Austin Aries on Helping Train Frank Mir for His Wrestling Debut, Discusses Getting Into Stand-Up Comedy

– MMAWeekly spoke to former WWE Superstar Austin Aries, who discussed training Frank Mir for his transition into pro wrestling and also how Aries is getting into stand-up comedy. Below are some highlights.

Aries on how he got involved with Frank Mir: “So Frank Mir does a podcast called Phone Booth Fighting along with Richard Hunter, who is an MMA fan, comedian, host, and has also been in the music industry. Richard is also a vegan, and for those who don’t know me, I’m also a vegan, so that was my original introduction. A year and a half ago I did their podcast, and then through the course of the year I kept in contact and had done some stuff for the podcast. I was talking with Frank and told him I would love to come in and train with him, that it had been a number of years, but I used to do it in Minneapolis here and there, and he expressed he had some interest in doing some pro wrestling. Over the course of the last six months, we talked more about it, and I saw he was actually serious, so I kind of laid out what I thought my vision and realistic plan for him and if it was something he wanted to pursue, so we just kind of took it from there.”

Austin Aries on adapting Mir’s skills to MMA: “The thing with Frank, it’s easy for me, because he has a legitimate background. This guy is an elite athlete. Now we talk about the other part, which is theater, and with Frank in the MMA game you’re taught to not show any type of emotion in the Octagon, but in pro wrestling all we are selling is emotion. So for Frank it’s about loosening up (and showing that emotion). But everything translates as far as athletically and as far as his skills – he’s legitimate – that’s the easy part; it’s going to be all the other theatrics and stuff as we get out there that’s going to be the key for him. Right now, the beauty of pro wrestling is that there’s a bunch of different flavors out there, no matter what you’re into. I think me and Frank are aligned in that we like the authenticity of pro wrestling and honoring the art of combat and making this real, and that’s going to fit right in with what we’re trying to do.”

Austin Aries on branching out into other things: “When you’re a high-level athlete or high-level entertainer or high-level thinker, for a guy like Frank and a guy like me, in our early 40s, you’re starting to look at what is probably at the tail of your competitive career. You start looking at what other endeavors you can get into that maybe now you can extend and kind of take your skillset and apply to something new, a new challenge. It’s funny, I say every MMA guy wants to become a pro wrestler, every pro wrestler is trying to become a comedian, and we’re all trying to find a way to get kicked in the face a little bit less and still get paid for it.”

“I’m getting into stand-up comedy, and working with Tom Garland here, as we start developing our entertainment company; representing Frank, myself, and other people getting out there and talking, comedy and spoken word. Because again, I’m an entertainer. I can get on a stage whether it’s a wrestling ring or whether with a microphone in my hand, I’m a natural entertainer, so I want to always evolve and use the platforms I have to do good things with.”