TNT Was Upset Over AEW Keeping Sting's Debut A Secret
TNT was apparently unhappy with the way AEW unveiled Sting on Dynamite late last year. The former WCW and WWE superstar is now All Elite and it appears he will be an instrumental piece moving forward.
Despite the remarkable reception, Chris Jericho has revealed that the broadcasters were not pleased with the promotion keeping the veteran's signing and debut close to the vest. AEW purposely did not advertise the December debut in an effort to preserve the wow factor but TNT would have preferred it if fans knew Sting was going to be making an appearance as they reckon it would have helped ratings.
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Speaking on his Talk is Jericho podcast (H/T WrestleTalk.com), the inaugural AEW World Champion noted TNT's position on the surprise debut was the reason the company announced Big Show on social media.
"When Sting was a surprise, [TNT] was like ‘don’t do that again.’ That’s why Paul Wight was announced on social media because TNT said, ‘We don’t want surprises, we want to take advantage of the ratings'," he explained. "We had a big surprise, a big announcement, and we used the big announcement to announce the next big surprise. I think that’s one of the reasons too, to spread it out a little."
Ratings Over Surprises
Big Show also teased Christian Cage's arrival after being unveiled as an AEW employee. While fans were left to guess who the next big signing would be, they knew something was in the works as the ex-WWE superstar hinted a Hall of Fame-worthy talent would soon follow in his footsteps
Of course, fans did not mind the surprise of seeing someone as iconic as Sting returning to wrestling but TNT would have preferred it if they knew beforehand as it would have prompted more viewers to tune in.
Shaq's appearances on Dynamite sparked impressive ratings, so we can imagine how good it would have been on that front if fans were expecting to see Sting.
Source: Talk is Jericho (H/T WrestleTalk.com)
Next: Sting Says He Was "In Shambles" After The Cinematic Match At Revolution
