AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH AUSTIN ARIES

Credit: TNAwrestling.com
October 26, 2005

This past August, Austin Aries got the opportunity of his wrestling career when he was chosen by TNA in an online poll to face "The Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels at "Sacrifice". Aries impressed that night and has subsequently earned a spot on the TNA roster. In this interview conducted by Bill Banks prior to "Bound For Glory", Austin Aries discusses breaking into the business, his family, the "Dream Match" poll and so much more.


BB: How old are you and where are you originally from?
ARIES: I am 27 and originally from near Milwaukee, Wisconsin...I live in Philadelphia now.

BB: What do your parents do for a living?
ARIES: My mom was a stay-at-home mom who did some babysitting and daycare. My father worked for Oven Systems Incorporated.

BB: Middle class family?
ARIES: Very middle class. I didn't come from any wealth. I'm the oldest of four children with two sisters and a brother.

BB: What kind of kid were you growing up as far as sports and academics?
ARIES: I've played sports since I can remember - baseball all the way up until college...football and a little amateur wrestling. I also played soccer when I was young. As far as grades, I was gifted and in the accelerated classes but I was also a slacker. I got good enough grades to get by.

BB: Let's talk about your love of baseball
ARIES: My dad played softball since I was a child, so I would always go to the games and just run the bases the entire time. I would always watch the Chicago Cubs on WGN in the afternoons - with a drunken Harry Caray calling the games (laughs). I just always loved baseball. When I was growing up everyone always told me I had a shot to play baseball in the majors. But when I was around 13 I stopped growing, so I didn't really have the size for it.

BB: What position did you play?
ARIES: I played center field and pitcher - I'm left handed so I was a lefty pitcher, but scouts don't look at 5'9" pitchers too seriously. Pitching is a chess game - guys like Glavine and Maddux only threw 90mph, but today scouts would look right past them because they didn't throw hard enough for today's expectations. I got to college and they wanted me to only pitch and not play the outfield, but I always had a lot of fun playing on defense and using my speed.

BB: What did you major in college?
ARIES: I started out in Communications and then moved to Psychology. I went to college because in life and academics that was the logical next step you were supposed to take. Once I was there, there wasn't a job I could think of that a degree would help me get. I'm wasn't your typical 9-to-5 guy.

BB: Did you get any baseball scholarships through high school to go to college?
ARIES: I was offered some scholarships, but the colleges that offered them were very expensive and the scholarship would have only offset a small amount of the expenses. I ended up going to Winona State University in Minnesota. I got a scholarship to go there and the tuition was cheap enough for my family to afford it. I ended up quitting a month into the season - you know, when you get to college things start to change in your life and playing any kind of sport in college is a full-time job. It was also very "cliquey" and I wasn't the typical gung-ho "jock" who wore his Nike jacket and hat all over campus. I wasn't making many friends and it wasn't much fun and when you're asked to do it six hours a day nonstop, I decided I needed to get out and have fun another way. So, I got into a softball league with my buddies and had a blast.

BB: What did you do for money during the time? Any side jobs?
ARIES: I bartended at the local American Legion which was great, because everyone was in their 60s and 70s and here I come with my piercings and earings, and these guys have been sitting there drinking for forty years and have seen hundreds of bartenders come and go. So when I was behind the bar I was in charge, some of them didn't like it too much (laughs).

BB: Lifelong wrestling fan?
ARIES: Yes, I was into GI Joe until I was four when I saw the old AWA wrestling for the first time. That was it for me - then all the GI Joe toys got packed away and replaced with the AWA ring and action figures. When I was growing up, it wasn't really cool to watch wrestling. It wasn't something you advertised at school. But, it was my secret passion and I was hooked on it. I was one of the kids who used to have Wrestler vs. Transformers battles on my living room floor. I watched the AWA all the time. I saw Hulk Hogan vs. Jack Lanza in a cage with Heenan in Milwaukee at the Mecca Arena, that was a big memory for me. I always enjoyed watching Jesse Ventura and Ray Stevens. I was always a big Heenan and Jerry Blackwell fan. From there I got into the old NWA with the Four Horsemen, Great Muta and Nikita Koloff. I would also watch WWF, but that was my least favorite brand. It seemed too over the top for me...I liked the down and dirty wrestling from AWA, NWA and World Class in Texas.

