Darby Allin

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from AEW and WWE.

Sting Received Positive Reaction to Double or Nothing Match

After Sting teamed with Darby Allin in a winning effort against Scorpio Sky and Ethan Page at AEW Double or Nothing on Sunday, The Icon reportedly received a big reaction from those who were watching backstage.

According to PWInsider (h/t WrestlingInc.com's Marc Middleton), the other wrestlers watching in the locker room gave Sting a "huge pop" when he came back through the curtain following the match.

It marked the 62-year-old veteran's first traditional match since 2015, and he played his role effectively.

Sting teamed with Allin against Brian Cage and Ricky Starks at Revolution in March, but that was a cinematic match taped ahead of time with no fans in attendance.

There was no real safety net for Sting at Double or Nothing with a sellout crowd present to watch him, but he seemingly made it through unscathed and hit all the marks he needed to.

Sting didn't move with the type of explosiveness he did earlier in his career, but he hit his signature moves and did enough to get the crowd into the match.

While Sting isn't someone who should be used often in an in-ring capacity, AEW can continue to get some mileage out of him by picking its spots and putting him in positions to succeed.

Belair Expects Rematch vs. Banks

On the heels of her historic match against Sasha Banks at WrestleMania 37, SmackDown Women's champion Bianca Belair believes another clash with The Boss is inevitable.

In an interview with Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated, Belair discussed her expectations for an eventual rematch with Banks: 

That night at WrestleMania, our match was about so much more than winning the title. We made history. And I'm fully expecting a rematch.

That moment was bigger than us. Even though I won the title, no one lost that night. That's why there are videos of Sasha smiling at the end. She had so much fulfillment from what came out of that match. Now, when she comes back and the title is on the line, we'll see who walks out as champion.

Belair vs. Banks was the main event match of Night 1 of WrestleMania, marking the first time in WWE history that two Black women competed in a WrestleMania main event.

It was also the first one-on-one women's match to headline a WrestleMania, as the WrestleMania 35 match between Becky Lynch, Ronda Rousey and Charlotte Flair was a Triple Threat.

While The EST was victorious and won her first title at WWE, The Boss turned in a remarkable performance as well, and both Superstars received universal praise.

Banks has been seen only once on WWE programming since WrestleMania, appearing briefly on the following episode of SmackDown.

During Sasha's absence, Belair has been embroiled in a rivalry with Bayley. Assuming Bianca exits that feud with her title reign intact, Banks figures to come for the title again sometime soon.

A match between Banks and Belair at SummerSlam would be huge for women's wrestling, especially with WWE planning to make it a big event with a large amount of fans in attendance.

Khan Teases Identity of AEW Rampage Announcer

AEW President Tony Khan provided some hints this week regarding who will join Mark Henry as an announcer on the upcoming AEW Rampage show.

According to WrestlingInc.com's Jason Ounpraseuth, Khan said:

I'm not necessarily gonna say he's going to be the play-by-play or color analyst, but he's going to be a big part of the show. I have a big announcement. I don't want to sound like it's going to be an outside person. It's somebody who's one of our top stars that will be on commentary on the show. He's a great commentator, and a great wrestler, that might narrow it down, but I'm going to put him on commentary.

Khan's hint suggests one of the Rampage announcers will be an active wrestler who has some announcing experience.

Chris Jericho immediately stands out since he has done commentary quite often in AEW, while Cody Rhodes and Kenny Omega are other big names who have spent some time at the announce table.

Whoever it is, they will be joining forces with Henry, who is AEW's newest signing. Henry's arrival was announced at Double or Nothing when he appeared prior to the main event.

Henry had been with WWE in some capacity since 1996, but now he will have a chance to try his hand at commentary, much like Paul "Big Show" Wight on AEW Dark: Elevation.

Rampage is set to debut on Aug. 13, and it will be a weekly one-hour show airing at 10 p.m. ET on TNT.

