10 Biggest Missed AEW Opportunities

8. Cody Rhodes Doing Something With Sting

Cody Rhodes AEW World Champion
AEW

Cody Rhodes has long talked about how much Sting was and is one of his wrestling idols. Added to that, of course, there's the storied history between the Stinger and Dusty Rhodes, with the pair frequently teaming together during 1988 and '89 to battle the nefarious Four Horsemen.

So, it seemed absolutely natural to do something with Sting and Cody once the WCW icon rocked up in AEW at December 2020's Winter Is Coming special; something more than just share a gooey-eyed hug in the middle of the ring, at least.

Even more so, it actually looked like we were going to get something between these two, with Sting firmly eyeballing Rhodes upon making his memorable first appearance for Tony Khan's promotion. Instead of aligning with the American Nightmare, though, the WWE Hall of Famer opted to take Darby Allin under his wing.

Still, there was plenty of scope for Sting and Cody to partner up at some point, or even for the pair to have a singles match that felt utterly inevitable. Despite spending over a year in AEW together, this duo never once got to compete with or against one another.

Unfortunately, as it stands, the last time Sting was involved in a match with a Rhodes was back on a 1995 edition of WCW Saturday Night, where he teamed with Dustin Rhodes and Randy Savage to get the better of Dick Slater, Blacktop Bully and Bunkhouse Buck.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.