Steven Borden, the son of wrestling icon Sting, was hurt during a scary spot at AEW All Out on September 26 that resulted in the match being immediately stopped and Borden receiving medical attention.
Recent updates indicate that Borden was fortunately not badly injured, but the incident has been heavily debated in the wrestling community with many people questioning why the inexperienced Borden was allowed to attempt such a high-risk maneuver.
Eric Bischoff is among the critics who say Borden should
not have tried the spot, and the former executive producer of WCW also says AEW boss Tony Khan shoulders a lot of the responsibility for Borden’s subsequent injury.
At All Out, Borden teamed up with Darby Allin to take on Kyle Fletcher and Kevin Knight. Borden and Knight eventually had a face-off when the two men climbed up opposite sides of the ring. The moment seemed to be setting up something like the mid-air collision between Logan Paul and Ricochet at the 2023 Royal Rumble.
Unfortunately, the timing was off, and Borden jumped earlier than Knight, resulting in him hitting the back of his head when he landed on the mat. AEW’s medical staff quickly attended to Borden, and the match ended.
AEW announcer Tony Schiavone has since given an update on Borden’s condition, saying he wasn’t experiencing any ongoing symptoms from being knocked out.
On the most recent episode of his 83 Weeks podcast, Bischoff reiterated his previous comments about Borden still being too “green” to be featured in high-profile matches.
“He actually shouldn’t even be wrestling on TV yet,” Bishcoff said. “He’s a deer in the headlights, and I don’t say that as a knock. I’ve been a deer in the headlights.”
Eric also questioned why none of the veterans in AEW didn’t try to stop Borden from doing the spot, before saying he was “really disappointed” due to Borden suffering a head injury and that the young star “has such a great opportunity ahead of him.”
“Whoever let him, whoever approved that, whoever the manager was for that, and for Tony Khan to know that was going to happen and not say, ‘Wait a minute, let’s not expose him too much too soon. Let’s not put him at risk, because this is a risky move.’ He should have known that,” Bischoff said. “The people around him should have known that. I just don’t understand how it happens.”
He continued by saying that instead of the people at AEW saying they hope something like that never happens again, they should be examining how it happened in the first place.
Conrad Thompson, Bischoff’s co-host, interjected by saying he doesn’t think Khan should be blamed for the incident and that the CEO can’t be aware of every spot in AEW matches.
“Number one, Tony [Khan] should have known. Now, can he know every moment and every spot in every match? No. But he’s Steven Borden. We’re putting him on a pedestal,” Bischoff said. “We’re thrusting him into the limelight to take advantage of his connection to one of the biggest, most iconic figures in the last 20 or 30 years in wrestling. I understand that. But if I’m doing it, I guarantee you I would know what his finish was. And if there’s a high spot in the match, I guarantee you I would know what it is and whether or not I wanted him to do it.”
Eric added: “Now would the same be true for my opening match or a middle match where there’s nothing unusual going on? No. But in this match, with this particular talent — knowing what Tony and everybody else knows — he’s green and just learning, but now we’re going to put him in a spot for Rey Mysterio? I’m sorry, that’s as much Tony’s fault as it is anybody else’s. That’s his responsibility.
“We talk about how hard he works and how he goes to all these different events. Take responsibility for what you’re trying to build is one of your key assets, and for someone I know you have affection for, and his father is Sting. Protect his son. Protect him physically.”
What do you think about Bischoff’s take? Do you agree that Khan bears some responsibility for Borden’s injury? Let us know in the comments.
