Backstage News On How AEW Plans To Use Sting
Pro wrestling legend Sting made his shocking AEW debut during last night’s Winter is Coming episode of AEW Dynamite. Soon after his arrival, AEW announced that Sting had signed a multi-year deal with the company and will be cutting a promo on next week’s Dynamite.
According to Dave Meltzer on the Wrestling Observer Radio, AEW plans to use Sting as “a regular character on TV” and not just a legend making sporadic appearances once in a while. Meltzer noted that AEW wanted to bring in “a star from the old generation of TNT as a regular” since such a move could potentially help draw in wrestling fans from yesteryears.
The Observer said that AEW will be extremely careful with the 61-year-old Sting and that “he won’t be taking any bumps” despite being used as a regular character on TV. In the event that Sting does perform “any kind of physical stuff,” it would be done with utmost precaution, added Meltzer.
With AEW already releasing new Sting merchandise, Meltzer made a note of the timing behind Sting’s debut. “They timed this right before Christmas,” he said, while adding that Sting’s arrival gives the company a great boost going into the holiday season.
After Sting’s WWE legends contract expired in May, WWE pulled all of his merchandise in October. Typically, most WWE alumni re-sign their legends contracts. However, when Sting didn’t re-sign, the writing was on the wall for him to join AEW, according to Meltzer.
As reported earlier, AEW President Tony Khan issued a statement on the signing.
“The surprise introduction of Sting was a great way to celebrate our biggest episode of Dynamite yet,” said Khan. “When AEW launched, I was ecstatic to bring wrestling back to TNT after a very long absence. Sting defeated the legendary Ric Flair in the final wrestling match to be shown on TNT for more than 18 years until the debut of Dynamite in 2019. Now, almost two decades later, it’s such a thrill to welcome Sting to AEW and bring him back home to TNT!”
.@STING HAS ARRIVED IN ALL ELITE WRESTLING!
Watch #AEWDynamite NOW on @TNTDrama pic.twitter.com/NMLGKqdQtX— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) December 3, 2020
Welcome to the team… @Sting is #AllElite pic.twitter.com/nzNX3bKpSi
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) December 3, 2020