Super 8 and Austin Aries: Traditional Future Synergy  

Credit: Declaration of Independents

Whenever one of us goes to a wrestling show, it’s a risk. True, it is a calculated risk as we take into our decision certain facts. Who’s on the show? Who’s running the show? How does the card look? Etc. All in all, though, we just go to the shows to enjoy whatever it is that we love about professional wrestling, however, that doesn’t necessarily mean you will enjoy the show-that’s the risk. A risk we are willing and in some ways, have to make just to break even. I don’t have to get into the history of the Super 8 Tournament as that is well documented, I would care to mention, however, that Jim Kettner and the ECWA upped the ante in 2004. As a wrestling fan I don’t only thank the promotion for putting on such a fine show through and through, but for introducing us all, if not for the first time, then most definitely reintroducing those to what I believe is the true future of this sport…his name, Austin Aries.

I know there are quite a few phenomenal talents in the wrestling pool today that have coined that nickname, ‘the Future’ and they are absolutely deserving of such a label, however what young Austin Aries showed me on that stage last night showed me he needs no such label, as it is as obvious as where the blood begins and ends on a cloud. It’s the truth as plain as day, this talent is the future of our sport and our entertainment, however you look at it.

True, this man did not come home with the trophy for the Super 8 Tournament nor was he raised on the shoulders of the rest of the tournament competitors, but realistically, the man who was-the man who defeated Aries in the finals is arguably the best wrestler in this world’s western hemisphere. The Fallen Angel, Christopher Daniels. Daniels’ talent and knowledge in the game isn’t only almost unparallel, but almost impossibly so. With that being said, I feel that Austin Aries made Daniels feel even more worthy of that throne as he gave him more than the best possible match he could ask for on that night. After two strong, relatively longer matches by both competitors, they brought the finals to the next level making it even longer than their previous two, I believe, with absolutely no slowing down.

I can find no comparison for Aries in the sense that at his young age he looks so comfortable in the ring. He is lighter on his feet than the science of sound as the ring makes the choice to be silent when he’s in it, almost as if the ring itself is watching him work, acting like an alter of sorts. Classified as a lightweight at 202 pounds with great agility as shown in his corkscrew splash and other maneuvers, it is still that aspect of his game that is overshadowed by the rest. For such an offensive wrestler to pay so much attention to his defense is a characteristic highlighted in less than a few. All of his strikes are extremely solid and Aries finds comfort in respecting the past for his place in the future. This can be shown in his homage to wrestling history with Randy Savage’s Macho Neck Snap over the top rope to the outside. The young southpaw has a combo that ends in this fantastic elbow drop that he calls the Pendulum elbow that seems more illusion than anything, even to this wizard.

Wrestling’s history in the state of Minnesota may be richer than anywhere in the country and Austin Aries has been a mainstay there and a successful one at that. With notches upon notches on his young belt, I hope that he stays around for a long time and becomes a regular here in the Northeast. His energy lit up the whole crowd last night and I’m sure he can do such to the whole independent scene, and you bet your bottom dollar, we hear at the Declaration of Independents will be covering it-matching the passion that he has for the sport-with pride.

This is not really a profile on this young talent, just a few mixed notes that I had in my head from last night where I was introduced to the Milwaukee native. Again, I thank the proper authorities for showcasing this fine wrestler’s talent as ECWA always seems to do. One again Kettner proved that it’s not ECWA because of the name, it’s ECWA because it’s ECWA.

For Austin Aries, as they say on the intro of ‘That ‘70’s Show’, “Thank you, Wisconsin!’