AEW held a media scrum immediately following this evening’s Revolution pay-per-view in Greensboro, North Carolina. Here are the highlights:
AEW world champion Samoa Joe is out first:
Joe is not remotely surprised that he retained and puts over Swerve and Hangman for being tremendous competitors. He gets asked about the rivalry between Swerve and Hangman, citing that it is clearly not finished between them. The next question Joe is asked about is the growing talent pool in AEW, Will Ospreay specifically. He says it is indicative of what AEW does…”finds the best wrestlers in the world.” Joe is then asked about Wardlow being the new #1 contender. “I am the AEW world champion and AEW will soon learn why that is.” Joe reminds the press that any new challenger has to earn their spot so won’t name anyone in particular that he hopes to face. SRS asks Joe about Swerve making fun of his poncho moment in WWE and whether he ever foresaw himself becoming AEW world champion. “That guy in the poncho just kicked his ass tonight. I’m playing this on a very different level then everybody else. They’re playing checkers I’m out here playing chess.” Joe gets asked about Sting. He says he’s been a rival, a friend, and always been a steady/sobering voice during his own career. He says most wrestlers hope they can achieve half the connection that Sting has had with fans.
Will Ospreay is next:
Ospreay puts over Takeshita, shows off the severe bruise he got on the brainbuster turnbuckle spot, and expresses how excited he is to be in AEW full-time. Tony Khan does say that Ospreay’s planned match with Kyle Fletcher for Dynamite is on hold until Ospreay gets checked out after the spot. He calls the spot the most painful thing he’s ever experienced. He sneaks in that he wants to retire Bill Gunn and win championship gold in AEW.
AEW Women’s Champion Toni Storm is next:
Storm reads a prepared statement, where he acknowledges Sting and offers him her beach house now that he’s retired. She shouts out Mariah May and Luther for their help and thanks Aubrey Edwards for making the right decision as the official. Storm then praises Taz and Excalibur on commentary before telling Deonna Purrazzo to go back to IMPACT. She ends her speech by calling out Wendi Richter again.
Tony Khan speaks:
Khan thinks this was the best show AEW has ever done, including the build and the payoff. He recalls Sting reaching out to him in 2020 and how happy he is that it all worked out. Tells the media that Sting never had a political agenda and that his undefeated run was a call he made. Truly believes that Sting outran time. Tony confirms that the AEW tag team titles will be vacated and that a tournament will take place in March to crown new champions. Once again puts over how great Sting’s final match was since he got to go out his own way. Khan reveals that DARBY ALLIN will take on JAY WHITE at AEW Big Business on March 13th.
Sting and Darby Allin:
Sting looks back on his final run in WCW, TNA, and his brief run in WWE. Says that none of them ever felt right, but AEW was a perfect fit from the get go. Someone asks him about whether he will remain in a backstage role, something that has obviously been hinted at. Tony Khan tells Sting he wants him around and Sting is willing to talk about it, but doesn’t really have an interest in being a manager or a backstage agent. He gets asked about sharing a moment with his sons, who dressed up like surfer Sting and nWo Wolfpac Sting. Says the whole angle came together beautifully. Someone asks why he chose Revolution as his final outing. Sting jokes that Tony Khan wanted him to stay until Wembley but that Revolution was the three-year anniversary of his first AEW match so it seemed right. Darby tells the press that he wanted to show them that he’s still alive after his crazy glass dive. He reveals that he will still be going to climb Mt. Everest later this month. Allin finds out that he will be wrestling Jay White at Big Business and says, “Oh shit.”
The full scrum is below.
