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Sting made his stunning AEW debut on the most recent Dynamite episode, and the fans are naturally still buzzing about the bone-chilling appearance.
Watching Sting on TNT was a nostalgic moment for several fans who grew up watching WCW, and the reactions to The Icon's AEW debut have been overwhelmingly positive.
However, what happened behind the scenes in AEW?
The Young Bucks were guests on Jon Alba and Dough McDonald's Living The Gimmick Podcast, and the AEW World Tag Team Champions and EVPs of the company revealed the backstage reactions to Sting's AEW debut.
Matt Jackson said that they have been sitting on the secret about Sting's AEW debut for a while, and it was really satisfying to see it unfold live on TV.
Jackson revealed that Sting was kept hidden away all day in a trailer from the rest of the crew. When the time finally came, Sting was led by one of the AEW staff members from Atlas, and the WWE Hall of Famer walked past many talents.
Jackson said that the boys and girls of the locker room marked out after seeing Sting. Jackson knew it right then that Sting's debut would be really well-received on TV.
"This is something we've been sitting on for a little while. It was one of those things where you have this secret, and you're just living with it. It felt really cool. There was one fun moment where he was hidden in all day in his trailer in the back. When it was time to go, we have one of our guys from Atlas leading him through the entire commonplace area to the go. As he walked by, he just walked straight through where he needed to get to, and all the boys' and girls' heads were turning like it was The Exorcist. They were like, 'What!?' "It was really fun to see everyone have a mark out moment like that. When I saw the reactions to all the talent, I knew that it was going to be an even bigger moment on television. We had a thousand people up there yesterday. I knew it was going to be a huge moment, and it was. It was chilling, and I think it was done perfectly because it was so simple. Him just walking up to the ring and the way he did it with the snow, the music. It was so well-done, and it was so well-received back here. I haven't really even had a chance to look on the internet, but I can only imagine."
Nick Jackson added the following:
"We marked out for that because we were huge… you know what's funny? We were huge WCW fans more than RAW. So, we lived those moments as kids, and we marked out for them. I went up to Tony (Schiavone) when he came back. I said, "Man, I loved it when you yelled that.' He said, 'I loved it too!' It was a great moment, though." H/t WrestlingInc
AEW's plans for Sting
Sting has signed a multi-year deal with AEW, and as revealed by Dave Meltzer on the recent Wrestling Observer Radio, the company plans on using the former WCW Champion as a regular on-screen character. AEW knows the value in Sting's name as he comes from the older generation of TNT, and the veteran would surely attract more viewers towards Dynamite.
However, the fans should not expect Sting to take any bumps as AEW wants to be careful with the 61-year-old star.