BB: When did the decision to get into wrestling come about?
ARIES: Towards the end of college....I was starting to do some things that weren't exactly legal. I decided college wasn't were it was at for me and I was trying to find my way in life. So I dropped out of college and spent some time on the west coast in California. I was actually in the process of packing up my stuff and moving out there when I got a call from one of my buddies who I knew since I was five. We moved apart from each other but we always kept in contact every few months. He happened to call me a week before I was going to move and he told me he was in Minneapolis training to be a wrestler. I thought he was kidding me. As long as I watched wrestling, it never occurred to me that I could get into the business. I didn't know much about wrestling schools or the indy scene. I drove up to Minneapolis to check it out with him and I knew it was what I wanted to do. I moved up to Minneapolis a week later and started training.

BB: Who trained you?
ARIES: I went to the Eddie Sharkey and Terry Fox training camp. Sharkey would sit in his rocking chair and blow smoke up your ass and Terry would attempt to get into the ring and show you how to do a hip-toss without all of his crap falling out of his pockets. (laughs) He would always show us all the little gifts the kids would give him at school that day because he worked as a janitor.

BB: It seems like a lot of guys in the business were trained at one point by Eddie Sharkey.
ARIES: Yes and they all have the same story - he's the trainer of champions who never got in the ring with any of them (laughs).

BB: What did your family think about you getting into the wrestling business?
ARIES: My parents split when I was 16 and I really didn't speak to my father much. My mom has always been supportive in whatever I wanted to do and I think she was happy I was getting away from the bad stuff I had been doing and I had found something I had a passion for. I think she knew I had a good chance of succeeding. When I got into the business I was training and a lead singer in a band, so I was doing both at the same time in case one of them didn't work out. At the time, I was making more money with band gigs with my college buddies than wrestling. I would make $100 a gig in the band and only $10 maybe for each wrestling event. But in the end, my heart was still with wrestling and I'll still hopefully have my voice for years to come.

BB: What was the name of the band?
ARIES: "Zeno's Revenge"

BB: When was your professional wrestling debut?
ARIES: Late November of 2000 against a guy named "Sheriff" Johnny Emerald.

BB: I've heard some tremendous names in wrestling, but that one gets the gold medal....
ARIES: True. He was a guy that when I got into camp he was already in his mid-40s and they were just teaching him how to do leap-frogs. Within six months the guy opened his own school and he stills runs it - it's called MPW (Midwest Pro Wrestling). I worked against him in two out of my first three matches...

BB: Wait, so the guy is already over 40 when he gets into wrestling and within six months he already has his own school?
ARIES: Yes, because he could get access to a nice wrestling facility. I trained in a garage and when it was nice out we moved the ring to his yard. But "Sheriff" Johnny Emerald had a nice, new facility and had this other guy named "Shifty" who would train the guys.

BB: "Sheriff and Shifty"...are you joking?
ARIES: I'm serious, but they do sound like a cute couple (laughs). But, everyone went there - even Eddie Sharkey jumped there. So Terry Fox shut down and I even went to their school for about a month, that's where I learned the 450 splash and a few other of my moves. But you've got to realize that they actually had crash pads to practice on. Most schools didn't even have that. But then I tore my knee up and was out of action for about six months. When my knee got better, Terry Fox called me again and asked me to come work for him so I did. He opened back up and I went back to his camp.

BB: Talk about the beginning of your career and where you went from there.
ARIES: I worked wherever I could in the Minnesota area for a few years, then I got a chance to wrestle at a show for Mid American Wrestling in Milwaukee where my family could come see me. Ian Rotten was on the show and asked me if I wanted to work for his IWA promotion so I did. I got some exposure doing dark matches for WWE and trained a little with Tom Prichard. From there, Jim Kettner from ECWA in Delaware got ahold of me and wanted me to wrestle in their annual "Super 8 Tournament". Around the same time I got in contact with Ring of Honor and started wrestling for them. I picked up and moved to Baltimore and then to Philadelphia so I could be around all the wrestling action in the northeast.

