Sting Receives AEW Praise, Belair Talks Banks Rematch, Khan Teases Rampage Announcer

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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