Impact X-Division Champion Ace Austin On His Unique Style, Which WWE Stars Were His Influences

Impact X-Division Champion Ace Austin was just 21 years old when he signed with Impact Wrestling and that marked the next step in his wrestling journey. That journey started at a very early age and Austin talked about being able to do what he loves when he joined The Wrestling Inc. Daily.

"It's been a dream since the age of four and the fact that I achieved it at the age of 22 speaks, I think, volumes not only for my natural ability but also my drive," stated Austin. "Who else can say that they've done what I've done and will continue to do what I'm going to do this young?"

Austin won the X-Division Championship last year at Bound for Glory to add his name to the list of legends who have previously held the title. He was asked how it feels to be a part of this great lineage of X-Division Champions.

"I'm the second youngest X-Division Champion of all time, and pretty soon, perhaps the youngest World Champion of all-time. The lineage of the title itself not only brings that kind of pride to what I'm doing but the fact that I'm able to not just be one of the guys to hold the title, but to be one of the youngest guys to hold the title ? and one of the most talented guys to hold the title ? means the world to me," said Austin.

Some current wrestlers grew up in the 80s and others the 90s. But Austin grew up on wrestling in the 2000s and he talked about his biggest influences in the ring.

"Jeff Hardy was one of the first people to catch my eye ? the colors and the crazy style. Shawn Michaels for sure. As I got older AJ Styles was one of the people I looked to model my career after and the way he's gone about everything and the path he took is the ideal one for me," said Austin.

Many wrestlers looks the same as others in the ring but Austin has a style that's all his own. He discussed coming up with his move-set and if he relied on any other wrestlers for ideas.

"I don't take anything from anyone. I don't copy ideas. I pride myself in being one of the most innovative and creative professionals on the planet today," stated Austin. "Nobody can do the things that I can do and the ideas that come from up here [points to head] are unlike anything anyone's ever seen before. That was a big goal of mine ? to be totally separate from everyone else. You can't look at me and say he does the same things or looks the same as this person or whatever. So, it's really important to me to be 100 percent as different as I could possibly be."

Austin's full interview with Wrestling Inc aired as part of a recent episode of our podcast, The Wrestling Inc. Daily. Subscribe to get the latest episodes as soon as it's released Monday – Friday afternoon: by clicking here. The full interview can be heard via the embedded audio player below: