Austin Aries released by WWE

News of one of the more surprising WWE releases in some time came today, with WWE announcing in the late afternoon that Austin Aries is no longer with the company.

WWE posted a statement on their website: “WWE has come to terms on the release of WWE Superstar Austin Aries. WWE wishes Aries the best in all of his future endeavors.”

Not long before the news of his release was announced, Aries tweeted: “It’s a beautiful day.” He followed up by posting three emojis (a banana, a smiling face with sunglasses, and a thumbs up) when the news came out. We can confirm that he asked to be released.

Aries had been scheduled to challenge for Neville’s Cruiserweight Championship at tonight’s house show at Madison Square Garden until recently. He was replaced by Cedric Alexander.

After his lengthy feud over the title with Neville ended, Aries’ last appearance on WWE TV came on the June 20th episode of 205 Live. He continued his partnership with Jack Gallagher, which was formed the week before when Aries claimed that he wasn’t medically cleared to compete due to neck and leg issues.

There was a situation before that where Aries seemed to indicate on an episode of Busted Open Radio that he was taking time off due to injuries, but he later denied that was the case when asked about it in an interview with USA Today.