Austin Aries Believes He Might Be Too Controversial For AEW

It doesn’t sound like we should expect to see Austin Aries in All Elite Wrestling anytime soon.

Former TNA World Champion Austin Aries recently sat down with Steve Fall of WrestlingNews.co. When asked when we’ll see him compete for All Elite Wrestling, Aries believes it’s probably not in the cards right now due to the current perception of him online.

“I don’t know if that’s in the cards, to be honest,” Austin Aries admitted. “I wonder at least if maybe heard things behind the — and again, it’s everything you take with a grain of salt when you’re hearing things through backchannels, but I might be too controversial for them.

“Maybe they don’t want the backlash from their fan base on the internet. And it’s the juice isn’t worth the squeeze, so to speak. So that’s a decision I have to make. I certainly haven’t really reached out on my end. They haven’t reached out on their end.

“So it’s not one of those situations where I’ve been trying to get work there, and they’ve been passing on it or vice versa. They’ve been trying to bring me in, and I’ve been declining. We just haven’t really extended extended the hand either way.”

Austin Aries doesn’t believe AEW needs him

Aries would go on to say that he’d love to work with Chris Jericho because he’s one of the few people in the industry he’s never been in the ring with.

“I’ve not been shy that Chris [Jericho] is one of the few guys in the industry that I’ve never been in the ring with that I would love to have a chance to get in there and do something creative. But we’ll see. Listen, they certainly don’t need me,” Austin Aries confessed. “They’ve got more talent than they have time slots for, and part of the backlash is guys not getting enough TV time.

“So I can only imagine bringing somebody like me is only going to knock somebody down on the totem pole for TV time, and that would be some backlash there. So, who knows, maybe down the road if the right situation presents itself. I’d love the opportunity to go in there and show the fans and also show the people in [the] back that maybe have a strong opinion about me that don’t really know me that I can be a positive asset to a locker room. I can be good for business.

Wanting to give back

“I’m at a point in my career now where obviously there’s probably more behind me than there’s in front of me. And there’s a lot of young talent that I think I could help out and pass the knowledge on to, and I’ve had my time in the spotlight. I’m not trying to keep myself in the spotlight. I’m trying to kind of help that next generation that’s going to kind of take the reins and be that new crop of men and women.”