Ranking Every AEW Surprise Debut From Worst To Best

2. Sting

Jon Moxley
AEW

One could make a genuine argument that the arrival of Sting is the most shocking moment in AEW history. While the Stinger becoming All Elite is slightly edged out on his list, the Winter is Coming arrival of this icon of the business is very much in the conversation when it comes to the biggest surprise of the company to date.

Just watching that debut back, if you don't get chills then you really do need to question whether or not this pro wrestling malarkey is for you.

Few people can lay claim to having done quite so much for the business, and in particular one promotion, than Sting. But this is someone who was now in the good graces of WWE, and who absolutely nobody expected to appear somewhere else - let alone in All Elite Wrestling.

As Cody and Dustin Rhodes, Arn Anderson and Darby Allin had been beaten down courtesy of Team Taz, the arena lights went out, a strange tune started to play, it began snowing(!) and we were then greeted with the unfathomable letters of S-T-I-N-G appearing on the tron.

It was nuts in real time, it's nuts to rewatch, and the fact that Sting's debut was arguably the hottest talking point of a Dynamite that saw Don Callis and Kenny Omega screw Jon Moxley out of the AEW World Championship and usher in an IMPACT working relationship... that tells you all you need to know.

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 dayjob, 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, Jamie Hayer, 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.