Backstage News On Austin Aries’ Appearance At ROH’s 16th Anniversary

After Austin Aries made a surprise appearance at last night’s Ring Of Honor 16th Anniversary event, it has been speculated that Impact Wrestling and ROH may now be working together, but that does not appear to be the case.

PWInsider.com is reporting last night’s appearance was likely due to Aries not having a contract with Impact, which would allow him to appear without getting it cleared with them. Despite carrying all of his current championships on-air, ROH did not identify Aries as the current Impact World Champion. ROH likely booked Aries directly, and this would not need to be cleared with Impact Wrestling.

ROH 16th Anniversary Results (3/9): New Champions Crowned, Did Dalton Retain Against Lethal?, More

Last night marked Aries first appearance for Ring Of Honor since 2015, when he appeared in a six-man tag match teaming with Moose and Jay Lethal against Jay Briscoe, Dalton Castle and Kyle O’Reilly.

Update: PWInsider.com has revised their original report, stating they have confirmed Impact knew about and was supportive of Aries’ appearance. It was noted that Impact gave Aries their blessing to appear with their title on ROH’s broadcast, and that Impact would like to have an ‘open door’ policy when working with talent. It is said that Impact may be looking at this as the first step in a working relationship further down the road.