‘The Icon’ discusses rewriting his final chapter in AEW.
This upcoming Sunday at the Greensboro Coliseum, ‘The Icon’ Sting will compete in his retirement match as he teams up with Darby Allin to defend the AEW World Tag Team Championship against The Young Bucks at Revolution. Prior to his AEW arrival, it was believed that Sting’s career had unceremoniously come to an end at the hands on a back injury he suffered during a bout with Seth Rollins at Night of Champions in 2015.
The aforementioned match will Rollins ended in a loss for Sting, and the same can be said about his clash with Triple H at WrestleMania 31. Despite many fans being unhappy with his lack of victories during his time with WWE, Sting recently sat down with Sports Illustrated and stated that losing is a positive and something everyone has to do at times in the business.
“Losing is good. You’ve got to lose. If you lose right, it gets you over even more.”
-Sting
AEW Revolution will see the WWE Hall of Famer’s legendary 39-year career draw to a close, and whilst emotions are certain to be running high, this has only further been amplified due to a real-life time of grief ‘The Icon’ is currently in the midst of.
In what now stands as his final promo, Sting delivered a captivatingly heartfelt story of the man that raised him as he mourns the loss of his father. In times of need such as this, Sting turned to professional wrestling, with his relationship with the audience having remained strong throughout his career.
“My lip quivers thinking about it. Wrestling fans, they’re in my heart. The Little Stingers aren’t little anymore. They’re adults now. We’ve all grown together. We’ve been through all of this together. The relationship with the fans, that’s what brings this to a whole other level. I can’t tell you the amount of conversations I’ve had where someone would tell me that the only relationship they had with their father was watching Sting in WCW, or the ones where people told me they were bullied in school but they watched Sting and he made them feel strong. Can you believe that? I still can’t. The feeling that wrestling fans give me is as great as anything I give them. It blows me away. Hearing that I touched a person’s life, it’s very humbling.”
-Sting
Throughout the years, Sting has provided us all with countless memorable moments and in-ring classics that we all have the pleasure of being able to look back on and enjoy, particularly as the time comes to celebrate his career.
Ahead of his last hurrah, the 64-year-old looks to wow the crowd one final time as he hopes to leave the fans in attendance with a lasting memory of his final performance.
“I want people to walk away saying, ‘How was that even possible?’ I want people to be entertained. I want to elevate AEW. I never wanted wrestling to pass me by. That’s why I wrestled the way I did. This Sunday, I’m going to wrestle a way that will make people want to save the tape.”
-Sting
The final chapter of Sting’s career in AEW has largely been spent alongside Darby Allin, with the pair having seamlessly connected as a duo since day one.
The painted faced pairing will now ride into battle one final time donning the AEW World Tag Team Championship, and whilst their time together is drawing to an end, Sting couldn’t be more grateful for the time he’s spent alongside the rising star.
“I’m in good hands next to Darby. It’s been an honor to see him turn into this polished star. I’m grateful my last hurrah was with him. I didn’t teach him much about wrestling other than psychology here or there. Less is more, I taught him that. I taught him that it’s good to lose if you can lose the right way. Overall, he’s got the wrestling down. But I’ve learned so much from him. I couldn’t have been this successful without him.”
-Sting
During the aforementioned promo where Sting shared the news of his father’s passing, ‘The Icon’ stated that “Family is all that matters.” This line is of particular importance heading into this Sunday too, as his final opponents The Young Bucks have made things more than personal by attacking his sons.
On the promo, Sting revealed how grateful he’s been to have received messages of support following the news, adding that AEW President Tony Khan and many others praised him for his delivery and openness.
“Bottom line, that promo, it was very difficult. The heaviness was on me. Oh my gosh, the heaviness. It was all real, all sincere, and I’m grateful for the reaction. Tony Khan sent me some high praise. A lot of others did, too. That meant a lot. On behalf of my dad, I’ll accept all those kind words.”
-Sting
With multiple generations of wrestling fans behind him, Sting will head into battle to defend what he believes in one last time on Sunday.
“The grace of God is upon me. He used me to touch people, and I’m so grateful for it. And I am fighting for what I believe in. That interview where I said ‘Family is the most important thing’, it’s the most important thing I’ve ever said. I’m fighting for all of my family at Revolution.”
-Sting
Sting is set to be joined at ringside by two-time WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair this Sunday at the Greensboro Coliseum, the very same venue that saw the pair face off at Clash of the Championsh in 1988.
For those looking to read more on ‘The Icon’ Sting’s legendary career ahead of this Sunday, our very own Charlie’s latest feature on the man himself can be found here.
As always, we’ll aim to provide any further updates on the future of Sting as soon as we hear more.
