ROH/Impact Wrestling News: Austin Aries returns to Ring of Honor at the 16th Anniversary show
What’s the story?
Former Ring of Honor World Champion and current Impact Wrestling Champion Austin Aries shocked the wrestling world earlier today when he—along with all his championship belts—made his return to the Ring of Honor Wrestling during their 16th Anniversary show.
In case you didn’t know…
Austin Aries got his first big start in Pro Wrestling under the ROH banner in 2004 and in his very first year with the company, Aries successfully captured the ROH World Title at the Final Battle pay-per-view in 2004, after he defeated the reigning champion, Samoa Joe.
During his tenure with ROH, Aries also captured the ROH Tag Team Titles along with current NXT superstar Roderick Strong. In 2007, Impact Wrestling pulled out Austin Aries from all ROH shows, due to Aries being under contract with TNA and thus marking the departure of “The Greatest Man That Ever Lived” from ROH.
The heart of the matter
At today’s ROH’s 16th Anniversary show, current Ring of Honor World Television Champion Kenny King successfully defended his TV Title against Silas Young in a gruesome back-and-forth match.
However, shortly after King’s win, the former TNA X-Division Champion was confronted by a returning Austin Aries, who came out with his Defiant Wrestling, IPW: UK World Championship, WSW Heavyweight Championship, and Impact World Championship and eventually challenged King to a TV Title match.
Additionally, Aries claimed that the reason why he wants a match with Kenny King is that he has previously never won the ROH World TV Title and wants to add it to his collection of belts. King looked to accept the former WWE star’s challenge and the two men ended the segment by taunting each other.
Furthermore, a report from PWInsider suggested that Austin Aries had seemingly made Impact Wrestling aware of the appearance beforehand and the Impact management was apparently very supportive regarding Aries’ decision, despite knowing the fact that they are not directly working with Ring of Honor Wrestling.
Following his return to his old stomping grounds, Aries also took it to his official Twitter handle and reacted to the news of his return. Below is the tweet from Austin Aries, after his return to ROH:
What’s next?
It now looks like Austin Aries will certainly stick around with Ring of Honor for the time being and chances are that he and Kenny King might face-off for the ROH TV Title at this year’s Supercard of Honor pay-per-view, which takes place during WrestleMania 34 weekend.
Author’s Take
I think Austin Aries’ return to ROH gives the company a major boost in terms of star power. Personally, I’d also like to see Aries go after the Ring of Honor World Championship.