Could Austin Aries Make A WWE Return?

Has WWE reached out to the Greatest Man Who Ever Lived?

by Andrew Pollard
Austin Aries
WWE

Speaking during an appearance on Sportskeeda Wrestling's Unskripted show, Austin Aries discussed whether he's had any contact about a possible return to WWE.

Having talked about how he wants to return to the wrestling scene in a "meaningful way", A Double went on to confirm that WWE has not reached out to him as of yet to discuss a potential return to the company.

"No, they did not. I think it was a wonderful experience there. We both got to see what the other had to offer, but I don't think that's a bridge that will be crossed again. I don't personally have any interest in going back there. I'm sure they don't have any interest in bringing in a 43-year-old, under six-foot white guy at this point either."

After impressing in the likes of Ring of Honor, TNA and Dragon Gate USA, Aries signed with WWE in 2016. Assigned to the NXT brand, the Greatest Man Who Ever Lived made his in-ring company debut at NXT TakeOver: Dallas, scoring a victory over Baron Corbin.

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A shot at Shinsuke Nakamura's NXT Title and a heel turn followed for Aries, but his WWE career was hit hard by an orbital socket injury sustained in a October house show contest against Nakamura. Being the charismatic performer that he is, WWE then made Aries a part of its Raw announce team, with him specifically calling the promotion's cruiserweight matches.

An in-ring return would eventually happen, and Austin Aries would even get a WrestleMania 33 pre-show match against Cruiserweight Champion Neville - which he lost - before being released on 7 July 2017. That release was reported at the time as being largely due to Aries being hard to work with behind the scenes... which is a reputation that has followed the talented star from promotion to promotion over the years.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.