When Sting made a surprise debut on AEW, the folks at TNT were unhappy. Also, Chris Jericho will appear on WWE’s Broken Skull Sessions with Steve Austin.
TNT Unhappy About Sting
Tony Kahn promised AEW had several big surprises to conclude 2020. One of those was Sting debuting for the promotion.
Sting’s appearance came as a shock because there was no hype. AEW did not even tease his arrival with cryptic tweets or videos.
Instead, snow fell and out came Sting. Fans sitting at home were not the only ones surprised as TNT officials were not aware ahead of time.
In fact, the people running TNT were not thrilled with what they saw on TV. During Talk is Jericho, former AEW World Champion Chris said AEW was told to hype big moments.
“When Sting was a surprise, [TNT] was like ‘don’t do that again,’” said Jericho. “That’s why Paul Wight was announced on social media because TNT said, ‘We don’t want surprises. we want to take advantage of the ratings.’”
“We had a big surprise, a big announcement, and we used the big announcement to announce the next big surprise. I think that’s one of the reasons too, to spread it out a little.”
Sting’s Lackluster WWE Run
Before Sting signed with AEW, there was one clue out there. WWE had stopped selling his merchandise, which typically means the person is not under contract anymore.
Sting’s WWE run was lackluster as he only worked a few matches. An injury sustained against Seth Rollins seemed to indicate his days inside the ring were over.
He was even inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, where he officially announced his retirement. Later, he would state that he was open for a return against the now retired Undertaker.
Since being part of AEW, Sting has wrestled in one match. He successfully teamed with Darby Allin against Team Taz (Brian Cage and Ricky Starks) in a Street Fight at Revolution.
The match was his first one in over five years and he apparently plans to continue wrestling. The match was pre-taped and allowed the icon to compete in a safe environment.
At 62 years old, there is no telling when Sting will stop. The popularity is still there as is the passion.
Chris Jericho Announced For WWE Show
Source: WWE Network, Twitter, Screenshot
Speaking of Chris Jericho, he has been booked for a WWE Network show. He will sit down with Steve Austin as a guest on Broken Skull Sessions.
The move is surprising considering how Jericho is an AEW wrestler and will appear on a WWE themed show. That episode will air on April 11, which the same day as night two of WrestleMania 37.
No foolin’ around here. You’re gonna get … IT! ? @IAmJericho joins @steveaustinBSR on the next #BrokenSkullSessions, premiering Sunday, April 11 on @PeacockTV in the U.S. and @WWENetwork everywhere else! pic.twitter.com/fQPzQ3QBDW
— WWE Network (@WWENetwork) April 2, 2021
Therefore, there should be plenty of eyes to see what happens. Austin is a bit of a wildcard and the same could be said about Jericho.
It is worth noting how Tony Khan must have approved of Jericho’s appearance. In the past, he has allowed AEW wrestlers to appear on WWE TV for major events.
For example, he gave Billy Gunn permission to appear with DX as part of their Hall of Fame induction. Triple H took a shot at AEW that evening, calling them “that piss ant company.”
It seems that Khan did not take too much offense to the remark.
As for Vince McMahon, it is interesting that he is allowing Jericho to appear on WWE content. When AEW was being created, Jericho was the first major star to sign with the then upstart promotion.
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