Austin Aries realizes that when you think vegan, you dont think professional wrestler. But he also understands that when he announced in 2011 that he ate only a plant-based diet, being a vegan pro wrestler became a big part of his identity.

He often got variations of the same questions such as: Where do you get your protein? Is it hard? Is it expensive? How do you live without bacon? What do you eat? Where do you find it? How do you get it on the road?

That provided the genesis for a book that he started working on two years ago and begins shipping Friday. Food Fight: My Plant Powered Journey from the Bingo Halls to the Big Time is not a wrestling book, although Aries touches on his early training and rise to becoming TNA world champion, six-time X-Division champion, Ring of Honor world champion and now in WWEs cruiserweight division. Aries wrote the book with Los Angeles-based author Mike Tully.

The book provides advice and guidance for those who follow a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle, but also provides Aries views on the merits of the food we eat and challenges the reader to consider the choices they have when eating.

The book is about food awareness and digging a little deeper into whats in front of us, Aries told For the Win. Its not about any certain type of a diet or necessarily becoming a vegan. Its about taking another look at food, where its coming from and what its doing to us and realize we all have a choice in that.

Aries writes extensively about the need to read labels, check ingredients and seek alternative food solutions and chronicles the moments in his own food journey he cites driving past a massive chicken slaughterhouse among them that led him to move away from what he thought was the All-American way to eat growing up in the Midwest.

Grey Publishing

For most people growing up, the criteria is, does it taste good, how fast can I get it and how cheap is it? he said. What that shifted to, is it good for me, how much nutritional value am I getting from my dollar and where did it come from? With that, you look at food a whole different way.

By changing things, it forced me to pay attention to my diet understanding what these numbers meant or what these ingredients are looking down the list on the package. When I started figuring it out, it blew my mind how bad the easiest choices put in front of us are for us, how misinformed we are, how much propaganda there is and how what I call the corporate food system has really grabbed hold in taking over our lives.

As for his career in the ring, Aries is coming off a loss in a submission match to WWE cruiserweight champion Neville at the Extreme Rules pay-per-view last Sunday to cap off a feud that lasted more than four months. He followed the match with a cryptic tweet:

As far as whats next for me from a creative standpoint or what my next move is, thats to be determined, he said. I need to regroup and take a look at the landscape and see where I fit in. You just have to keep tuned in and find out whats going to happen.

After an interview earlier this week on Busted Open on SiriusXM, reports indicated that Aries might be taking some time off to deal with injuries. He said that is not the case as far as appearances: Im flying out Friday morning and Ill be working the live events this weekend. He also was at 205 Live this week but was not used.

If you look at the full quote and what I said was, Everyone is dealing with various stuff, he said. I dont think there is anyone in the locker room is 100%. Were all nicked and banged up to various degrees. Like anything else, you pick and choose the times you need address when it needs to be addressed and some times are better than others.

I figure no matter what interview I do, the real good journalists are going to find the completely irrelevant quotes that will drum up some controversy and stick it on their page to get some clicks and completely miss the real context of what the interview is about. Thats what we do nowadays and call it journalism.'

Aries spoke to For The Win about his food journey, the cruiserweight division and more.

The book is about food awareness and digging a little deeper into whats in front of us. Its not about any certain type of a diet or necessarily becoming a vegan. Its about taking another look at food, where its coming from and what its doing to us and realize we all have a choice in that.

This is a mindset and a lifestyle choice. Its what you prioritize with your resources your time, your money and your energy and where we are going to spend those. We spend them on what we deem most important. For whatever reason, a lot of people have decided food is not that important to dedicate our resources to it. One of the things people always ask me is, isnt it expensive to heat healthy or vegan? It can be, but isnt it expensive to live in a nice house or drive a nice car or wear nice clothes? The people lined up for the newest i-whatever because they need the new one when they just got one a year ago and are willing to drop $200 for it are the same people who are trying to find the easiest, most convenient, cheapest food to eat. I feel like were missing the boat on this.

Whatever diet switch youre thinking of doing go seek out information from people who are actively doing it. Give yourself the information and the tools. Just start slow. No one is going to sustain big, dramatic changes overnight unless you have strong conviction or that a-ha moment. I kinda did. There was one day where I just stopped eating meat, but then the transition to get rid of the dairy and eggs took 12 years. Maybe pick a meal, some people do Meatless Mondays. There is material on social media and a website for that. Maybe you cant do the whole day. Pick one meal on one day.

Everyone gets into a routine or comfort zone and you eat the same six things you know you like it, you know you can make it and you know what it costs. When you start taking things away, you have to replace it. For me, that opened up new foods that I didnt grow up eating in Wisconsin all these different foods from these different cultures. Everyone wants to enjoy eating food. I love food and dont want to sacrifice my enjoyment to be healthy. You can enjoy food and can e mindful and healthy while you do it but it just takes a little time and effort.

I preach to everybody whatever their opinion is that patience is the key. I know thats now how people nowadays digest entertainment. When youre trying to build a new brand and introduce new characters and help them find themselves and connect with the audience, it takes time. I feel like if people dont place their own expectations on what they think it should be and enjoy it for what it is and watch it as it evolves and what it will become, the process would be more enjoyable for everybody.

Neville is a highly accomplished guy who is as talented as any guy in the company and my accolades speak for themselves and I have some name notoriety from being in the game a while. If were able to stabilize it and that includes Brian Kendrick and bringing in Tajiri for a short time to allow time for some of those guys who will make their names over the next 10 years, thats a winning formula.

WWE performers know about the Hometown Curse when you come to your hometown, you generally lose your match but maybe the tide is turning.

Rich Swann Sasha Banks won a mixed tag team match at Extreme Rules in Swanns hometown Sunday. On Tuesday, Luke Harper scored the pin in an eight-man tag team match before SmackDown Live in Rochester, N.Y. During the match, he blew a kiss to his wife and 5-year-old in the front row. Harper had been 0-3 at home.

Luke Harper (Photo: WWE)

Now on his own after a brief reunion with the Wyatt Family in the winter, Harper is looking to find his place.

Its almost like a career is restarting or for lack of a better term reborn, Harper said in a lengthy interview for USA TODAY Network partner The (Rochester, N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle. Its a blank canvas right now and Im looking forward to whatevers going to come. I hope somethings going to come fairly soon. Ive been working every weekend (at live events), but nothing on TV as of right now and thats the goal to get back on there and make some major strides. I always have goals set and its hard when youre not being utilized right now.

Great moment after SmackDown Live went off the air Tuesday night in the arena. Two older women in the front row were wearing red, white and blue sweaters and Uncle Sam-style hats. One held up a poster that said, My heart belongs to RKO.

Randy Orton, scheduled for a dark match with WWE champion Jinder Mahal, saw the sign and got out of the ring. He embraced one of the women, who produced a pen and wanted him to sign the poster. He signed, as the referee implored him to get back in the ring. Orton held up a finger to tell the referee to wait one moment while he finished. The crowd responded with cheers.

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Yes, Austin Aries is a vegan wrestler. His new book seeks to answer ... - For The Win