Wednesday’s episode of AEW Dynamite was dedicated to the late Ted Turner, the founder of TBS and former owner of WCW. WCW icon and WWE Hall of Famer Sting also made an appearance during the show, joining Tony Schiavone for a tribute to honor Turner.
Dave Meltzer mentioned on the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Radio that Sting was already scheduled to do promotional work and media for the event in North Charleston, South Carolina, since he spent a significant part of the early days of his career in that area.
Meltzer also noted that Sting was not originally intended to appear on AEW Dynamite, but was flown in for media obligations. Sting himself requested, either before his arrival or upon arriving, that he not be on the show because he felt it was not his time anymore and didn’t want to take the spotlight away from others.
Meltzer reported that Turner’s sudden passing earlier that day prompted AEW President and CEO Tony Khan to rewrite portions of Dynamite to include a tribute. It was Khan himself who decided to have Schiavone and Sting participate in the tribute. Meltzer added that Sting was happy to take part.
Furthermore, Meltzer stated that the tribute segment was completely unscripted, as viewers could see. He commented that they went out there and improvised, and he thought it was very well done. Sting later returned during AEW Dynamite to celebrate with Darby Allin after Allin retained his AEW World Title against Kevin Knight in the main event.
Meltzer emphasized that Turner truly deserved the tribute on Wednesday due to his significant impact on wrestling.
