Austin Aries Says Vince McMahon Was High On Him Before His WWE Release

Austin Aries‘ time with WWE was short. His tumultuous time in the promotion came between 2016 and 2017 as the company launched their cruiserweight division. He had a good but widely ignored feud with Neville (Pac) over the WWE Cruiserweight title and was a fixture on 205 Live. The former TNA star was riding high when he joined WWE, only to see it all fall apart.

Aries spoke with UnSKripted show about the circumstances surrounding his release. He thought he was in good shape and that Vince McMahon liked him. Instead, he found himself unemployed.

“I was a little surprised at the time. That being said, I kind of felt the shift. I know Vince was really high on me. He was the one who put me on WrestleMania after hearing me on commentary but then these things can be fickle.”

“They can sour on you as fast as they like you and you kind of feel the wind shift. There could be a number of factors that played into it. I don’t know if there was one. They didn’t give me any reason. If I had any heat backstage it wasn’t anything I was aware of.”

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After his time with WWE came to an end, Aries briefly returned to Impact. He then worked the U.S. independent circuit before a two-year stop in Major League Wrestling. He’s been quiet since leaving MLW in 2020.

The wrestler’s comments fit the ongoing narrative of WWE being a difficult, chaotic, and uncomfortable place to work. It sounds like he was never given a straight answer as to the reason he was let go. Instead, somebody just decided to drop him on a whim. You can check out Austin Aries full comments below.