Tony Khan Criticizes The Way WWE Booked Sting

Since its inception in 2019, AEW has made monumental free agent signing after monumental free agent signing – so much so that owner Tony Khan's relentless pursuit to bring together the most must-see roster in pro wrestling has become a point of criticism throughout the business. But no signing – not CM Punk, not Saray, not Bryan Danielson, or even Chris Jericho, the company's first landmark hire – has come with the anticipation and aura of "The Icon" Sting's arrival in late 2020.

In a new D Magazine feature about Sting's career by Mike Piellucci, Khan discussed signing the legend and expressed shock at how WWE used the wrestler while under contract there.

"He definitely had a lot more to offer than he'd be asked or allowed to show," Khan said. "To know that a wrestling company could have somebody like Sting—or really, specifically, Sting himself, because there's nobody like Sting—under contract, and he would want to work, and they wouldn't want to use him, it makes no sense to me."

Sting's "final act" with AEW, as described by Piellucci, has given fans years more than expected from one of the most prolific and important figures in pro wrestling's history. The 14-time world champion has somehow found ways to build on his wrestling legacy and continue to put on entertaining, physical matches, all the while molding his young protégé Darby Allin – already a two-time champion in AEW – into the business' next star. 

The fact WWE didn't give Sting the space to accomplish that there, according to Khan, remains a mystery to AEW's owner: "I don't care what company it is, what time. I don't care how many people you have under contract. If Sting wants to be active, and you have Sting on your roster, why wouldn't you utilize him?"