TNA Impact Wrestling is losing stars left and right, and these aren’t just a bunch of mid-card talents. The mass exodus from the company is continuing, and now it seems as yet another big-time star and former world champion is on his way out. Some have thought for quite a while that Austin Aries may soon be gone from TNA, but there was some proof given on Saturday evening.
The following does include SPOILERS for TNA Impact Wrestling tapings that happened on Saturday night. If you don’t wish to know what happens, stop reading now.
As reported by WrestleZone , Austin Aries took on Rockstar Spud at the tapings on Saturday night. There was a stipulation to the match that if Aries won, he would get to take Spud’s “Rockstar” nickname. If Spud won, Aries had to leave TNA.
Well, Rockstar Spud won the match, and it led to Aries having to leave the company.
It is known that Aries’ contract with TNA is up at the end of June, but the exact date is not known. Things are just kind of strange in TNA right now, as they may not have the financial means to keep a lot of these big stars, but it’s going to seriously hurt as they all leave at once.
The loss of Aries means that the Dirty Heels tag team with Bobby Roode appears to be a thing of the past, as well.
With the departure of Aries, TNA has now officially seen the losses of seven big talents, also including the following.
- James Storm
- Samuel Shaw
- Magnus
- Gunner
- Mickie James
- Low Ki
Some believe that the return of Jeff Jarrett to TNA actually has a lot to do with the massive departures. It’s being said that there could be some kind of “invasion angle” between TNA and Global Force Wrestling that will include a number of these names.
It’s known that Magnus will be working some dates for GFW, and that will also likely include Mickie James. The others are rumored, but there’s no real word on them heading to the other promotion.
Huge contracts like Kurt Angle and Jeff Hardy are hurting TNA financially, and add on top of that the return of Bully Ray , Matt Morgan, and others, and money is tight. TNA also just taped close to two months worth of television, and no one may actually work at all for a while.
For now, Austin Aries will appear on TNA Impact Wrestling for the next few weeks due to the taping schedule, but he seems done with the company. Maybe he will re-sign later on and maybe he won’t, but the former world champion is currently done.
[Image via TNA]