Sting

AEW Dynamite prevailed again this week in the Wednesday night wrestling war, scoring a ratings victory over WWE NXT.

According to Showbuzz Daily, Dynamite averaged 757,000 viewers during its two-hour broadcast on TNT, while NXT brought in 678,000 viewers during its two-hour show on USA Network.

The main event of Dynamite saw Darby Allin retain the TNT Championship over Dark Order member John Silver in a hard-fought battle. Matt Hardy and his group attacked both combatants after the match, but Sting ran down and made the save.

All Elite Wrestling world champion Kenny Omega beat Matt Sydal in the opening match of the night and made his presence felt later after The Lucha Brothers and Laredo Kid beat The Young Bucks and Brandon Cutler in a six-man tag team match.

Omega attacked The Lucha Bros and Laredo Kid, and then he told off The Young Bucks, but after Matt and Nick Jackson walked away, Omega ate superkicks from Penta and Fenix.

Some other key moments included Christian Cage agreeing to a match against Frankie Kazarian next week and Tay Conti beating Nyla Rose in upset fashion.

The main event segment of NXT was a contract signing between Adam Cole and Kyle O'Reilly for a match at NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver. NXT general manager William Regal noted that since O'Reilly isn't medically cleared, NXT would be absolved of any blame if they signed the contract.

Cole and O'Reilly cut passionate promos on each other before signing the contract and having to be held back from brawling with each other.

Also, after Karrion Kross beat Oney Lorcan in a match, he had a heated confrontation with NXT champion Finn Balor ahead of their match at TakeOver.

Another key moment saw cruiserweight champion Jordan Devlin beat Kushida before coming face to face with Santos Escobar, who is also a cruiserweight champion. WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels then came to the ring and placed a ladder in front of them, confirming that their unification bout at TakeOver will be a ladder match.

It was also made official that WALTER will defend the NXT UK Championship against Tommaso Ciampa at TakeOver, while the vacant NXT Tag Team Championship will be on the line in a Triple Threat tag team match between MSK, Grizzled Young Veterans and Legado del Fantasma.

Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: some language NSFW).

AEW Dynamite continued its winning ways over WWE NXT in the Wednesday night wrestling war this week, scoring another ratings victory.

According to Showbuzz Daily, AEW Dynamite averaged 768,000 viewers during its two-hour broadcast on TNT, while WWE NXT brought in 597,000 viewers during its two-hour show on USA Network.

The talk of AEW was the main event match between Britt Baker and Thunder Rosa. In addition to being the first women's match to ever main-event Dynamite, it was an Unsanctioned Lights Out match, meaning there were no rules.

Baker vs. Rosa was a hardcore affair, as both women pulled out all the stops and utilized tons of different gimmicks throughout the match, including steel chairs, tables, ladders and even thumbtacks.

Rosa won after hitting Baker with a Thunder Driver through a table, but they both gained a great deal of respect, as they were battered and bloody at the end of the match.

MJF explained his actions from last week on Dynamite as well, revealing that it was always his plan to turn on Chris Jericho and The Inner Circle. MJF also divulged that the name of his new stable is The Pinnacle.

Also, Christian Cage spoke for the first time, confirming his desire to take the AEW World Championship from Kenny Omega, but stressing the importance of picking up some wins before challenging Omega.

Other key moments and results included Cody Rhodes beating Penta El Zero Miedo; Jade Cargill defeating Dani Jordyn; Matt Hardy, Private Party, The Butcher and The Blade beating Jurassic Express and Bear Country; Jon Moxley and Eddie Kingston defeating The Good Brothers; and Rey Fenix beating Angelico.

The main event of NXT was an unexpected tag team match pitting NXT champion Finn Balor and Karrion Kross against Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch for the NXT Tag Team Championships.

At the top of the show, Balor and Kross agreed to face each other at NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver, but they were interrupted by Lorcan and Burch, leading to a title match later in the night.

Kross took advantage of the situation in the main event, as he brutally attacked Balor, allowing Lorcan to pin him. Kross then continued his attack on Balor after the bell to close the show.

