Sting Will Reportedly Wrestle In AEW
AEW reportedly has plans for Sting to wrestle in the ring.
Sting has signed a multi-year deal to work as a full-time talent in AEW, however it was believed that he would not be taking any physical bumps due to his history of neck issues. In an update, Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated reports that there are plans in place for Sting to eventually enter the AEW ring.
AEW has plans for the 61 year old Sting to eventually step in the ring, but this does not mean that he will wrestle weekly on Dynamite. It was noted that the goal is for AEW to leverage Sting's star power, and the possibility exists for cinematic matches, tag team matches, and carefully-designed spots that allow The Stinger to shine while building others up into even bigger stars.
The most important part of the AEW signing to Sting is the chance to have another shot at one final run. Unlike in WWE, Sting now has the opportunity to finish his career on his terms, and Khan is the person most responsible for that chance. Khan reportedly worked tirelessly to make the Sting signing a reality. Sting was said to be thoroughly impressed with the professionalism, long-term planning, and the financial compensation from AEW. It also helps that Khan and Sting have been friends for years. It was noted that Sting's son Steven Borden tried out for the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars, the team co-owned by Khan, before taking a tryout in 2015 with the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs.
Khan reportedly made the deal with Sting in secret, and no one else knew about the contract until the signing was finalized. Once the deal was done, Khan revealed the details to AEW Executive Vice Presidents The Young Bucks, Cody Rhodes and World Champion Kenny Omega. The four Executive Vice Presidents were said to be ecstatic upon hearing the news of the deal. A handful of other people in the company were also informed of the deal at that time. Sting's debut on last Wednesday's Dynamite episode was not something just thrown together, but the execution of a carefully mapped plan that was always planned to include Cody, Darby Allin and Team Taz's Brian Cage, Powerhouse Hobbs and Ricky Starks. Khan was said to be adamant that Tony Schiavone make the call when Sting first appeared on Dynamite.
Sting is scheduled to speak this Wednesday night on Dynamite in an interview with Schiavone. AEW has also announced that Schiavone will interview NBA Legend Shaquille O'Neal on Wednesday's show. Barrasso reported that internally there is optimism among top AEW executives that this Wednesday's show will draw more than 1 million viewers. Dynamite has only surpassed the 1 million viewer mark four times since the show premiered in October 2019. They have hit 1 million viewers only once this year – on September 9 for a show that had on competition from WWE NXT, which drew 1.016 million viewers.
Stay tuned for more on Sting in AEW.