I get my eye hole broken and I offer to do commentary and I spin that into the main roster run into a WrestleMania match. I did all of that in 18 months. I don't know what else I was supposed to do or what people were expecting."
Austin Aries mentioned that WWE was never the right fit for him as the creative process of the company didn't suit him very well.
"I don't think walking in there I felt like this was going to be a fit for the next 10 years of my career. I think we both went in there with some reservations, and I think we both proved each other right as far as what they thought of me and what I thought of the system. Ultimately it was their decision to move on and I can only go by what I'm told."
"I'm sure I can be a pain in the a** 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 in WWE
After making a name for himself in promotions like Ring of Honor, TNA/Impact Wrestling, and the independent circuit, Austin Aries joined WWE in January 2016. He made his NXT debut in March of that year and started off as a huge babyface.
After a failed attempt to win the NXT Championship from Shinsuke Nakamura, Austin Aries turned heel and attacked No Way Jose. He later teamed up with Roderick Strong and participated in the second Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament, but they had to drop out after Austin Aries suffered an injury.
Austin Aries later started doing commentary for cruiserweight matches on RAW, 205 Live, and Main Event. After turning face, Aries went on to challenge the then Cruiserweight Champion Neville on multiple occasions but was never able to defeat him and win the title.
Austin Aries was then released from WWE in July 2017, thus ending his very short career in WWE.
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