5 Things you probably did not know about Austin Aries

What does Aries’ future hold?The wrestling world received a major shock recently when Austin Aries was released from the WWE.Injuries, lacklustre booking and the failure of 205 Live has led to one of the biggest names in TNA leaving WWE without making a mark. While a portion of the WWE Universe knows what Aries is capable of, there is another portion that is not aware of his background and the work he has done elsewhere. Now that Austin Aries is going to be considered a big deal outside the WWE, we are taking some time out to take a look at some of the lesser known facts about the superstar.

#5 The WrestleMania connection

Aries was the voice behind Jacob Cass

The connection between Austin Aries and WWE is a shallow one. In case you didn’t know, there used to be a connection between Aries and WWE that many don’t know about.

Back in 2012, WWE in association with THQ released their WWE ’12 video game. Road to WrestleMania was a notable mode in the game and it had a character named Jacob Cass in it.

Cass was a major character in the mode and this character was voiced by none other than Aries. The real life Aries might take another year to reach the Road To WrestleMania, but in the virtual world, his voice has already been there.

#4 Trained by the best

Aries was trained by the best

Austin Aries made his wrestling debut back in 2000. He started training to be a professional wrestler in the same year and he was trained by Eddie Sharkey.

Now, the name might not ring many bells as Sharkey stays out of the limelight most of the times. However, the nicknames he got and the list of superstars he trained will easily impress any wrestling fan.

Sharkey is often called as Trainer of Champions or Trainer of Legends as he has mentored some legendary names in the business. Some of the most notable students of Eddie are The Road Warriors, Bob Backlund, Jerry Lynn, Rick Rude, Rick Steiner, Erick Rowan and of course, Austin Aries.

#3 Longest reigning TNA X-Division Champion

Austin Aries is the longest reigning X Division champion

Aries had a long stay in TNA. He has been quite successful there winning the World Heavyweight championship once, the X division championship six times, and the World Tag Team championship once.

The best days of Aries in TNA came when he spent time in the X-Division. While the X-Division was built over the blood and sweat of names like AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels, Samoa Joe and many more, Aries has a record that these names don’t.

He is the longest reigning X-Division champion in the company’s history as of now with his title reign lasting a whopping 301 days. And to make matters more interesting, Aries did the same in his first ever reign.

#2 The ring name and the meaning of his tattoo

The tattoo is there for a reason

Austin Aries started off his wrestling career under the ring name Austin Starr. He soon took up Dan Sexon as his new name but his popularity rose once he started working under his current ring name.

Aries also wrestled as the masked superstar Suicide once.

The name Aries came from his Zodiac sign. Also, Aries has a tattoo of Chinese character Ram in his upper left arm. This Chinese character signifies the Zodiac sign Aries and this is the reason why he got the tattoo. And in case you were wondering, the real name of Austin Aries is Daniel Healy Solwold Jr.

#1 He almost quit the professional wrestling because of a film

Randy the Ram Robinson

The 2008 sports drama film, The Wrestler had a huge impact on the professional wrestling business. Director Darren Aronofsky took a deep look into the life of professional wrestlers and it went on to receive critical acclaim as well as some positive reactions from the fans.

The lead character of the film was Randy ‘The Ram’ Robinson, played by Mickey Rourke, who had a huge impact on Austin Aries. After watching the film, Aries thought about quitting professional wrestling as he did not want to be like Randy Ram in a decade’s time.

He eventually dropped this decision when TNA invited him back to the X-Division. And if you have not seen ‘The Wrestler’ yet, it is highly recommended.