Original Pitch For Sting In AEW Revealed

Sting has opened up about the pitch he received to sign with AEW following his May 2020 departure from WWE.

Sting’s AEW debut took place at Dynamite: Winter Is Coming in December 2020, with his first match for the company following in March the following year.

Currently under a licensing deal with AEW, Sting has now opened up about the pitch that brought him to the company in the first place.

Speaking to Screen Rant, Sting reflected on thinking his in-ring career was over after WWE Night of Champions in 2015 saw him suffer a neck injury, saying:

“It seems like there’s been a reoccurring theme that’s happened to me a couple of times over the years, always tied to WWE, and it has to do with disappearing with my tail between my legs, so to speak, and just not wanting, after all the years, not wanting it to end the way it was ending. Although I had made amends with it and had a resolve about it and I was fine.”

He would then reveal that Cody Rhodes and Tony Khan got in touch, asking him if he wanted to “come back and play” in AEW, explaining:

“But I got a phone call from Tony Khan and also Cody. Cody Rhodes called me as well and just said, hey, and Tony’s words were, ‘Hey, would you like to come back and play for a little while?”

Sting would go on to reveal he considered Khan’s request, going on to say that his concerns were due to his own age and whether AEW’s younger roster would want to see him, let alone whether the fanbase would want to.

Khan would be on hand to dispel Sting’s worries about acceptance by the roster and the fans, with the WWE Hall of Famer, adding:

“Tony was convinced that the fans would be bonkers over it. He built my confidence. I had great conversations with him.

“I started to look and pay attention to some of the talent there. Darby Allin, for example. It just seemed like as I watched their show, it felt like WCW way back in the day.”

Sting and Allin would be closely associated throughout the veteran’s tenure, going on to hold the AEW World Tag Team Championship.

His time as an in-ring competitor would come to an end at AEW Revolution in March 2024, with Sting and Allin being undefeated as World Tag Team Champions with a victory over The Young Bucks.