Austin Aries, the current TNA X-Division Champion and one of the few reasons to watch Impact, recently sat down with SportsVibe from across the pond and talks about a variety of subjects.
Having took place before Sunday's (April 15) Lockdown event, the interview touched on what we could expect from the show. They also discussed how Aries' broke into the business, his feelings on his current status in TNA and also how he feels about his former employer Ring of Honor (ROH).
Aries is no stranger to the Philadelphia promotion, being the only man to hold the World Championship two times. He famously defeated Samoa Joe at Final Battle 2004, ending the big man's nearly two year-long reign to start his first run at ROH's top ace and followed it up by beating Jerry Lynn in 2009 before losing the strap to Tyler Black -- now known as Seth Rollins -- the next year.
The stalwart number three promotion has a lot of history in its 10 year lifespan but according to Aries, it doesn't seem to have much of a future.
I'll be really honest with you, the Ring of Honor today is not anything like the Ring of Honor that the likes of CM Punk, Daniel Bryan and myself came from. Obviously they are still operating under the same name, but the company has changed so much over the years and it's really a shell of it's former self in terms of the vision and thought process. The original Ring of Honor and the Ring of Honor today are two completely different things, I like to call it Smokey Mountain of Honor.
He also goes on to say there is no money in ROH which means what good talent they do get, they won't be able to keep a hold of for long.
These criticisms are nothing new but it's surprising to hear from someone with such a long history with them. Perhaps he's still a bit sore from being unceremoniously dumped from the roster -- like Colt Cabana was a few months ago -- in late 2010 but it can't be denied "A Double" has a point.
What say you, Cagesiders? A case of sour grapes or is Aries on point?