Impact Wrestling Power Rankings: Austin Aries Is Back On Top
2. Brian Cage
When Brian Cage finally gets his hands on the Impact World Champion, we’re in for one of the biggest moments of the year, because Cage has been built up as well as any wrestler this year. Now that Austin Aries basically cheated his way into winning the Impact World Championship, he has a target on his back, and few people would give the fans a more satisfying beatdown of a fully-heel Aries than Cage.
At Under Pressure, Cage put together another clinic in using raw athletic ability, defeating Dezmond Xavier. After the match, Cage showed Xavier respect for hanging with him in the ring, giving Xavier a little bit of a rub. But make no mistake, when the bell rings, Cage is all business, and he shows no respect until the match is over. Cage has the Impact audience fully behind him, and remarkable things are on the horizon for “The Swolverine”.
1. Austin Aries, Impact World Champion and Grand Champion
“The Belt Collecter” has returned. Austin Aries defeated Pentagon Jr. in the main event of Under Pressure after completely throwing the previous champion off, punting him with a low-blow and busting his brains out on the canvas to regain the Impact World Championship.
This is Aries’s third reign as Impact World Champion, and it will be interesting to see if it’ll end up being his most special reign yet. I’m not sure how long he’ll be the champion, especially since he’s still the Grand Champion and hasn’t done squat with that title, but I’m hoping for a long reign.
As a full-of-himself heel who preaches his own superiority to his peers, Aries could be money, and Impact has already planted the seeds of a feud between Aries and Moose. Aries has also beefed with Eli Drake, whom he defeated to win the Impact World Championship for this second reign, and Impact may be interested in keeping him as something of a tweener to allow him to have different feuds.
I’d be interested in seeing Aries built up in his third reign, only for either Cage or Moose to have things come crashing down on the banana-eating, rock-singing Aries. He’s back in the driver’s seat now that he has both belts again, but just about everyone on the roster will come gunning for a shot at Aries.