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Tonight, AEW will present their final pay-per-view of 2020, Full Gear. It's a show that is completely stacked from top to bottom, but could a surprise appearance or debut be on the cards? It appears that AEW will have its largest crowd since the global pandemic began, with around 1,000 fans expected to be in attendance at Daily's Place in Jacksonville, Florida. So if Sting was to make his debut, now would be a great time to do so with a live crowd being present to experience this and to elevate the debut. But if Sting does arrive in All Elite Wrestling, where should his focus lie?
#5 Sting could present the AEW World Championship to the winner of Kingston vs. Moxley
AEW has previously taken the opportunity to make their PPV championship bouts feel even more special by having a guest involved in championship presentations.
At Double or Nothing 2019, Bret 'Hitman' Hart was on hand to present the brand-new AEW World Championship title to the world for the first time, and more recently at Double or Nothing 2020, Mike Tyson was given the honor of presenting the TNT Championship to Cody Rhodes when he defeated Lance Archer. It is not that farfetched to envisage AEW bringing in a special guest to present the World Championship to the winner of the grudge match between Eddie Kingston and Jon Moxley, and who better than the Icon himself, Sting. Moxley and Kingston are set to have an absolutely brutal 'I Quit' match in the PPV's main event, with their feud being one that seemily has become more personal with each Dynamite episode that passes. The conclusion of this match could see a boyhood dreaming finally coming true for Eddie Kingston, or a relieved Jon Moxley overcoming his most personal battle in AEW to-date, and a superb way to elevate this moment for either of these competitors would be for Sting to be the man to present the beautiful AEW World Championship to the victor and raise his hand at the end of a highly anticipated PPV.
#4 Sting could present the TNT Championship to the winner of Cody vs. Darby Allin
One of the most popular theories for Sting's potential AEW debut is for him to be somehow linked to Darby Allin, so this will not be the only option listed that links to Darby.
It would arguably make more sense for Sting to present the TNT Championship, rather than the World Championship, given his link to the TNT network, spending the majority of his illustrious career with WCW. Not only that, but Cody and Darby are both linked with Sting whenever the conversation of Sting arriving in AEW arrises. Darby is often likened to Sting, maybe due to his face paint, but more so due to the mysteriousness of their characters.
Cody, on the other hand, is often linked to anything WCW, due to his late father, The American Dream, Dusty Rhodes' involvement with the company. Cody Rhodes, who is admittedly a lifelong fan of Sting, even paid homage to the Icon, when he hit Lance Archer with a Stinger Splash during their TNT Championship bout at Double of Nothing 2020.
Could these links with both Darby and Cody result in Sting being brought in to present the championship to the victor?
#3 Sting could lift the hand of the winner of the AEW World Title Eliminator Tournament Final (Hangman vs. Omega)
One of the most anticipated matches on the Full Gear card sees former AEW Tag Team Champions Kenny Omega and ''Hangman'' Adam Page go head to head to determine who will win the World Title Eliminator Tournament and thus earn a shot at the AEW World Champion (whomever that may be following Kingston vs. Moxley).
This is a match that AEW has been delicately building towards since Omega and Page began tagging together around 11 months ago. Their chemistry together led to the pair surprisingly becoming the second-ever AEW Tag Team Champions by defeating SCU. Since that fateful match, fans have known that eventually Omega and Page would end up parting way as a tag team and ending up face-to-face in an AEW ring, and that time will finally come at Full Gear.
But what better way to up the occasion of the match than by having The Icon, Sting, on hand to present the winner of this tournament final with a trophy or medal to cement their place as the next challenger of the World Championship. The visual of Sting raising the hand of either Omega or Page at the end of what will surely be an epic encounter will be a sight that would live long in the memory of AEW fans worldwide. Sting can play an important, albeit ceremonial, role.
#2 Sting could be announced as the General Manager of AEW
One role AEW decided against filling thus far is an on-screen authority figure, such as a General Manager. AEW does have their real-life owner, Tony Khan, mentioned regularly on screen as the man behind the scenes making the matches, but would Dynamite benefit from having an on-screen authority figure?
If so, surely there would be no one better than Sting. Having Sting on-screen on a weekly basis could potentially convince some old school fans to give AEW a chance, and it would be great to see Sting interact with many of the great stars of All Elite Wrestling. Heels like MJF or Chris Jericho being put in their place by Sting could create some interesting new dynamics. With Sting being 61 years of age, and not competing in the ring since being injured while wrestling Seth Rollins back in 2015, filling a General Manager role could be the perfect way to bring Sting back on to TNT.
#1 Sting could help Darby Allin defeat Cody Rhodes for the TNT Championship
Finally, and what seems to be most likely, is Sting arriving to assist Darby in his TNT Championship match against Cody Rhodes. We have seen that since Cody won the TNT Championship for the first time, there has been many different teases as to a pathway that Cody may go down, with some of his championship defenses featuring Cody using some heel-like tactics. Just this past week, when Cody defended his TNT Championship against Orange Cassidy in a Lumberjack Match, moments before Cody hit the Cross-Rhodes for the win, we saw the coach of the Nightmare Family, Arn Anderson, lean in and nail Cassidy with a straight right hand behind the referee's back. Could Sting arrive, and help make Full Gear a level playing field by countering Arn's presence at ringside?
As previously mentioned, Darby is regularly likened to Sting, and the more these two are mentioned together, the more it seems like Sting could be the perfect mentor figure for Darby. In the promos that have been airing on Dynamite in the buildup to this match, Darby has alluded to being ready to become the face of TNT. Could Darby really become the new face of TNT, with the man who was the face of TNT in the 1990s by his side?
What makes Sting special? His first AEW opponent opens up RIGHT HERE.
