WrestleZone Radio has just released the full audio from the Impact Wrestling media call earlier today featuring new Impact Champion Austin Aries.
You can find some transcribed highlights from the call below. (If you use our transcriptions elsewhere please credit WrestleZone and include the embedded player at the top of this post)
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On the rumors that he had issues with the WWE creative team before leaving the company:
AA: Here’s an interesting thing with that, I’ll bet the writers didn’t probably like working with me very much. Understand that in that environment when I am given something that the writers hand me if I have anything that I think should be adjusted, or maybe things that I would not personally say, as someone who has done this for seventeen years and as a writer it isn’t always so easy to just change those things. They then have to go march back to the office and have those things changed for them. The process is a little tedious. To me, it takes a lot of the artistic and creative freedoms away from the wrestlers. I don’t know a writer who would know my voice better than myself. I’ve been doing this a long time. I’ll say this, if there were ever any writers who had frustrations with me they certainly never expressed them to me. It was something that was never brought to my attention.
On when he began entertaining a return to Impact Wrestling:
AA: We had some initial discussions shortly before I was a free agent. Really before the new team was put in place. I had a conversation with Sonjay and we were just kinda talking about some different things. At the time I wasn’t really interested in coming in as talent. I was really more interested in coming in and really just trying to help right the ship, if anything. I just realized at that point that that probably wasn’t a fit for me. It really wasn’t until late December when we talked and they had their team in place. I got to hear their philosophy and what they are trying to do trying to turn things around. Had a great talk with Scott D’Amore and decided that this was a place I could come in and lend a hand and really help rebuild Impact Wrestling back to some prominence.
On what kind of deal he has with Impact Wrestling:
AA: I am not under any kind of long term contract with Impact Wrestling. We came to an agreement on a certain number of dates that would run a certain length of time but there are really no restrictions on me which is the beautiful thing of this opportunity. They want me to keep doing what I am doing which is basically just traveling around, and I say it tongue and cheek, but I’m “The Belt Collector”. I am going to all these promotions and trying to collect titles. That was the opportunity that was appealing to me.
During the full media call Aries discusses:
- How he was able to claim the Impact Championship so quickly
- When he began entertaining a return to Impact Wrestling
- Why he wrestles as a “World Class Athlete”
- Impact’s new, evolving philosophy of how to handle talent
- If he felt pressure leading into his debut
- The current state of pro wrestling
- What he learned from his time in WWE
- What kind of a deal he has with Impact Wrestling
- Who he would like to see brought in to Impact
- His creative issues with WWE
- Being a vegan
- More…