It will provide AEW wrestlers with a much-needed second television platform aside from Dynamite and could go a long way toward getting much of the roster more exposure.

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 defeated Scorpio Sky and Ethan Page in a tag team grudge match at AEW Double or Nothing on Sunday.

Sting hit the Scorpion Death Drop on Sky for the victory. The veteran showed he still has a little bit left in the tank.

Since Sting made his All Elite Wrestling debut in December, he and Allin have forged a strong bond and become targets for some of the company's top villainous teams and groups.

They had their first rivalry with Team Taz, and it led to a match at Revolution in March. They beat Brian Cage and Ricky Starks in a Street Fight that was filmed at a separate venue and done in a cinematic style.

That match was the 62-year-old Sting's first since 2015, and it was done in a way that helped protect him despite his age and injury history.

Once Sting and Allin moved past Team Taz, they were faced with new foes in the form of Sky and Page, who joined forces after both competed in the six-man ladder match at Revolution for a shot at the TNT Championship.

Sky fell short in his title match against Allin, causing him to turn heel immediately after. He then formed a bond with the like-minded Page, and it didn't take long before they both set their sights on destroying both Sting and Allin.

In many ways, Sky and Page were responsible for Allin losing the TNT title, as they pushed him down a flight of stairs one week before his scheduled defense against Miro.

With Allin operating at less than 100 percent, he was unable to overcome his challenger's size and strength advantage and passed out in his submission finisher, thus ending his 186-day reign as TNT champion.

Sting and Allin were out for revenge against Sky and Page, not only because they cost Allin the title but also because they made it their stated goal to put The Icon on the shelf for good.

Having already won a tag team match together on the pay-per-view stage, Sting and Allin entered Double or Nothing with confidence, although Sky and Page had plenty to prove.

Although Sky and Page were hungry to score a big win over the two established stars, The Icon and Allin prevailed once again in only their second match as a team.

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 will face Scorpio Sky and Ethan Page in a tag-team match at the AEW: Double or Nothing pay-per-view on Sunday, May 30.

The two teams got into an altercation on Wednesday at AEW Dynamite, increasing the bad blood between these groups that's been going in for weeks.

Last Wednesday, for example, Sky and Page attacked Sting during and after Allin's TNT Championship match against Miro.

On Wednesday, Tony Schiavone interviewed Sky and Page in the ring, and the tag team had some choice words for Sting, who came out to confront the two.

Allin then attacked Sky and Page from behind with his skateboard in hand. Later in the evening, the PPV match was announced.

This isn't the only anticipated tag-team matchup occurring at the pay-per-view, as the Young Bucks will be defending their tag-team titles against Jon Moxley and Eddie Kingston.

Wednesday night's episode of AEW Dynamite pulled in higher ratings than Tuesday's WWE NXT once again this week.

According to Pro Wrestling Torch, Dynamite averaged 936,000 viewers during its two-hour broadcast on TNT. Per Mitch Metcalf of Showbuzz Daily, NXT averaged 697,000 viewers for its two-hour broadcast on USA.

The main event of Dynamite saw Darby Allin put the TNT Championship on the line against Miro one week after Ethan Page and Scorpio Sky threw him down a flight of stairs.

Allin clearly wasn't 100 percent and it was ultimately his undoing, as Miro beat him by submission to become the new champion. There could be some controversy regarding the win moving forward, however, since Miro's shoulders appeared to be down during the submission.

The show also featured two other title matches, with Jon Moxley beating Yuji Nagata to retain the IWGP United States Championship in the opener and The Young Bucks beating SCU to retain the AEW World Tag Team Championships, meaning Frankie Kazarian and Christopher Daniels must break up.

There was also a huge match between Orange Cassidy and PAC to determine AEW world champion Kenny Omega's opponent at Double or Nothing. The match ended in a double count-out, and it was announced that The Cleaner will face both opponents in a Triple Threat.

