Austin Aries, the Major League Wrestling openweight champion, has spoken about the long-running practice of bringing celebrities and outside athletes into professional wrestling, a tradition dating back to the first WrestleMania in 1985. Describing himself as a "traditionalist," Aries told OutKick he understands the entertainment value celebrities bring but warned that giving them shortcuts can undermine performers who have spent years honing their craft, calling the practice potentially "insulting" and "disrespectful" to full-time wrestlers.

Aries acknowledged that using famous names, as WWE has done recently with figures such as Jelly Roll and Lil Yachty, can help sell tickets and broaden a promotion's audience. However, he stressed that this should not come at the expense of the wrestlers who work "week in and week out." The comments came ahead of his three-way MLW Openweight Championship defence against Místico and Averno on MLW's "Fusion", which he won, taking Místico's mask as a prize.