BB: At Sacrifice, you won the "Internet Dream Match" poll on TNAwrestling.com to earn the opportunity to wrestle Christopher Daniels on Pay-Per-View and were subsequently signed to a TNA contract. How did you first learn about the vote?
ARIES: I was running a class at Ring Of Honor and I got a call from Jeremy Borash who explained the vote to me and asked if I would be available that day if I won it. I actually thought Jay Lethal had it won before it even started because his whole family is involved in wrestling.

BB: How often did you go to the website to check out the numbers?
ARIES: I checked it a few times throughout the week and I was surprised at the big lead I had. Then I got a call from from you on Thursday night I believe telling me I was the frontrunner and the office was going to get my travel info ready to go to Orlando.

BB: Right. Let's talk about the Sacrifice match - how much pressure did you feel to deliver?
ARIES: I don't feel pressure - I just go out in the ring and do my thing.

BB: So you're going to tell me that on the night of your proving ground, your TNA debut match on a Pay-Per-View against one of the best wrestlers in the world...you didn't feel any pressure?
ARIES: In my eyes, I've already proved myself to myself. I had already wrestled a few times before for TNA and I was waiting for the opportunity to get a spot. I knew I had what it took to make it, it was just a matter of other people pulling for me. But I just couldn't afford to keep driving to Nashville from Milwaukee all the time...

BB: Was it redemption for you personally?
ARIES: I wouldn't call it redemption, but I was happy to finally get recognition. I didn't feel pressure in the ring with Daniels, because I knew how good he was and that we would have a solid match.

BB: How did you feel after the match?
ARIES: I got a lot of positive feedback from the TNA staff and fans, so that was great. It's all about your own attitude and outlook. You need to keep a good attitude in this business. There's a lot of guys that have screwed themselves out of this business because they don't keep the right attitude. But when you enjoy what you're doing it makes it that much easier.

BB: The tattoo on your arm...
ARIES: The Chinese symbol for "Aries". I got this in California for a birthday present. "Aries" obviously represents the ram, but I found out later that in Chinese that ram, goat and sheep all have the same symbols. So I would always have people coming up to me asking me why I have the symbol for goat and sheep on my arm. So if I ever wrestle in Japan I'm going to buy a goat or sheep mask and that could be my new persona.

BB: Goat Boy vs. Curry Man would be a hot feud.
ARIES: Yes! (laughs)

BB: What's been your memorable moment in life?
ARIES: A lot of my memorable moments have to do with wrestling. When I was four years old I could remember reading wrestling magazines at the grocery store while my mom was shopping. If you had told me twenty years later I would be on the cover of the Pro Wrestling Illustrated Almanac and wrestling for TNA I would have laughed. When the almanac came out I was walking in a store with a buddy and he pointed and said "Is that you?". So, everything I've done in wrestling so far has been more than I ever imagined.

BB: How about some lowpoints?
ARIES: I think life is a big roller coaster - you just have to battle your way through some of the tough times. In wrestling I had a nice title reign in Ring of Honor and I was let down after that and wondered where I would go from there, but then TNA came along. Another lowpoint would be my parents splitting - anyone who's been through that knows it's not fun. I also lost my grandmother a few years ago and I was very close to her so it was hard to wrestle the next night. You sacrifice a lot to make it in this business - you miss your family because you're on the road so much.

BB: Who is someone you want to wrestle?
ARIES: I've always wanted to wrestle Jerry Lynn. I was always a big fan of his - he broke out of the Minneapolis area too and had some classic matches against Sean Waltman up there doing moves people had never seen. Jerry is and has always been a class act in and out of the ring. I also want to wrestle AJ Styles - I would love to mix it up with him. Of course, Jeff Jarrett as well - you've got to go for the World Title at some point.

BB: Last question...when all is said and done in your career how would you like the fans to remember you?
ARIES: As someone who loved this business and gave it everything. At the end of the day, I want to the fans to remember me as the guy that always busted his ass in that ring.