When Tony Khan gave Sting the special gift of having Ric Flair join him for the final act of his professional wrestling career, it always felt like a weird fit to a large chunk of the AEW audience.

Sure, Flair and Sting have a ton of history together, working matches together during the formative years of the latter's career, but come on, “The Icon” is one of the most universally popular performers in professional wrestling history, whereas the “Nature Boy” has a complicated legacy that had made his place in wrestling history far more nuanced indeed. Why risk tainting Sting's moment in the eyes and hearts of fans the world over just so Flair can be involved? Is that Wooooo! Energy check really that sweet?

While fans can debate the original decision for hours, it looks like even TK is willing to make adjustments to maximize the entertainment value of his Revolution main event, with Flair coming to Dynamite in an unusually down mood and lamenting to Renee Paquette that he simply isn't happy with how things have been going as of late.

Exiting stage right towards a vaguely marked room, Flair knocked and was greeted by none other than the Young Bucks, who invited him in after “Natch” asked them for a chat ahead of Revolution, signifying that, maybe after going heel, the Jackson Brothers, Nicholas, and Matthew, are looking to add some serious Hall of Fame firepower to their corner and bring their heat to nuclear levels.

Sting makes his feud with The Young Bucks seriously personal.

After watching Ric Flair seemingly turn heel in an early segment of Dynamite, you'd think Sting and Darby Allin would have something to say on the matter, right? Allin specifically has shown no issue with cutting promos on the Youg Bucks over the past few weeks and has even shown a willingness to get really personal by using Cody Rhodes' actions and Jim Cornette's words against them.

Well, if you made that bet, you'd be correct, but as it turned out, Flair's name wasn't mentioned in the promo, with the duo instead focusing solely on how the Bucks made things personal, and they plan to follow their lead in kind.

“When you're close to the end, you look back at life, it really puts things into perspective,” Darby Allin noted. “The fame, the spotlight, the material objects that we think define us but in reality don't mean a single thing. We've been looking at some old photos today, Sting, is it cool if I show the Young Bucks some of these photos? Look, I've got something for you. Bucks, I want you to look at this, this is a photo of Sting with his sons Gary and Steven, you remember them, right? Of course you do. When this photo was taken, they were about the same age as your kids currently are now. This is this man's flesh and blood. This is the only things that matters in the end, family.”

Sting cut in next, revealing how an unfortunate recent loss has helped to put his final match into perspective.

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Neck brace Tony Khan with a text bubble reading "I should have seen this coming, in hindsight" with the 2024 Young Bucks on his left and 2024 Jack Perry on his right with the 2024 NFL Draft logo as the background.

Matty Breisch ·

Matthew Jackson of the Young Bucks with a text bubble reading "We're trying to get this place back to what it was supposed to be" nexto to Nicholas Jackson of the Young Bucks and Jack Perry with the AEW logo as the background.

Matty Breisch ·

Tony Khan with a text bubble reading "Why!?" next to 2024 Jack Perry and the 2024 Young Bucks with the AEW Dynamite logo as the background.

Matty Breisch ·

“Nail on the head, Darby,” Sting noted. “Family is the only thing that matters. It strikes a nerve now, too, because, in all of the years I've been a pro wrestler, no one has ever messed with my own flesh and blood until you, Bucks. A lot's going on in my own personal life over the last couple of weeks: this, the Bucks, and only seven days ago or so, another family member of mine, my father, passed away. He was like a hero to me, he taught me right. Makes me think a lot about my own mortality. I used to think I was so invincible, you know? Sometimes I do feel that way still, but time catches up with everyone, and it caught me for sure.

“I know that I am truly not invincible, but one thing I do know, everything that I have left in me, I'm bringing to Revolution, and it's going to meet you face to face, you Bucks. You have a fight on your hands, the fight of your life.”

No matter how the show was built up, this match was always going to be incredibly personal for Sting, as you only get to have one retirement match in professional wrestling… unless you're Ric Flair. The Young Bucks' decision to attack Sting's sons, when coupled with the passing of his father, makes for a perfect storm that will likely produce a match fans will never forget. Make sure to get your Revolution tickets lined up, folks; this is gonna be “Showtime.”