Wrestling icon Sting plays his final match at AEW Revolution at the age of 64 – and wins. Emotional scenes follow
In just under two weeks he turns 65, he looks back on a wrestling career spanning five decades, now he has finally retired from the stage. Not without once again sending millions of his fans into ecstasy.
Wrestling icon Sting played his last match on Monday night, in the main event of the Pay Per Views Revolution, WWE rival AEW treated him to the expected emotional farewell performance – and an acclaimed surprise at the end.
Sting wins his last match at AEW Revolution
Former rival Hulk Hogan and his young partner Darby Allin won their final match against the Young Bucks (Nicholas and Matthew Jackson) to leave AEW undefeated and as reigning tag team champions.
In front of various legendary companions and his sons Garrett Lee and Steven Jr., Sting forced Matthew Jackson to submit with his famous finisher, the Scorpion Death Lock.
AEW thus broke the tradition that used to be taken for granted among wrestling promoters that wrestling stars lose their last matches (as Sting’s companion Ric Flair once did against Shawn Michaels in WWE 2008 or Michaels two later against the Undertaker) and that winning streaks are there to be broken (like the Undertaker’s against Brock Lesnar in 2014).
In contrast, “The Icon” was granted a farewell as a winner in the wrestling stronghold of Greensboro – where he had his first big match against Ric Flair in 1988. He lived up to the ideal of passing the torch to the younger generation on his departure in a different way: after the match, he bowed to partner Allin – who took heavy falls and bloody wounds in a brutal match – and praised him as “the best tag team partner I ever had”.
The entrance:
The AEW team went all out for Sting’s entrance: It was introduced with an elaborately produced video in which Sting sat in a movie theater and highlights of his career were played on the screen under the label “The Finals Showtime”.
Videos of Sting’s matches with AEW and partner league NJPW were shown, as well as photos from his WCW days (to which WWE has the video rights). The pictures also recalled Sting’s companions from different eras: the tragically deceased Ultimate Warrior (Sting’s tag team partner before both became famous) and “Ravishing” Rick Rude, Japanese icon The Great Muta (himself retired with great pomp last year), Flair, Lex Luger, Diamond Dallas Page, and an encounter with boxing idol Muhammad Ali was also casually recalled.
It’s showtime.
For the last time.Order AEWRevolution on PPV right now!
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: https://t.co/Bc4ZSSvvNC@Sting @DarbyAllin pic.twitter.com/d7U8ZvlzH2– All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) March 4, 2024
With the words “It’s showtime. Showtime for the last time. Let’s do this”, we then moved on to the actual march-in: In an emotional moment, Sting’s sons Garrett Lee and Steven Jr. appeared first, dressed as previous incarnations of Sting’s character (the early, blond-haired “surfer Sting” and the black-and-red Sting from his time at the nWo Wolfpac in the late nineties).
The original Sting then stepped through the trellis of his two children, to the sounds of his former WCW theme, “Seek and destroy” by Metallica. Among the applauding fans were honored guests from the old WCW days, including Arn Anderson, Nikita Koloff the Magnum T.A.
who was torn from his career by a terrible accident.
– The Match:
The duel with the Jackson brothers, recently reinvented as power-mad ego-shooters (the two were co-founders of the league and are still officially co-managing directors), was – like many matches on Sting’s farewell tour – scheduled as a “Tornado Tag Match” with no rules, which opened the door for a wild spectacle.
Darby Allin goes through the glass!
Order AEWRevolution on PPV right now!
: https://t.co/MpmTCyHt8n
: https://t.co/Bc4ZSSvvNC@Sting @DarbyAllin @youngbucks pic.twitter.com/Ex87K3GBRD– All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) March 4, 2024
Chairs, tables, ladders and even a glass plate were used, through which Sting’s partner Allin, known for his brutal stunts, crashed through from dizzying heights. Sting didn’t spare himself either, including a suplex throw from Matt Jackson from the entrance ramp through two tables.
The anything-goes rules also allowed other people to interfere: Sting’s sons got revenge for an attack by the Bucks a few weeks ago with the Stinger Splashes adopted by their father, and the now 70-something Ric Flair and Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat also stepped in to protect Sting from the Bucks’ brutality at the end – and got caught in the line of fire themselves.
The absolute disrespect!
Order AEWRevolution on PPV right now!
: https://t.co/MpmTCyHt8n
: https://t.co/Bc4ZSSvvNC@Sting @DarbyAllin @youngbucks pic.twitter.com/AX84Foate5– All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) March 4, 2024
The match finally ended with one last of the Stinger’s famous superhero comebacks: seemingly on his own after Allin’s glass fall, he spectacularly withstood the Bucks’ finishers – until Allin was back on his feet and could help overpower the Bucks.
– The aftermath:
The event ended with a lengthy speech from Sting, in which he paid personal tribute to Allin and the fans, as well as AEW boss Tony Khan and commentator Tony Schiavone, who had been with him through the old days in WCW. At the end, the stars of AEW gathered on the entrance ramp and bid farewell to Sting, who remained in the ring, to great applause.
EXCLUSIVE! After AEWRevolution went off the air, TheIcon @Sting shared some final words. pic.twitter.com/CnMS8KSksksO
– All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) March 4, 2024
The longtime ring idol, once one of the biggest stars of former WWE rival WCW, had come out of retirement in 2020 after a serious injury in WWE 2015 seemingly ended his career.
Instead, fans of the Hall of Famer were treated to one last nostalgic chapter of a great career – which is now well and truly over.
