Impact Wrestling Rumor Mill: Austin Aries to miss Impact Wrestling tapings; no longer under contract
What's the story?
Austin Aries left the wrestling world scratching their heads following the ending of Bound for Glory. Aries lost his Impact World Championship to Johnny Impact, then immediately got up to trade words with Don Callis, before leaving the arena while flipping off everyone in attendance and at ringside.
In case you didn't know...
Austin Aries and Johnny Impact have been in a heated rivalry recently, which was to culminate in a match for the Impact World Championship at Bound for Glory. Aries had tweeted some pretty harsh remarks about Impact's wife, Taya Valkyrie, prior to the event, which led to a brawl at the company's Hall of Fame ceremony.
At Bound for Glory, Aries and Impact fought in a pretty strange match, which felt more like an actual brawl than a wrestling match. The two landed seriously stiff shots on one another throughout the first half of the match, which led to some speculation that all was not well.
Impact would defeat Aries after hitting the Starship Pain. However, as soon as the match was over, Aries immediately stood up, no-selling the events of the match before setting his sights on Don Callis. Callis and Aries had a heated exchange before the former champion walked off, flipping off everyone at ringside and the fans. Aries even left his entourage, Moose and Killer Kross, ringside.
The heart of the matter
After Bound for Glory, Aries reportedly took a flight home. According to Bryan Alvarez of the Wrestling Observer, Aries has gone home and won't be attending the latest set of tapings.
However, Impact Wrestling's Petey Williams took it a step further on his podcast, revealing that Aries has finished up his run with the company.
Austin Aries' contract is done. That match was his last match under contract with Impact.
So, it seems that Aries' episode after his World Championship match might have been legit.
What's next?
With a new champion in Johnny Impact, Impact Wrestling will look to move away from the Aries era. As far as Aries goes, this situation looks to be legit, though it could be a work to get fans invested in the company. After all, an Impact wrestler is the one who said that Aries wasn't under contract. Take it as you will.
Who will step up to challenge the new champion? Will Moose or Killer Kross get revenge for their former boss? Sound off in the comments!
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