One week after The Pinnacle beat The Inner Circle in Blood and Guts, The Inner Circle challenged The Pinnacle to a rematch at Double or Nothing and doused them with a hose full of champagne. The Pinnacle agreed to the rematch on the condition that it be a Stadium Stampede match.

NXT was headlined by a Cruiserweight Championship contest with Kushida defending against Santos Escobar in a 2-out-of-3 Falls match. It came down to a third fall, which Kushida won to retain the title.

Additionally, Raquel Gonzalez put the NXT Women's Championship on the line earlier in the night and beat Mercedes Martinez in a successful first defense.

Other moments of note included another segment involving Cameron Grimes and "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase, which saw DiBiase buy a house out from under Grimes, as well as an introduction of Isaiah "Swerve" Scott's new Hit Row stable.

Some other key happenings were Karrion Kross beating Austin Theory before agreeing to defend the NXT Championship against Finn Balor in two weeks, MSK defeating Breezango, Pete Dunne beating Leon Ruff, and Kyle O'Reilly defeating Oney Lorcan before Bobby Fish returned to save O'Reilly from a two-on-one attack.

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 continues to thrive since WWE NXT's move to Tuesday nights, as Dynamite scored another ratings win this week.

According to F4WOnline's Bryan Alvarez, Dynamite averaged 889,000 viewers during its two-hour timeslot on TNT, while NXT averaged 744,000 viewers for its two-hour show on USA Network.

Darby Allin once again defended the TNT Championship in the main event of Dynamite, this time against 10 of Dark Order. Despite interference from Ethan Page and Scorpio Sky, Allin retained the title.

Page and Sky beat down both Allin and Sting after the match, but Lance Archer ran out to make the save despite his recent rivalry with Sting.

Dynamite also featured the final build prior to next week's Blood and Guts match between The Pinnacle and The Inner Circle. Members of both stables cut passionate promos and played up the danger of the brutal stipulation.

Also on Dynamite, Brian Cage beat "Hangman" Adam Page, The Young Bucks defeated Matt and Mike Sydal, Orange Cassidy beat Penta El Zero Miedo, Kris Statlander defeated Penelope Ford, The Factory beat The Nightmare Family in a six-man tag team match, Miro turned on Kip Sabian, and Kenny Omega appeared and showed off his new Impact World Championship.

The main event of NXT was a six-man tag team match pitting Legado del Fantasma against Cruiserweight champion Kushida and NXT Tag Team champions MSK.

Legado del Fantasma won the match, meaning Santos Escobar could be in line for a Cruiserweight title rematch, while Joaquin Wilde and Raul Mendoza may soon challenge for the tag titles.

Another key result on NXT saw Bronson Reed beat Austin Theory after a distraction from Dexter Lumis, meaning Reed is again the No. 1 contender for Johnny Gargano's North American Championship.

Cameron Grimes was involved in an entertaining segment as well in which he bought an expensive watch only for WWE Hall of Famer "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase to arrive and show off his even more valuable watch.

Additionally on NXT, Mercedes Martinez beat Dakota Kai by disqualification after interference from NXT Women's champion Raquel Gonzalez, Zayda Ramier upset Toni Storm thanks to a distraction from Zoey Stark, Imperium defeated Killian Dain and Drake Maverick, and Adam Cole spoke for the first time since losing to Kyle O'Reilly at NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver.

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

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.

Orton Reportedly Pushed for Program with Riddle

Randy Orton and Riddle formed a tag team known as RK-Bro on Monday night's episode of Raw, and they enjoyed a successful debut with a win over Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin.

According to Fightful Select (h/t WrestlingInc.com's Marc Middleton), original plans coming out of WrestleMania 37 called for Riddle to continue his feud with Sheamus over the United States Championship and for Orton to feud with Braun Strowman.

