A simple Internet search reveals a slew of nightmare stories about WWE commentators being harangued via earpiece by WWE chairman Vince McMahon but Austin Aries apparently did not have such a negative experience.
Aries, who made the transition to commentary last year while recovering from a broken orbital bone sustained at an NXT live event, discussed making the switch and getting some high praise from McMahon during an appearance on Chris Jericho's Talk Is Jericho podcast.
Aries said that, after getting hurt and having surgery to repair the broken bone, he went to Triple H and offered to take on some other, non-wrestling role to stay on camera and remain in the picture -- whether that be commentating or managing.
"When the 205 [Live] idea was brought to life, they said, going off what you said, maybe this would be a fit for commentary," Aries recalled during the interview with Jericho. "It provided an opportunity that honestly I am so thankful for. It's opened a lot of doors for me and also I just learned a ton."
Aries said he was more nervous for his first night on commentary than any match he could remember in recent memory. He also described the experience of having to commentate while receiving instructions on feedback via an earpiece. Most of that feedback comes from Vince McMahon, who can be notoriously brutal on commentators.
"God is in your ear. That's it," Aries said. "You have an earpiece and there's a lot that goes on with commentary and what we call traffic. The main one and the only one that really matters is Vince. He may not have heard my name before that or known anything about me so this was my first chance to make an impression."
According to Aries, he did just that -- in a good way.
"Having Vince, like literally after my first night, tell me, 'g-- d----- you're a natural. Nobody's ever had a debut like that before,' " Aries said, adding, "For him to come back and heap that kind of praise on me, I didn't take that lightly."
Aries' appearance on Talk is Jericho was his first interview where he went into detail about his exit from WWE. Aries told Jericho he did not ask for his release but was let go because creative had nothing for him.
