— Dixie Carter made the following announcement on Twitter today…
Excited to have signed @AustinAries to a long term deal. I share the story on TNA Today TODAY.
— Yesterday, we posted the following report and video on TNA World Heavyweight champion Austin Aries. He was a guest on 4th & Pain, the only pro wrestling radio show hosted by an NFL player and a weight loss champion.
Washington Redskins defensive end Adam Carriker had a chance to meet Aries while he was backstage recently at an Impact taping. A week or so later, Aries became the world champion and joined Carriker and co-host Chuck Carroll on the show.
Aries thinks that Carriker has a future in pro wrestling after his playing days are over in the NFL. His comments echoed those of Hulk Hogan who said much the same thing to the former first round pick during his visit to the Impact Zone.
Conversely, Carriker and Carroll concluded that Aries’ athleticism should be good enough to at least garner a tryout in the NFL. The champ thinks he could carve out a little niche for himself with the pigskin a la Wes Welker.
As it turns out, Aries is a huge Green Bay Packers fan and joked with Carriker and Carroll that he wished the Redskins “half the success” of Aaron Rodgers and company.
Aries played football growing up, but primarily focused on baseball. But one of the seasons he did play football he was a defensive lineman.
During the interview Aries also stressed the importance of cultivating talent that has come up through the ranks and developed on the indy scene.
On the fitness side of things, Carroll, who bills himself as a weight loss champion after losing 250 pounds and keeping it off, was intrigued by Aries’ passion for the vegetarian lifestyle. The wrestler was VERY knowledgeable about nutrition and the food system in this country.
Aries has been a vegetarian for a little over a decade, having made the switch shortly after becoming a wrestler.
Aries on being a vegetarian
“When I made that decision it forced me to learn about nutrition, forced me to learn about the things I should be eating. It also exposed to me the corporate farming methods we use in this country and just how unhealthy it is for us as consumers. When you’re relying on corporations to feed you, you have to remember that their bottom line is making money. And if they have to compromise quality of food or the procedures of how they produce that food to make more money they’re going to do it. A lot of times the people who pay the price are the consumers or us. Whether or not a vegetarian diet is something that is for you or for everybody… I do say that even if you’re going to be a meat consumer you can do it in a more humane and responsible way, not only for the animals, but for yourself and for the planet.”
