10 Times AEW Saved Something That STUNK
2. Sting
IT'S STIIIIIIIIING!
We'll talk about that other AEW debut momentarily, but for fans of a certain age Sting's return to the squared circle might have been even more emotional.
Sting announcing his retirement at the 2016 WWE Hall of Fame was a bittersweet moment. There was no doubt that the man fully deserved to walk off into the sunset after an incredible career, but his WWE run had left a bad taste in fans' mouths.
Sting's year in WWE could charitably be described as "disappointing", and more accurately described as "f**king awful". The Stinger inexplicably lost his WrestleMania 31 match to Triple H in a bizarre Monday Night Wars rehash no-one asked for, and collapsed in the ring against Seth Rollins following a botched buckle bomb. That last event was particularly tragic, as it looked like it would be the last we would ever see of The Icon in a wrestling ring.
That's why Sting's AEW run has been so uplifting. The Stinger is being treated with the respect denied to him in his WWE run, and watching The Icon rebuild his reputation for a new generation of wrestling fans has been a genuine pleasure.