Austin Aries Reveals He Is Open To A WWE Return

When the Cruiserweight Classic tournament aired on the WWE Network, it received a very positive response from viewers. This helped build the steam for it to become its own brand, as competitors moved up to the main roster. 205 Live would commence, and land in a spot following the Tuesday SmackDown Live show.

While the quality of matches was consistent, one of the biggest criticisms was there were no compelling storylines or characters that significantly boosted the brand. Hence, WWE moved Austin Aries from NXT to 205 Live to assist with this problem, and he commenced a feud with Neville over the title.

Although Aries would come very close, particularly at WrestleMania 33 in Orlando, he never managed to defeat Neville for the title. You can view the WrestleMania match below.

Neville vs. Austin Aries - WWE Cruiserweight Title Match: WrestleMania 33 Kickoff

Surprisingly, Aries was released from WWE in July of 2017. Since then, he has been competing in various independent promotions, and recently won the Impact Wrestling World Championship for the second time by defeating Eli Drake.

Austin Aries is Back in IMPACT!!! | IMPACT! Highlights Feb. 1st, 2018

Aries was recently a part of an Impact Wrestling conference call, and gave a status of his contract with Impact (H/T Mirror).

“I am not under any type of long-term contract, we came to an agreement over a certain amount of dates. The beautiful thing is there is no restrictions on me and that was very appealing to me. For me, it’s important to keep my flexibility and options open.”

Aries would also reveal that he is open to returning to WWE.

“I had a great experience and will always be grateful for the opportunity,” said Aries. “Coming out the other side has definitely raised my notoriety. For me going there was an opportunity to see how things are done at that scale. I benefited from it and if the situation was right, I would entertain the opportunity to go back.”

Follow Chris Featherstone on Twitter @chrisprolific and the Pancakes and Powerslams Show @cravewrestling.