It wasn't clear until recently what kind of deal Sting had struck with AEW. Was it merely a full-time appearance type of contract? Would he be wrestling? How active will he get now that he's a big part of their roster moving forward?
Sting provided some clarity on the topic and some answers to that question when he sat down to talk with AEW President Tony Khan during the AEW Unrestricted podcast.
While it wasn't clear just how bad (nor not that bad) Sting's injuries from WWE were, there's been buzz he might be considering getting back into the ring as a competitor with AEW. Talk was that before leaving WWE, he wanted to do a cinematic match against The Undertaker. It was something WWE didn't seem all that interested in. So, Sting moved on and it appears he'll get his chance to follow through on a similar idea in AEW.
Tony Khan asked him if he was open to the idea, and The Icon immediately responded, “yes.” He added, “I didn’t want it to end the way it ended [in WWE]. I was pushing to get a cinema style match with Taker. For probably a litany of different reasons it just wasn’t going to happen.”
Sting went on to explain that when Tony and AEW called and asked about the cinematic matches and if he'd be open to doing them in AEW, he responded, "‘Yeah, I am [laughs] I am.’ So, I thought I’d like to come back and do that and not disappear again with my tail between my legs." He added, "I’d love to be able to go out and, I don’t want to go out on top, just to go out in a positive light, you know?’
Who Will He Be Wrestling?
As Sting tries to help get Darby Allin over in a big way for AEW, the question about who he'll be wrestling in these cinematic matches will come next. Is it someone from Team Taz? Or, is AEW thinking about waiting until AEW has a really big ticket match to promote?
Sting's in-ring return should be saved for something marquee. At least, that's our take on things.