Recap of the Austin Aries on the June 30, 2005 Edition of Monday Night Mayhem

Credit: co-host, Shawn Walters, ("The Angry Hero"), of www.MondayNightMayhem.com and www.AudioWrestling.com

The Big Mosh & The Angry Hero welcome Ring Of Honor superstar Austin Aries to the program, talking about the big ROH double-shot of shows taking place July 8th (Long Island)& July 9th (New York City). Check out www.ROHwrestling.com for more details.

Austin starts off by addressing the recent attention from the WWE & TNA, given to CM Punk & Samoa Joe respectively. He says both guys are definitely the “future of the business” and deserve all the good things coming their way.

Austin talks about what it was like being the wrestler chosen to dethrone Samoa Joe as ROH World Heavyweight Champion, ending a nearly two-year run by Joe. His intentions were to uphold the tradition of excellence that Joe did when he was champ, but also build his own legend as ROH’s top competitor. It wasn’t so much about the length of the run, Austin says, but about taking on all challengers. Overall, he was very pleased with the results of his tenure as champ.

Austin takes a brief look back at his match versus Colt Cabana in a cage at the ROH Three-Year Anniversary weekend back in February. It was his first time wresting in a cage and remembers the bout as being “fun” and enjoyed the chance to work with a more serious side of Cabana’s ring persona.

Describing his recent bout with CM Punk where he lost the ROH World Title, Austin recalls it being the first time he was really booed in the promotion, given the emotion Punk brought in, it being his “last” match. Every time Austin moved, he was booed and every time Punk hit him with something, the crowd erupted. In regards to the swerve of having Punk actually win the title, despite him leaving, Austin compares it to a baseball game where a pitcher might throw an odd pitch to throw off the other team. Austin is happy about the buzz the angle has generated and looks forward to seeing how it pans out.

Austin is excited to be taking over for CM Punk as the head trainer at the Ring of Honor Wrestling School, looking to bring his six years of wrestling experience to the table. He views himself as more “old-school” and puts over their training program as giving the students their money’s worth. The training facility has weight room with cardio machines, a nice ring to work out on and the students are right in the mix at ROH events, setting up the ring & merchandise.

After discussing a bit about working with legends of wrestling that Ring of Honor has had appear on their shows, Austin talks about working with current WWE superstar Daivari exclusively on the indy scene a few years ago. He always happy to see his fellow workers get the call up to the WWE and thinks if Daivari stays on the path he’s right now, he’ll have the chance to show the fans what he is truly capable of.

Austin gets into his training with Eddie Sharkey, the man responsible for breaking The Road Warriors, Barry Darsow, Jesse "The Body" Ventura, and many others into the sport. He remembers by the time he got there, Eddie just had a hip replaced, pretty much relegated to directing the school from a recliner and telling stories. The ceiling was really low and the ring itself was surrounded by three very close walls (as described in the recent Road Warriors DVD). Austin says Eddie’s school taught you how to “be a worker and not get worked yourself.”

AH asks Austin where his patented brainbuster finisher ranks amongst the great brainbusters in wrestling lore, such as “Gorgeous” Jimmy Garvin & Koko B. Ware. Austin admits he was big Jimmy Garvin fan and used to get a “strut in his walk” whenever “Sharp Dressed Man” came on over the radio, while he was serving tables back in the day. As far as he’s concerned, Austin’s brainbuster was the best in the business the night he used it beat Samoa Joe for the title and the key is “getting a good snap and driving your opponent’s head into the mat.”

Getting further in-depth into Austin’s repertoire, AH asks about the Pendulum Elbow, which has been compared to the "Tom Jones Dance" that Carlton Banks used to do on "The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air." This is the first time Austin has heard of the comparison, prompting him to consider snapping his fingers while doing the move. This leads to the Austin and the crew casting ROH wrestlers in "The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air," starring Austin as Will Smith, Roderick Strong as Carlton, Jack Evans as DJ Jazzy Jeff, and DeVito as Uncle Phil. Mosh suggests Nigel McGuiness as Geoffrey (both being British) although in hindsight, Prince Nana would fit the role better.

Austin takes time to address the TNA/Ring Of Honor relationship that has been rekindled as of late with "The Phenomenal" AJ Styles, "The Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels, and Petey Williams all making appearances. He thinks it’s a good deal, seeing how a lot of TNA’s fan base are fans of ROH and vice versa. Austin feels that if TNA isn’t quite ready to compete with the WWE, not having a TV deal and all, it would be good for business for TNA & ROH to work together and try to make each other money in the meantime.

In response to his takes on the WWE, Austin admits he doesn’t have cable so he can’t watch RAW and gets to see SmackDown! sparingly. He thinks ultimately Vince figures out what do in order to be successful, whether it be "The Attitude Era" all over again, or a focus on in-ring product. The bottom line, Austin says, is there needs to be some sort of competition to make business viable again and give the fans an alternative.

As to whether or not he would take a WWE deal if it was offered to him, Austin says you definitely have to weigh the options of the situation. On the one hand, you have the WWE, where Austin admits is “where it's at, whether you like it or not.” If given the chance and with confidence in his abilities, he could see himself being successful and financially stable. On the other end, working the indies is great but it takes large toll on your body. Austin is very happy with his current situation and looks forward taking over the ROH Wrestling School and continuing his fortunes in the promotion.

After talking up his United Kindom debut on 10/1 for the 1PW promotion (facing Doug Williams), Austin looks ahead to his ROH Pure Title match with Samoa Joe in Long Island on July 9th. He goes through the specific rules of a Pure Title bout and says he looks to redeem himself as of late by besting Joe for a third time and getting back on the winning track.

In wrapping up, Austin gives his thoughts on Matt Hardy’s debut with ROH on July 16th in Woodbridge, CT. He’s just as excited as the fans to see what Matt has to offer and thinks Matt’s got a “chip on his shoulder," with something to prove against "The Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels that night.


For more on Austin Aries, check out www.AustinAries.com, as well as more information about Ring Of Honor & their wrestling school at www.ROHwrestling.com.