We have an exclusive update on Austin Aries’ status with Impact Wrestling, company attempting to ‘work’ the wrestlers backstage at Bound for Glory and plans for a ‘loose cannon’ storyline in the months ahead.

Aries had everybody guessing whether his bizarre from IMPACT’s Bound for Glory pay-per-view was a work or a shoot. The situation unfolded following the main event, which saw Johnny Impact capture the Impact world title. Following the finish, Aries immediately leapt up, exited the right, shouted a profanity at commentator and IMPACT executive vice president Don Callis before flipping off the crowd as he exited the arena.

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Aries’ reaction had a lot of people questioning how much of what transpired was scripted. Aries’ feud with Johnny Impact grew increasingly personal in the days leading up to the show, which included deleted tweets about Johnny Impact’s wife Taya Valkyrie.

According to sources backstage at the Bound for Glory pay-per-view, Impact wrestlers were not told about the finish to the BFG main event and felt like they were being worked by management. One source who has been with the company for years told us it felt like a move the old TNA regime would have orchestrated.

Immediately after the pay-per-view broadcast ended, IMPACT media relations personnel were shopping the story to outlets such as TMZ, which had covered Aries & Johnny’s social media feud last week.

Apparently the entire program was set up because Aries wants to do his own take on the classic ‘Loose Cannon’ storyline that Brian Pillman did several years ago in WCW before leaving to join ECW. During that time, Pillman’s behavior got so out of line that he was ‘fired’ by Eric Bischoff but he later admitted that the entire situation had been planned so he could exit WCW and earn some legitimate heat when he showed up in ECW.

As of Sunday night, the plan was for Aries to start showing up in other promotions such as Ring of Honor to sell the idea that he really did ‘walk out’ at Bound For Glory. Eventually, he would return portraying a loose cannon character. Aries did not work Monday night’s Impact TV tapings and is not scheduled to be at tonight’s tapings either.