EDITORIAL (Counterpoint): Don’t let this chance slip away, AEW can use Sting to help jumpstart the promotion with new stories and characters

I read with some interest the Guest Editorial by Joseph Borzotta and, while in some respects, what he writes makes sense, he fails to realize that sometimes, simple really isn’t best.

Let’s take his contention that everyone wants Cody Rhodes to finish his story, that subverting expectations is bad. My problem with this whole idea of Cody finishing his story wasn’t him beating Roman Reigns and taking the title. That part is great. My question has always been: What’s next?

Of the major heels in WWE, who is the next logical opponent for Cody? If we assume that Cody will beat Roman Reigns on Night 2 at WrestleMania 40 and manage to hold the title in a rematch, who is next? Gunther maybe? That’s an opponent you keep for WrestleMania 41. You need mini-feuds to get to then though.

The same question applies to AEW. We all expect that Sting and Darby Allin will stand tall, defeat all odds, and beat the Young Bucks. But what’s next?

Sting retires (although we all know that “retirement” in wrestling is as rock solid as an addict swearing off their addiction) and passes the torch to Darby, but what good is that? Darby hardly needs the bump and killing the momentum of the Young Bucks in their new persona would do a lot of short-term and potentially long-term damage going forwards.

The whole point of a feud is to elevate one or both sides and build for the future. What good is it if you give a logical conclusion to a feud and the parties involved end up the same or worse than when they started?

Sting will be gone and probably will pop on for an appearance once in a blue moon. He might even wrestle an occasional match here or there if the money is good and he’s physically up for it. Darby Allin gets the rub and a huge pop, but likely doesn’t see his stock rise in AEW much because of the glut of wrestlers already demanding TV time and consideration for title shots and the like. The Young Bucks get beat and their credibility suffers because of it, making using them to elevate other tag teams not as effective.

So simple can be great, but simple isn’t always the best solution in this case. Sting doesn’t need the win and a curveball can help to make the audience more invested in the outcome of the next feud of Darby and of the Young Bucks. If the point is to make money going forward, then using Sting’s retirement as a way to elevate the Young Bucks or introducing a new foil for Darby makes more sense than giving Sting a win or some form of passing the torch to Darby after the match.

READ THE ORIGINAL EDITORIAL HERE.

Submit a guest editorial for consideration anytime to PWTorch editor Wade Keller at kellerwade@gmail.com.