Austin Aries Was An Idiot To Leave WWE So Soon

The departure of Austin Aries from WWE came as a shock when the news broke. Rushed as it appeared, it left the impression he didn’t think the decision through.

First, the requisite background: A Double didn’t so much give his notice, more like he up and left. He wasn’t satisfied with the way he was being used creatively, his match at Wrestlemania wasn’t on the main card, was left off the DVD/Blu-ray, so on and so forth.

You can sympathize with where Austin is coming from; others have felt the same way and, treated similarly, they aired their grievances and walked away.

WWE doesn’t have the most stellar reputation obviously when it comes to utilizing people properly. Look no further than Cody Rhodes, whose impassioned pleas for a change fell on deaf ears, prompting him to pursue greener pastures elsewhere. And it has more than paid off for the current Ring of Honor Champion.

Rhodes truly was underappreciated and made the right call. Casual observers might reach the same verdict in regard to Aries, but there is an extra little wrinkle in the Austin Aries story.

While Austin’s discontent is clear, another factor in this equation surfaced at the same time. That is that Aries is often very difficult to work with. In fact, he has a history of being hard to please.

What doomed him in ROH when Jim Cornette was in charge there was his high opinion of himself and his issues with pay. Cornette thought if the self-proclaimed Greatest Man Who Ever Lived was going to complain then don’t give him the platform. And so, AA was gone, just like that.

He floated around TNA for a while before signing on the dotted line with WWE and showing up in NXT, which was a coup for the brand. The pop he got on arrival was huge and not to mention all over the Internet.

During his run there, he mixed it up with Shinsuke Nakamura, Finn Balor, and most notably Baron Corbin. Getting saddled with Corbin isn’t an enviable position, but Austin made the most of his opportunities and showed what he could do.

Then came his call-up which occurred a lot sooner for him than those he shared the locker room with at Full Sail. Quickly, he was given a stage to put his talents on display — 205 Live.

Not ideal, it isn’t exactly Smackdown or RAW, but the Cruiserweights needed workhorses and star power, and do now. He still gets to be on TV in front of the largest audience of his career and participate in pay-per-views. It’s a work in progress but a step in the right direction nonetheless.

Austin wound up in the title hunt against Neville because he really is that good and everyone took notice. Everything looked like it was going smoothly until Aries walked out. What went wrong?

He had his first Wrestlemania ever, regardless of where it was, for a title no less. All the zeroes were in the right place and the checks had to be on time — we are talking about WWE here, not TNA.

They even hired his fiancee (who is still there getting a push as of this writing). What more can you want?
Reportedly, it didn’t matter because, in spite of it all, Austin wasn’t happy. The default stance among indie darlings who get the red carpet treatment, defy expectations by excelling when they reach the top, but never have enough (as in CM Punk) — he “wasn’t happy.”

Creative differences are understandable but that aside, Austin may have let his emotions get the better of him. He wasn’t being asked to change his name or wear a funny hat (again); they signed Austin Aries and he was allowed to keep his schtick.

Brainbusters were verboten. So what? Hideo Itami couldn’t use the Go To Sleep at first; that’s not what held him back.

There are other moves and new opportunities to get stuff over. A little patience and arm wringing and they might have let you.

That is what Austin truly lacked: patience. It is clear they had big plans for him. What’s better than a hot babyface chasing a title for now?

Guaranteed, by now, if not before the end of the year, Aries would be Cruiserweight champion. Hard work and biding your time would pay off eventually.

He climbed his way up the ladder so fast only to balk and part ways in such bittersweet sorrow. Think of the void he left behind they are now trying to fill with Enzo Amore.

Enzo might make it work, charismatic as he is, but between his ring style and his heat he is not the guy most picture in that role. Austin Aries, by contrast, fit the milieu perfectly.

The cream rises to the top; if he hung around longer, Aries would be there before he knew it.