In other major news, NXT UK champion Walter made his long-awaited return to NXT, attacking Tommaso Ciampa with his Imperium mates after Ciampa beat Barthel.

Cruiserweight champion Jordan Devlin returned as well, confronting the other Cruiserweight champion in Santos Escobar. They agreed to a match at NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver to prove who the real champ is.

Additionally, LA Knight won his debut match against August Grey, Dakota Kai defeated Zoey Stark followed by NXT Women's champion Io Shirai challenging Raquel Gonzalez for a match at TakeOver, Dexter Lumis beat Austin Theory, and Kyle O'Reilly got arrested after trying to run Adam Cole off the road.

Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: some language NSFW).

Sting and Darby Allin were all set to take part in an interview with Tony Schiavone on top of the entrance ramp during AEW Dynamite on Wednesday, but they were rudely interrupted yet again.  

The first instance occurred after Allin challenged anyone in the Dark Order to take a shot at his TNT title in honor of ex-TNT champ Brodie Lee, who passed away last October.

However, Lance Archer rudely inserted himself into the conversation and challenged the TNT champion for his belt, undoubtedly setting up a feud between those two.

The second occurred when Team Tazz showed up and started talking trash. There is certainly bad blood between the two sides after their numerous fights of late, including a Street Fight at the March 7 Revolution pay-per-view. Sting and Darby Allin won that one over Brian Cage and Ricky Starks.

Tazz seemed ready to continue the frostiness between the two sides, but Cage was having none of it. He clearly stated that Tazz would not speak for him before getting in Sting's face and expressing the immense respect he had for him after that recent brawl.

Cage even publicly disagreed with Starks, noting that the wrestling legend was still The Icon with or without his signature bat.

Cage then walked backstage alone after being confronted by the rest of an irate Team Tazz before the segment ended.

The iciness between Cage and Tazz could certainly be the beginning of the end between The Machine and that stable. As for Sting, he earned some big-time respect from one of the most powerful wrestlers in AEW, even if he was robbed of a chance to speak freely once more.

In his first official wrestling match since 2015, Sting was victorious Sunday at AEW Revolution as he teamed with TNT champion Darby Allin to beat Team Taz members Brian Cage and Ricky Starks in a Street Fight.

Sting put Starks down with the Scorpion Death Drop to bring a conclusion to a brutal affair.

The match was taped ahead of time and included a number of incredible moments. Allin, in particular, threw caution to the wind.

All Elite Wrestling caused a major shock in December when Sting made his debut for the company on the Winter Is Coming episode of Dynamite.

The Icon's debut consisted of chasing off Team Taz to save Allin and Cody Rhodes.

Over the next several weeks, Sting continued to appear on Dynamite, and he forged a bond with Allin after declaring that he saw a lot of himself in the rising star.

Sting also served as an ally to Allin in his battle with Team Taz members Cage, Starks, Powerhouse Hobbs, Taz and Hook. With the veteran entering the fray, it brought down the numbers advantage at least a bit.

Eventually, The Icon got physically involved when he hit Starks with his bat while he was trying to interfere during a TNT title match between Allin and Cage.

After that, AEW announced Sting and Allin would team up to face Cage and Starks in a Street Fight at Revolution, marking the 61-year-old's first match since WWE Night of Champions in 2015, which saw him suffer a neck injury against Seth Rollins.

Team Taz eventually made The Icon pay for aiding Allin when he confronted them after the heel group kidnapped Allin.

Taz goaded Sting into entering the ring on his own and abandoning his trademark bat. Cage took advantage by kicking him in the gut and planting him with a devastating powerbomb.

It was a scary moment considering Sting's injury history and his age, but he took the bump like a champ and was ready for Sunday's bout.

While the match was huge in the sense that it was Sting's return to action, it was just as big for the three other performers involved as putting them in a match with the veteran was a huge vote of confidence in their ability.

Allin was the one who received the ultimate rub as he and Sting were victorious, but Cage and Starks undoubtedly gained plenty from the experience, as well.

Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: some language NSFW).