Cody Rhodes Addresses the Speculation Surrounding Sting Joining AEW

When the news recently broke that Sting was free from his WWE contract, many wrestling fans quickly assumed his departure meant "The Icon" would be making some sort of jump to All Elite Wrestling. Cody Rhodes, who is admittedly a lifelong fan of Sting's, seemed to play into that speculation on Saturday night when he hit Lance Archer with a Stinger Splash during Double or Nothing. Rhodes opted to address the speculation outright in an interview with Sports Illustrated after he became the company's first TNT Champion.

"You can read into every step I take, every breath I breathe, and every glance of my eye," Rhodes said. "Look all the way back to All In. This is something that was willed into existence. My life is willing sh— into existence. If I was a little boy and got to do a Stinger Splash and that's where it ends, great.

"I don't know what his schedule is like or where he's at in this world, but nothing would please me more than to stand in a ring across from Sting," he added. "There has been no contact, but that's my way of reaching out."

If Sting were to join AEW, the question would then be what to do with him. The 61-year-old WWE Hall of Famer was forced to retire back in 2015 after suffering a neck injury during a WWE Championship match with Seth Rollins. WWE has since tried to get him back in the ring, reportedly for a match at a recent Saudi Arabia show, but to no avail. The former WCW Champion said in an interview with SI back in December that, if offered, he'd be able to compete in a match if it were against The Undertaker at WrestleMania.

"If there was a 'Taker situation at WrestleMania, I would listen to that phone call," Sting said. "I could get in condition and I could pull it off."

Check out the full results from tonight's Double or Nothing below:

• (Kickoff) Best Friends def. Private Party (AEW World Tag Team Championship #1 Contender Match)
• Brian Cage def. Darby Allin, Colt Cabana, Orange Cassidy, Joey Janela, Scorpio Sky, Kip Sabian, Frankie Kazarian and Luchasaurus
• MJF def. Jungle Boy
• TNT Championship: Cody def. Lance Archer
• Kris Statlander def. Penelope Ford
• Dustin Rhodes def. Shawn Spears
• AEW Women's World Championship: Hikaru Shida def. Nyla Rose
• AEW World Championship: Jon Moxley def. Brodie Lee
• Stadium Stampede Match: The Elite (Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks, Matt Hardy and Hangman Page) def. The Inner Circle (Chris Jericho, Sammy Guevara, Ortiz, Santana and Jake Hager)