Cornette, Bischoff & WrestleVoice Agree: AEW's Steven Borden Push is a Mistake
Just as the IWC and live crowds seem to be fully embracing the nostalgia of Steven Borden—Sting's son—stepping into the ring in full facepaint, two of the industry's most critical voices have emerged to urge caution.
I totally agree with my much older peers on this one, so I’ll step back and let them take the lead. Right after I mention, I thought Steven was in his younger 20’s. He’s 34 and learning…on what many call “The Wrestling Promotion”, and it’s their A Show”.
While reviewing the recent pay-per-view on the latest episode of 83 Weeks, former WCW President Eric Bischoff offered a blunt assessment of AEW’s strategy: They are pushing him too early.
"You don't get a second chance to make a first impression," Bischoff cautioned. While acknowledging the powerful emotional connection with Sting is strong right now, putting a green performer in high-stakes situations on national TV risks burning him out or exposing his lack of seasoning before he is ready to carry that spotlight.
Borden faced FOUR TOP AEW in-ring talents, AND got the pin!
The Unlikely Chorus: Bischoff & Cornette Team Up
The irony is almost too rich to ignore. Eric Bischoff, of all people—the man who infamously force-fed us the disastrous, go-away-heat Garrett Bischoff run in TNA—is now lecturing Tony Khan about exercising patience regarding nepotism pushes.
But hypocrisies aside, Bischoff’s point is surgically accurate in the modern, hyper-scrutinized landscape.
And industry veteran Jim Cornette agrees. On a recent episode of The Jim Cornette Experience, he broke down why this immediate push is a tactical error.
While acknowledging the kid "has the look" and the lineage, Cornette argued that the in-ring skills—the timing, the selling, the instinct—are not yet TV-ready.
The Prognosis
While audiences are currently in a "honeymoon phase" with Steven Borden—cheering the Stinger Splash and the iconic gear because they love his father—that goodwill is a finite resource.
As both men warn, you can only coast on the legacy of "The Stinger" for so long before the audience demands to know if the wrestler in the ring can actually work.
AEW appears to be betting that throwing him into the deep end is the fastest way to learn. But as Bischoff and Cornette see it, that strategy often backfires.
Instead of letting him develop an identity away from the cameras on the indies, every growing pain is instantly scrutinized by millions of fans online.
The honeymoon phase is working right now as a tribute act. But for Steven Borden to have a sustainable career beyond his father's shadow, he needs the time to actually learn the craft.
As Bischoff and Cornette see it, AEW might be robbing him of that vital developmental runway by rushing "full steam ahead" onto national TV.
