Is WWE Hall Of Famer Sting AEW-Bound?

WWE Hall of Fame Sting may be the next high-profile former WWE Superstar to jump ship to AEW.

The living legend has landed in the center of AEW rumors after reports that the 61-year-old former WCW heavyweight champion is no longer working with WWE.

This comes after toy giant Mattel
MAT
confirmed Sting’s action figure was to be pulled due to circumstances out of its control. The official statement read:

“Due to circumstances out of our control Sting needed to be removed from Legends Series 7. We’ll look to include this figure in a future wave if he becomes available to us again.”

Right around the time Mattel nixed Sting’s action figure, Stinger had an interesting exchange with AEW’s Lance Archer and Cody:

The eyeball emojis by Cody are of particular interest he is the Executive Vice President of AEW and in position to, at the very least, influence a decision to sign the wrestling legend. If that were to happen, Sting makes far more sense in AEW than he ever did in WWE.

The upstart promotion has developed a tendency to mirror many of the more successful aspects of Nitro-era WCW, including Spring Break, Bash at the Beach and the since-cancelled Blood and Guts—a takeoff on WarGames. In fact, Cody has filed trademarks for defunct WCW pay-per-view Slamboree and “The Match Beyond,” a nickname for the aforementioned WarGames.

Given his WCW lineage, one that was so prominent he essentially became the final major star from that promotion to sign with WWE, Sting would fit AEW’s old-school sensibilities like a glove.

Among the many glaring differences between WWE and AEW, AEW has—at least, for now—shown far more reverence for legends of the past. Talent like Jake “The Snake” Roberts and Diamond Dallas Page have been made to look dignified and credible, rather than being used as cannon fodder to get young heels over, as is often the case in WWE. As recently as Wednesday night, Roberts used his patented snake to antagonize and taunt AEW Chief Branding Officer Brandi Rhodes.

AEW’s treatment of its legends bodes well for Sting in a potential ambassadorial role. Sting has appeared at the AEW-affiliated Starrcast in the past, most recently appearing at Starrcast IV in 2019.

If we’ve seen the last of Sting in WWE, his run was a mixed bag. Sting’s in-ring career ended in a fluke when he awkwardly took a Buckle Bomb from Seth Rollins in 2015. Sting maintains that he places zero blame on Rollins for the incident.

Sting’s most famous—or, perhaps more accurately, infamous—match in WWE was a controversial loss to Triple H, one many chalked up to petty WWE-WCW politics, not to mention Sting sharing the ring with a Hall of Fame-caliber backstage politician in Triple H.

Despite his sudden retirement, Sting wrestling another match is not out of the question. Once upon a time, injury was the only limitation to pro wrestling’s “never say never” mentality. With advancements in various fields of health and sports science, however, pro wrestling has seen the miraculous returns of Daniel Bryan and Edge, both of whom were forced to retire due to concussions and a serious neck injury, respectively. Perhaps Sting could even find inspiration in Ricky Steamboat’s memorable 2009 comeback, where The Dragon shined in a three-on-one handicap matchup with Chris Jericho.

Uncertainty amid the ongoing spread of the coronavirus may be the only thing keeping Sting from signing with AEW. Based on what it would likely cost to land such a big fish, it may not be wise of AEW to spend so exorbitantly with the world on lockdown and live events not returning anytime soon.

If Sting does sign, however, he could be pro wrestling’s next great comeback story in AEW.