Steven Borden Has the Look — But Is He Ready?

Steven Borden has the kind of look that Vince McMahon would’ve had wet dreams about 20 years ago.

Seriously. Look at the guy.

He’s got the size. He’s got the athletic background. He’s got the presence. And, obviously, he’s got one of the most recognizable last names in professional wrestling.

But none of that answers the question that AEW needs to be asking:

Is Steven Borden ready?

Because right now, AEW seems determined to find out in a hurry.

And before somebody points it out, yes, Steven has been training for more than two years. He didn’t wake up one morning, borrow a pair of boots from his dad and suddenly find himself on AEW television.

He’s put in work.

But there’s a hell of a difference between training, working developmental matches and performing on a major stage like AEW.

Now he’s being pushed toward the title picture almost immediately after stepping onto that stage.

That’s one hell of an acceleration.

Why?

Because of daddy?

Before somebody gets pissed off, I’m not putting Steven Borden in the same category as David Flair or Garrett Bischoff.

Those are examples of nepotism going horribly wrong because neither guy was really cut out to become what their respective companies wanted them to be.

Steven Borden is different.

I think this kid actually has it.

The problem is that having it and being ready are two completely different things.

There’s Training, and Then There’s Television

I saw Steven wrestle live just a few months ago at an ROH taping before AEW Collision.

At one point, he attempted a flying crossbody and racked his family jewels on the bottom rope.

Welcome to professional wrestling, kid.

I’m not bringing that up just to bust his balls—although apparently the bottom rope already handled that job.

I’m bringing it up because that’s exactly what development is for.

Steven has been training for more than two years. He’s worked matches. He’s been learning the business.

But two years of training doesn’t automatically equal two years of being ready for AEW television.

There’s a difference between learning how to wrestle and learning how to perform when the lights come on, the television cameras are rolling and thousands of people are watching every move you make.

That’s another level of pressure.

You can know exactly what you’re supposed to do and still have your brain suddenly scream, “HOLY SHIT, I’M ON NATIONAL TELEVISION.”

That’s why reps matter.

It’s like starting your true freshman quarterback against the most savage defense in the country.

Maybe he’s 6’5”. Maybe he’s got a cannon for an arm. Maybe he’s been studying the playbook for two years and every coach in the building thinks he’s the future.

Then the ball gets snapped and 300 pounds of pissed-off defensive lineman is coming straight through the A-gap.

Suddenly potential doesn’t mean shit.

The nerves are real.

Professional wrestling is no different.

You can train someone to bump. You can teach them holds. You can teach them where the hard camera is and how to hit their spots.

You can’t manufacture experience under pressure.

That comes from matches.

Lots of them.

And that’s why I don’t understand the rush.

Maybe Steven needs another year before he’s ready for this kind of position.

Maybe two.

Maybe six months from now everything clicks and he looks like he’s been doing it for a decade.

I don’t know.

Neither does AEW.

And that’s exactly why I’d rather watch them give him the opportunity to develop than put him in a position where he’s expected to develop while already being presented like he’s arrived.

Let Him Become Steven Borden

There’s another danger here.

Sting.

More specifically, the temptation to turn Steven Borden into Sting’s son instead of allowing him to become Steven Borden.

There’s nothing wrong with acknowledging the family connection. It would actually be stupid not to. Sting is one of the biggest stars professional wrestling has ever produced.

But professional wrestling history is filled with second- and third-generation wrestlers who spent too much time trying to become their fathers.

The Anoa’i dynasty might make this shit look easy because that family has produced an absurd number of successful wrestlers.

It isn’t easy.

Having the DNA doesn’t download the moveset.

So if AEW really wants Steven Borden to succeed, here’s my completely unsolicited blueprint.

1. Change One Thing About the Name

Keep Borden.

Obviously.

And yes, Steven is his real name.

But I’d shorten it.

Steve Borden.

That’s it.

I’m sure somebody will immediately start screaming, “THERE’S ONLY ONE STEVE!”

Who gives a shit?

Steve Borden sounds like a professional wrestler.

Don’t overthink it. Don’t give him some ridiculous nickname. Don’t call him “The Little Icon” or “The Scorpion Prince” or whatever other bullshit somebody in creative might come up with.

Steve Borden.

Done.

2. Don’t Turn Him Into Sting 2.0

This might be the most important part.

Don’t paint his face.

Don’t dye his hair.

Don’t hand him a baseball bat.

Don’t put him in a trench coat.

Don’t recreate Surfer Sting.

And for the love of God, don’t recreate Crow Sting.

If Steven eventually decides that he wants to incorporate some of those things into his character, fine.

But it needs to be his decision and his interpretation.

Homage is one thing.

Cosplay is another.

Steven Borden doesn’t need to become Sting.

Professional wrestling already had Sting.

It needs to find out who Steven Borden is.

3. Build His Own Moveset

He’s already incorporated some things that remind you of his dad, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.

Keep one or two.

They’re part of the lineage.

But don’t build his entire moveset around Sting.

And especially don’t give him the exact same finish.

Find something that fits Steven’s size and athleticism. Give him a finish that becomes associated with him.

Twenty years from now, the goal shouldn’t be for fans to say, “That’s Sting’s move.”

It should be for some third-generation Borden kid to use one of Steven’s moves and have fans recognize where that came from.

That’s how you build a legacy instead of borrowing one.

Homage Isn’t Identity

That’s where wrestling companies sometimes screw up second-generation talent.

They can’t resist reminding us who their parents were.

Remember when WWE had Natalya stroking her chin because Jim Neidhart used to stroke his goatee?

That’s the kind of creative idea where somebody should’ve been told to pack their shit and go home.

We know who her dad was.

We know who Steven’s dad is.

You don’t have to beat us over the head with it.

Let him take pieces of Sting and incorporate them naturally. Maybe it’s one move. Maybe it’s a mannerism. Maybe it’s something incredibly subtle that longtime fans recognize immediately while everyone else doesn’t even notice.

That’s paying homage.

But Steven needs his own look.

His own personality.

His own moves.

His own character.

His own mistakes.

And that’s the part AEW can’t fast-track.

So, Is Steven Borden Ready?

No one really knows yet.

And that’s the point.

He has almost everything you’d want if you were building a professional wrestler from scratch. He’s got the body. He’s athletic. He understands what the business meant to his family. He’s surrounded by people who know professional wrestling at the highest level.

And he’s already spent more than two years working toward this.

I’m not questioning whether he’s earned the opportunity to wrestle.

I’m questioning whether AEW needs to turn that opportunity into a push this quickly.

Those are two very different things.

The potential is absolutely there.

But potential needs reps—especially reps under the lights.

AEW doesn’t need to hide Steven Borden.

They don’t need to pretend his last name isn’t Borden, either.

And I’m not even arguing that nepotism is inherently bad. Sometimes being born into the business gives somebody opportunities other wrestlers would kill for.

Fine.

The opportunity gets you through the door.

What happens afterward is what matters.

Steven Borden looks like somebody who belongs in professional wrestling.

I think eventually he could be very damn good at it.

Just give him enough time to figure out who the hell Steven Borden is before asking him to become the next Sting.