What’s the story?
On the last episode of 205 Live, Austin Aries revealed that he will be returning to the ring sooner rather than later. A Double himself took time out of commentary to unveil a promo hyping up his return to the ring, much to the delight of fellow commentators Mauro Ranallo and Corey Graves.
No date was set for Aries’ return, but the airing of the vignette suggests we aren’t far away from seeing the former TNA World Heavyweight Champion back in the ring.
WWE’s official Twitter account also posted the video later in the evening. Will Austin Aries be back in the ring in time for WrestleMania 33?
In case you didn’t know...
In late October 2016, Austin Aries suffered a severe injury at an NXT live event when a Shinsuke Nakamura kick landed a little too snug. Aries suffered a large orbital fracture that left his eye looking particularly gruesome, and the injury required permanent titanium plates to be put in.
Aries himself confirmed that he would be out of action until early 2017 at the earliest.
Since suffering the injury, Aries has taken over commentary duties on the WWE Network show 205 Live, a job he has performed particularly well in. Aries has also frequently been interviewing competitors inside the ring before and after their matches on the Cruiserweight show.
The heart of the matter
It has been rumoured for weeks that Austin Aries is likely to challenge Neville for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship at WrestleMania 33, and the airing of a return vignette for The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived suggests that may well be on the cards.
Aries seemed on the verge of a major tag team run in NXT alongside Roderick Strong before suffering his injury, but his appearances on 205 Live and RAW suggest he may be finished with developmental.
What’s next?
As of yet, there is still no date for Aries’ official return to the ring, but it will almost certainly be sooner rather than later. If Neville is successful in his defence against Jack Gallagher at Fastlane 2017, Aries may well push in line for a shot at the purple title at WrestleMania 33.
However, it remains to be seen how WWE will craft a story that revolves around two heel characters.
Sportskeeda’s take
We can’t wait to see Austin Aries back in the ring. His match against Shinsuke Nakamura at NXT TakeOver: The End... was one of the more underrated bouts in WWE in 2016, and a potential match with Neville at WrestleMania 33 could well steal the show.
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