Instead, Sheamus is seemingly involved in a rivalry with Humberto Carrillo, while Strowman beat Drew McIntyre on Raw to earn his way into the WWE Championship match between McIntyre and Bobby Lashley at WrestleMania Backlash.

The decision to pair Orton and Riddle reportedly came about because The Viper was "in favor" of working with The Original Bro.

On last week's Raw, Orton and Riddle faced each other, and Riddle came away with the victory, marking one of the biggest wins of his career.

Fightful Select (h/t Middleton) reported that Orton suffered a "deep bruise" to his shoulder during that match amid speculation of an injury, but it wasn't enough to keep him out of action this week.

Orton congratulated Riddle this week during a backstage segment and expressed interest in teaming with him. The announcers played up the possibility of Orton turning on Riddle, but they worked well together and won the match.

For now, it looks like Orton and Riddle will continue teaming, and perhaps they will even earn a shot at the Raw Tag Team Championships against AJ Styles and Omos, but one can only assume that the endgame is for Orton and Riddle to split off and have a blow-off match against each other at a pay-per-view down the line.

Young Bucks Poke Fun at WWE Trash Bag Incident

The Young Bucks often crack jokes at the expense of WWE, so it came as little surprise when they made mention of the company's trash bag controversy on this week's episode of Being The Elite.

At the 14:25 mark of the episode, Nick and Matt Jackson handed Brandon Cutler a plastic bag containing his belongings since Cutler is set to miss some time due to injury:

The segment was a direct shot at WWE's actions following the release of several Superstars on April 15.

Mickie James, who was among the released wrestlers, tweeted a photo of a trash bag WWE mailed to her as a means of sending back some of her belongings. James clearly took issue with the optics of the situation:

After James' tweet went viral, WWE executives Triple H and Stephanie McMahon tweeted their apologies and noted that the person responsible had been fired:

WrestlingInc.com's Raj Giri later reported that longtime WWE Senior Director of Talent Relations Mark Carrano was the one who was fired over the incident.

James later released a statement in which she called the incident "tone deaf," although she placed no blame on the McMahon family:

Subsequently, Maria Kanellis said the same thing happened to her last year, and Gail Kim suggested that it was a longstanding practice in WWE.

The Young Bucks and AEW tend to target wrestling fans who are fed up with WWE or aren't WWE fans in the first place, and by poking fun at something that netted WWE some bad PR, The Bucks undoubtedly appealed to that fanbase.

A big reason for The Young Bucks' popularity has been their willingness to fire shots at the biggest wrestling company in the world, and even as AEW continues to grow, they clearly aren't changing their ways.

Allin Praises Sting

TNT champion Darby Allin has worked closely with Sting on AEW programming in recent months, and it is clear that Allin has a great deal of respect for the veteran.

Appearing on Drinks with Johnny (h/t Felix Upton of Ringside News), Allin discussed the street fight he had at Revolution in March, which saw him and The Icon beat Team Taz members Brian Cage and Ricky Starks.

Allin described being hesitant over a certain part of the match only for Sting to pull it off to perfection:

"The only thing that stopped me was when I had to throw the bat down to Sting. I was like, 'Alright, I'm going to throw this down.'—[AEW President] Tony Khan put it best—'You know how the laws of physics work, right? The bat is going to come down and we don't know if it's going to break Sting's face or not.'

"It was the first time in the whole shoot I started thinking like, 'What if I do break Sting's face and he can't finish this match?' He is the one who was like, 'I'm catching that bat.' It was a perfect catch, first try, and he beat the f--k out of everyone. I was on cloud nine."

Sting made his surprise debut for AEW back in December, and he has been a big part of the weekly show ever since.

The 62-year-old legend only has one match to his credit thus far, but he has constantly been working with and around Allin, and he has played a big role in Allin retaining the TNT title on multiple occasions.

Having Allin work side-by-side with Sting is a big vote of confidence in his ability and a sign that AEW has huge things planned for him in the future.

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