Though he's only worked 13 matches in an AEW ring since debuting for the company at Winter is Coming 2020, there are few wrestlers in either of Tony Khan's companies who have as much inert star power as “The Icon” Sting. A big, bruising performer who has been working professionally for every mainstream wrestling company in America since the late 1980s, when he was working matches alongside the future Ultimate Warrior when they were known as Blade Runner Rock and Blade Runner Flash, “The Icon” has found a surprise third act in AEW following his retirement from WWE in 2015, working his first match, a tag team bout with his understudy, Darby Allin, at Revolution 2021 against Brian Cage Ricky and Starks then of Team Taz five and a half years after suffering a brutal buckle bomb from Seth Rollins at Night of Champions in 2015.
At 63, Sting doesn't wrestle a ton and rarely gets physical when he isn't booked for a match, but when his number gets called, like for The Great Muta's forthcoming Bye Bye match in Pro Wrestling Noah, the man born Steve Borden can still go, even if fans divert their eyes when he does a big spot or tries to go off the top rope for a splash that probably should have been left in his surfer days. Still, eventually, the day will come when Sting stops showing up at AEW shows regularly and transitions into the alumni section of the company's website. Will that happen in the not-too-distant future? Only time will tell, but when asked about the subject on The Kliq podcast with Kevin Nash, Khan opened up about Sting's future in AEW.
“I talk to Sting a lot,” Khan said via Fightful. “He is somebody who has been such a huge boost to AEW since he arrived. Sting debuted a little over two years ago at the first Winter is Coming event in AEW,” said Khan. “I catch up with him pretty frequently on a regular basis. I have to say, Sting's motivation for pro wrestling is as high as it's ever been. He loves what he's doing. I do think he's starting to think about what retirement will look like, but he's also not slowing down at all in the present. So, I'm not ready to say exactly when Sting is going to hang it up, but I do know every time we get to see Sting go out there in AEW, it's very special.”
Well said, Mr. Khan: every professional wrestling fan should enjoy watching Sting while they can, as the day will eventually come when he doesn't show up on the shows anymore.
Sting celebrates his AEW friend The Great Muta ahead of his final match.
Speaking of The Great Muta, Sting sat down with Pro Wrestling Noah to discuss the honor of working one final match with his former WCW friend and what his presence meant to professional wrestling fans in Japan and beyond.
“I have a high opinion of Muta and great respect for him,” Sting said via Fightful. “We both go back more than three decades together, and in my opinion, he is the only Japanese wrestler that ever transcended wrestling here in America as far as Japanese wrestlers coming here, many great ones came, don't get me wrong, but Muta, nobody touches what Muta did. To this day, he is revered and respected by wrestlers and fans alike. We mirrored each other throughout our whole career, from beginning all the way through present day. He's the last one of his generation standing in Japan, I'm the last one of my generation in America.”
Talking about being the last of his generation got Sting in his feelings, with the typically stoic performer peeling back the face paint to get candid about the end of his career.
“It's bittersweet. (Retirement) is gotta come. It's right around the corner for me too, so it's making me think about my own career. What a stellar run that Muta had. Internationally, he is known all over the world and one of the greatest of all time, there is no question about that. I respect him and wish him all the best. I know he will go out with a bang, it's going to be great, everything Muta did was great. I know he's not going to stop now.”
Will Sting go on a “Farewell Tour” of his own a la Muta? Only time will tell, but if AEW fans are lucky, they might just be treated to one final Sting Championship run – tag team straps maybe? – before he wrestles a few farewell matches with, and presumably against, Allin.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8zwwLONQSE
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