Austin Aries is a free man.
On July 7, Aries was officially released from his WWE contract. On Oct. 5, his 90-day non-compete clause expired, allowing him to freely wrestle for any promotion. And based off a recent tweet, he not only has plenty of dates lined up, he’s cashing in on those dates.
While Aries’ may be making more money on his upcoming independent run than he did during his WWE run, there’s no doubt that WWE helped boost his profile.
After spending seven months in NXT, the former TNA Heavyweight Champion made his WWE debut as an announcer. Once he was cleared for competition following an eye injury, Aries immediately entered a feud with then Cruiserweight Champion Neville. The two had a series of pay-per-view matches, with Neville retaining the title each time.
Following the feud, Aries was reportedly unhappy with his standing in the company and many backstage felt he was tough to work with. Thus, the company let him out of his three-year deal just 18-months into their working relationship.
Aries has already locked down a number of dates as he makes his way across the world, giving every country a taste of “The Greatest Man That Ever Lived.”
He’ll be appearing at House of Hardcore in New York and Philadelphia on Nov. 17 and 18 and IPWUK in Rochester on Dec. 17.
On top of those dates, he’ll take on Ricochet on Nov. 27 in Australia under the International Assault banner.
