Austin Aries calls ROH "a shell of its former self"

[Deadpool]

TNA X Division champion Austin Aries, the only two-time ROH World champion, offered his thoughts on the State of Ring of Honor in an interview with Sports Vibe in the U.K. promoting TNA's Lockdown PPV.

Aries quote: "I'll be really honest with you, the Ring of Honor today is not anything like the Ring of Honor that the likes of C.M. 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." From a talent perspective, Aries added, "There is no money in Ring of Honor, and that means they will only be able to secure talent for a certain amount of time before they move somewhere else."

Damn. "Smokey Mountain of Honor". Can't say I disagree with Aries though. I do feel that there are times when ROH takes itself a lil' too seriously. What do you guys think of what Austin said?

[GardenStateSaint]

Everybody knows it has changed but I don't think it has drastically changed the bottom line. Not totally sure what he means by saying there is no money in Ring of Honor.

[fm20000]

Is he really talking about another company when he was just featured in a match where Eric Bischoff and his son were the main focus? And Hogan and Flair were cutting a promo in ring in 2012? He really needs to shut up. Just because he had a falling out with the company doesn't mean he can make idiotic statements like this. ROH may not be raking in the big bucks but the product is 1000 times better than that shit Lockdown PPV I had to force myself to sit through on Sunday.

[KinjiMuto]

I'm a huge TNA hater as much as the next guy, but TNA has stepped up their game man... Lockdown was really good

[fm20000]

I'm a huge TNA hater as much as the next guy, but TNA has stepped up their game man... Lockdown was really good

You're kidding right? I decided to give TNA another shot after not watching in two years and they disappointed as usual. 90% of the matches were just normal matches inside a cage, the first 5 matches on the show were a joke, especially that horrible lethal lockdown. The only things on this show that were decent were Angle/Hardy and Roode/Storm and even Roode/Storm had an obvious, horrible ending.

But back on topic, Aries is in no position to be talking shit about another company when he is in the most well known company for being a joke in the United States.

[JigsawVs.Jason]

I mean sure the glory days (2005-2007) are unfortunately over, but I do like 2010 and 2012 better than 2002- 2004 and even 2008! I do not think ROH is a former shell of itself, when there used to be times between 2002 and 2004 that are simply not as good as they are portrayed to be.
Right now in 2012, they have awesome young guys stepping up to the plate, Cole, O'Reilly, Elgin; the depth of the tag division might be better than ever before, we have several intersting storylines going on(Steen/Cornette, Steen/Davey, ROH/Chikara, Cole/O'Reilly, Elgin/HOT) and we do get A show after A show. The only difference to the glory days 2005-2007 is the fact we do not get foreign talent, that's the only thing preventing ROH to be at an absolute high right now. Since we will not see DG guys in an ROH ring, I sure hope we still get some NOAH guys somewhere down the line, it would freshen things up and give us the dream matches that we are so desperately craving from this promotion.
But, to conclude, I donot agree with Aries, whose claims should be taken with a grain of salt, taking into account what shitty abominable promotion he is working for.

[187_Joeism]

ROH did more for Aries than Aries for ROH, he needs to shut up and show respect

[YimYac]

It's changed sure but you have to remember that Aries is still bitter as hell.

(Want proof he's bitter), after Sinclair fied Sydney Euick, Aries began talking trash laughing at the decision on Twitter.

ROH did more for Aries than Aries for ROH, he needs to shut up and show respect

Agreed, also remember when TNA fired him the first time he came crawling back. He was also just in a match where Garrett Bischoff was the main focus

[GardenStateSaint]

ROH did more for Aries than Aries for ROH, he needs to shut up and show respect

This can very easily be argued.

[classic-cabana]

Pro wrestling is a shell of its former self, ROH is the only thing that keeps me interested in wrestling any more

[187_Joeism]

Austin Aries is a shell of his former gimmick in ROH too

[Riddick]

ROH did more for Aries than Aries for ROH, he needs to shut up and show respect

This can very easily be argued.

Ummm...no it cannot.

I like Aries but I think this answer was given to purposely add fuel to the fire on the fact he doesn't like most IWC members. He's had a history of doing this including dodging my friend when he previously agreed to do an interview.

BTW, to prove I'm right, take this quote...

"There is no money in Ring of Honor, and that means they will only be able to secure talent for a certain amount of time before they move somewhere else."

Now replace Ring of Honor with Impact Wrestling and tell me if it makes sense.

"There is no money in Impact Wrestling, and that means they will only be able to secure talent for a certain amount of time before they move somewhere else."

[KinjiMuto]

I'm a huge TNA hater as much as the next guy, but TNA has stepped up their game man... Lockdown was really good

You're kidding right? I decided to give TNA another shot after not watching in two years and they disappointed as usual. 90% of the matches were just normal matches inside a cage, the first 5 matches on the show were a joke, especially that horrible lethal lockdown. The only things on this show that were decent were Angle/Hardy and Roode/Storm and even Roode/Storm had an obvious, horrible ending.

But back on topic, Aries is in no position to be talking shit about another company when he is in the most well known company for being a joke in the United States.

I'm not kidding. I've been dying for TNA to actually do SOMETHING good and they finally did. The whole PPV wasn't perfect but it was a huge step up from the previous crap. Roode/Storm and Angle/Hardy were awesome matches and Lethal Lockdown was fun for what it was... even the "eh" matches weren't absolutely horrible

[YimYac]

Highlight of Lockdown

[Rooskie]

Well, Aries will be wrestling Shima Xion a lot (a good talent, I grant you) whereas ROH guys are getting the rub from Fit Finley, Lance Storm, Rhino, Haas, and Benjamin, plus lots of new talent to mix with guys like Davey, Roddy, and Eddie. Aries did so much for ROH and its fans I give him a pass and chalk it up to being bitter ROH didn't want to keep him in 2010.

[fm20000]

Highlight of Lockdown

But what about

[Mr. Small Package]

I'd have to agree with Aries that ROH is a shell of its former self. I honestly can't get into the product as much as I used to because of the overall dryness of it all. Jim Cornette has really transformed ROH into something I barely recognize. It's sometimes entertaining, but I prefer to watch the product of other promotions now.

[McXal]

I like that we're on a message board with multiple threads about missing the 'good old days'...yet when an 'outsider' chimes in and criticises the product a lot of people band together to slate him

For what it's worth, there are aspects of what Aries has said I agree with - that being that ROH isn't as good as it was in it's peak years. But, if you look at the talent ROH had then vs what it has now, I think Ring Of Honor is doing ok

The 'Smoky Mountain' jibe, however, was pretty low. I'll admit Cornette has brought some of that sensibility with him, but considering what ROH has to work with at the moment - I think they're doing a pretty damn good job. I watched both SITS ppv's this weekend and I have to be honest and say they really impressed me.

If Aries cares so much...maybe he'd like to come back and 'save ROH'. 2009 A-Double is one of my favourite characters in ROH history. Anytime he wants to quit playing second fiddle or enhancement talent to whichever goofy flavour of the month talent TNA want to put over he's more than welcome to come back to ROH and showcase what a great worker he is.

[astoph]

For what it's worth, there are aspects of what Aries has said I agree with - that being that ROH isn't as good as it was in it's peak years. But, if you look at the talent ROH had then vs what it has now, I think Ring Of Honor is doing ok

My thoughts exactly

[carlcantone]

The only thing I agree with on this is I think less Cornette needs to happen. I honestly think the whole authority figure vs wrestler is
so stale. That being said, ROH is still good. I think Elgin vs Richards was the best match in ROH in the last year or two. Would love to see some foreign talent brought in though.