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Pro wrestling star Austin Aries is looking for gold.
Aries will face Blue Panther for the Major League Wrestling (MLW) National Openweight Championship on “MLW Fusion” on Saturday night in one of his biggest matches since returning to the ring.
He told Pakinomist Digital in a recent interview that he planned to leave the ring with the title for life and that he respected the Blue Panther for being able to compete for so long.
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Austin Aries walks to the ring in Major League Wrestling. (MLW)
“I mean, that’s the plan. I mean, listen, talk about longevity right? I’m 48 years old and I feel like I’m doing pretty good. I’m still in there competing at a high level and then you see Blue Panther. And he’s like (65) and he dives out of the ring,” Aries said. “The amount of respect I have for him – not only what he’s meant to Lucha Libre over his career, but just as a man to see another man at (65) years old still take the risk, still compete because he loves it.
“So, it’s going to be kind of bittersweet to have to take the old man back and take his championship away from him. But that’s the nature of the game, right? When you’re champion, you’ve got a target on your back, everybody wants what you’ve got. And for me, to win the openweight championship, and I don’t want to call it the championship start of the national world match. The openweight championship because I’m world class, and I want to take this championship around the world when I defeat Blue Panther.
Aries returned to the ring against Paul London at Slaughterhouse last year and was recently in the ring against Trevor Lee to kick off the new season of “MLW Fusion.”
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Major League Wrestling’s Austin Aries gathers in the ring. (MLW)
He said getting back into the ring was initially a test to see if his body could hold up.
“It’s been great. Came in to be a color commentator and got a little bit of an itch,” he recalled. “They asked me if I was interested in doing the Opera Cup last year. And then, yeah, stepped in to do the Opera Cup and there was some real top talent – guys like Kushida and Paul London and Místico.
“It was a real test for me to see where I was physically at this stage of my career. I felt good. I felt like I had a lot left in the tank. I can still perform at the high level I expect of myself. So I’ve been able to play that into the last year and I’m back as a full-time wrestler with MLW and it’s been a lot of fun.”
Aries has been beaten up in his career, and being out of the ring for nearly three years could show signs of ring rust or open the possibility of a major injury.
But Aries said his competitive mindset was one of the reasons he wanted to try again.
“I’m a competitor. I’m an athlete. And we all have that realization after we all have a day when that window closes and it can’t be opened again,” he said. “So, I’m very blessed even after 26 years. I don’t have any real nagging injuries. I’ve been really lucky that way. I’ve certainly had my share of injuries over the years, but I’ve stayed relatively healthy given the particular style that I fight, and you don’t take for granted that you’re always going to be able to do this, and then when my body lends itself, and then when I can still respond, and then when I get the opportunity. a high level.
“And knowing those things were capable of being accomplished, I figured let’s go full steam ahead, let’s go 100%. I say as long as I’m enjoying it and as long as somebody’s willing to pay me, let’s keep doing it.”
Austin Aries walks into a Major League Wrestling ring. (MLW)
Why fans should watch MLW
Major League Wrestling is one of many promotions vying for the attention of pro wrestling fans. With top athletes and interesting matches, MLW has been able to capture an audience looking for something they might not get from top companies.
Aries said MLW being free to viewers is a big factor.
“I think the cool thing about MLW is the accessibility,” he told Pakinomist Digital. “We now have a couple of different platforms you can watch it and it’s free. Nowadays, it’s hard to get good, free content. More and more, it pays to gamble, so to speak. You can go to the MLW YouTube channel to watch Saturday night, 6:05 ET, a new episode of ‘Fusion.’ We’re on the streaming service Veeps. We’re also still on beIN Sports, and now we just announced that we’re on New Japan World.
“And then the live events. Fifteen-dollar tickets to get started. It’s getting more and more expensive to go to live events in any form of entertainment. So it’s really important to us that our product is accessible to your average family of four.”
Aries also pointed to a star-studded roster that includes wrestlers from Mexico and Japan and the MLW roster that includes Killer Kross, Matt Riddle, Paul Walter Hauser and others as well as the ability to keep fans interested.
“What I think MLW is doing really well right now is really, A, presenting pro wrestling in a way that, for me, I can appreciate the art of pro wrestling, but it’s also just a good mix. We got relationships with CMLL with Luchadores, with Stardom and a lot of the Japanese talent. We got a great tag division. We got some familiar faces from WWE or other companies,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of up and coming guys trying to make a name for themselves. We’ve got legends like Blue Panther. We’ve got crossover with guys like Paul Walter Hauser. So we’ve got a little bit of something for everyone.
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“If you want your big pro wrestling match bell to ring, that’s what Austin Aries does. If you want big, meat-slapping guys, you’ve got guys like Hammerstone. We’ve got MMA mixed guys with Matt Riddle. We’ve got a guy like Killer Kross right now who’s the world champion. We really have something for everyone, and I want to try intelligence that we think about what we can do. keep that suspension of disbelief that I think makes pro wrestling great.”
