Tony Khan has not allowed two top AEW stars to "book themselves" - Reports
AEW CEO Tony Khan may often speak highly of Sting and Bryan Danielson, but according to reports, Khan does not allow them to book their own matches and storylines.
Bryan Danielson has been one of the best signings for AEW. Tony Khan has actively said many times that The American Dragon helps him in AEW creative. The same can be said about Sting, who is a veteran in this business and likely has major influences on his matches for All Elite Wrestling.
However, in a recent edition of Wrestling Observer Newsletter, it was revealed that Tony Khan has the final say before booking Bryan Danielson and Sting in their respective matches:
"Just for a clarification on something we said that was misinterpreted. We noted that Sting and Bryan Danielson were going to go out basically as they wanted, noting Danielson will be and has been getting the dream matches he wanted like the series with Zack Sabre Jr., and recent singles bouts with Yuji Nagata (one of his all-time favorites) and Hechicero."
The report further stated:
"This is not them booking themselves but more them wanting matches, like Sting & Darby Allin vs. Young Bucks, and Tony Khan giving those to them, but Khan is still the one putting together the deal with CMLL, the matches and programs (in the case where there are programs) to lead to what they both wanted and Khan was the final decision maker. Sting asked for the tag team match and Khan was on board with that but he’s still booking the programs and the matches with input from both."
EC3 gets honest about Sting's AEW Tag Team Title win
Former WWE star EC3 recently spoke about the creative direction of Sting in All Elite Wrestling. The Vigilante recently captured the AEW World Tag Team Championships alongside Darby Allin by defeating Big Bill and Ricky Starks.
Speaking on Sportskeeda's The Wrestling Outlaws, EC3 shared his thoughts on Sting's first AEW title win ahead of his retirement match:
"It's not for me to decide whether he [Sting] should have the tag titles or not, but I think...because this is what it's really about - does him having the tag titles in this final run mean anything to you? Like, did [it] garner a reaction that 'Yeah! That's awesome, I'm so happy!' or was it just a prop being traded for the sake of adding more to a story that, in theory, probably doesn't need it," said EC3.
The NWA World Champion continued:
"I think [his] legacy and the legend of him is enough, but I can't tell you the right decision. I can just tell you that to make people feel something - if so, then perhaps it's the right decision.. but if it's just a title change for the sake of a title change, to gussy up something that's already, you know, pretty real and pretty significant, seems unnecessary."
Sting and Darby Allin are set to defend the AEW World Tag Team Titles in a Tornado Tag Team Match against Nicholas & Mathew Jackson (The Young Bucks) at the Revolution Pay-Per-View next month. It will be interesting to see how the company books Sting's retirement match.
Do you want to see Sting retire as the AEW World Tag Team Champion? Let us know in the comments section below.