Jim Ross Says Sting Will Have A "Variety Of Roles" In AEW, Talks Tony Khan Creative Decisions

During the Grilling JR Podcast, Jim Ross talked about the AEW debut of Sting on Dynamite several weeks back. Sting debuted in a segment on the December 3rd Winter is Coming edition of Dynamite to aid Darby Allin and Cody. Ross talked about how wrestling fans always believe there's a conspiracy behind everything that happens. He also went in depth as to why Sting was hired and what he can do for the company moving forward.

Advertisement

"Having Sting coming to AEW for the first time, what's really going on?" Ross said. "What's really going on is Tony Khan reached out, hired Sting to a multi year deal. He's going to have a variety of roles, I don't know what they are exactly but they will be in a creative capacity where he's a character on television. There's a lot of ways to be a character on T.V. thats been accepted by the audience nowadays that doesn't include wrestling a match every week."

"I don't think anybody should wrestle a match every week. I think it's a kiss of death, you want to keep your talent fresh and you don't want to over expose them. There's a lot of things Sting can do. These conspiracy theories, they're rampant. We all thrive on this s–t. 'What's the dirt?' I don't know. If you come back in 20 minutes I'll create something for you."

Advertisement

Ross also talked about his broadcast partner Tony Schiavone, who wore an interesting attire on AEW Dynamite a few weeks ago. He mentioned how different Tony's outfits are and believes his partner's reason for the way he's dressed is because he might be going through a midlife crisis.

"It's the greatest opportunity to bust his balls," Ross said, talking about Tony's attire on AEW Dynamite. "I told him you don't dress in colours, you dress in flavours. He has a proper name for everything like 'My shirt is cinnamon' or 'My pants are blueberry'. The other day it was so definitive that they adjusted the [announce desk] set a little bit so his pants wouldn't be showing on cameras. He's got all these colours and they're all matching."

"I think he's in a midlife crisis. Next thing you know he's buying a motorcycle or something. Maybe even get a haircut. Anybody out there that loves Tony as much as the rest of us and you want to get him something for Christmas, I suggest Tony Bahama and flavours."

Ross also talked about the difference between a live and taped show with AEW. JR said a live show compared to a taped show is much better because there isn't a safety net so everything needs to be perfect.

Advertisement

"Live adds to that amazing element," Ross said. "There's a big difference when we do live AEW on Wednesday night than we do a taped version. There's just more synergy, there's more energy, there's more excitement because you know you don't have that net you're working with. It's here we go."

Clash of the Champions IV was the topic of the podcast this week which saw The Four Horsemen face the Midnight Express in the main event. Notably during that match was the non-appearance of Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard who left the company during that time.

Ross talked about how tough of a loss it was to not have Tully and Arn on the roster. He also mentioned how his current boss Tony Khan with AEW makes talent get involved in their creative which is something that could've prevented NWA from losing one of its top tag teams in the mid 80s.

"Obviously not having the services of one of the great tag teams in the business and two great minds was not a plus," Ross said. "It was a difference maker. If they had stayed there it would've depended on how they were used and how they were positioned. Did they have a hand in their own creativity? That's not how you do veterans who have product knowledge. I use Tony Khan as a reference on this show because that's who I'm working for right now, but Tony encourages the talent to have ideas."

Advertisement

"Tony encourages the talent to participate in the creative process. He's smart enough to know, just like Bill Watts was, if you have a top guy and you let him have a piece of the creative that he's personally involved in, he'll bust his ass to make sure it's executed properly and effectively for the company."

Ross also continued to mention that Tony Khan's style of running his creative through his top talent could've helped the NWA in 1988. He said Arn and Tully are one of the great tag teams he's ever been able to call matches for and also highlighted their importance with AEW.

"If that was the case, Arn and Tully would've been great," Ross said. Just to have them on the roster was good, their match quality was amazing. I've always felt Arn and Tully were a top 4 or 5 tag team that I ever called matches for. They're that good. You got to think if they would've stayed it would've been a positive only if they were allowed to have a hand in creative."

"Both guys are brilliant, Tully is a real stabilizing factor, as is Arn in AEW and they both have different agendas, and they're not together. Tully is with FTR and Shawn Spears and Arn is married to Cody and Cody's adversaries. They both have different agendas but they're both still contributing."

Advertisement

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Grilling JR with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

Comments

Recommended