Austin Aries Talks Being In The First Match At WrestleMania 33
This past April was a milestone for Austin Aries, whose pro wrestling career has spanned 17 years, as he participated in his first WrestleMania. Aries had the once in a lifetime opportunity of opening WrestleMania 33 as he faced Neville in a cruiserweight bout in the first match of the night.
"Getting to be the first superstar to walk out there that night in front of an amped-up crowd was a really special moment," Aries told The Sporting News. "I definitely was fueled up with a couple of bananas. I had an extra banana or two before I went out there to make sure my potassium and energy levels were at their peak. It was really special."
Aries was signed by WWE in January 2016 after a career that saw stops in promotions such as Ring of Honor and TNA Impact Wrestling. In 2012, he voiced the character of Jacob Cass in the Road to WrestleMania mode of WWE '12. Five years later he was able to make his WrestleMania debut under the character he brought to prominence.
Originally brought to WWE to bolster the depth of NXT, the company has shifted him into a role to help do the same for their cruiserweight division. While Aries has admitted there are some things he would like to see changed in the way WWE portrays their cruiserweights, he understands there is a big vision.
Aries is dealing with some undisclosed injuries that he revealed in media interviews earlier this month, indicating he may need a little bit of break to rest his mind and body. In storyline he claimed on 205 Live last week he was not medically cleared to compete due to neck and back injuries. He had, however, worked live events prior to making those on-air comments.
You can read more comments Aries gave to The Sporting News by clicking here.