Sportskeeda is bringing you another special video! Yes! This is on none other than Sting. A wrestling legend who stood against time. In this video, we take on a captivating journey in the world of Sting's AEW run and explore why it's nothing short of special. From the iconic moments that have left fans on the edge of their seats to the profound impact he's made on All Elite Wrestling, this analysis breaks down the unique elements that make Sting's journey in AEW stand out.
Join us as we celebrate the magic of Sting's AEW run, dissecting the elements that make it a truly special and unforgettable chapter in the history of professional wrestling. Like, share, and subscribe to stay tuned for more in-depth analyses on the world of sports entertainment!
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You can also visit our site: https://www.sportskeeda.com/wwe
#sting #darbyallin #aew #wrestling #sportskeedawrestling
Join us as we celebrate the magic of Sting's AEW run, dissecting the elements that make it a truly special and unforgettable chapter in the history of professional wrestling. Like, share, and subscribe to stay tuned for more in-depth analyses on the world of sports entertainment!
-------
You can also visit our site: https://www.sportskeeda.com/wwe
#sting #darbyallin #aew #wrestling #sportskeedawrestling
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00:00 The man called Sting is about to have his final match at Revolution, but before coming
00:11 to an end in All Elite Wrestling, he had already appeared to retire from pro wrestling altogether
00:17 years earlier.
00:18 In 2016, Sting was rightfully inducted in the WWE Hall of Fame.
00:24 During his heartfelt acceptance speech, he announced his retirement from professional
00:30 wrestling.
00:31 However, the wrestling world was in for a seismic shock four years later in 2020.
00:36 At the monumental AEW event, Winter is Coming in December of 2020, Sting made a thunderous
00:44 debut, bringing in the start of an unexpected, exhilarating new chapter in his multi-decade
00:51 storied career.
00:53 This return marked a breathtaking resurgence, igniting what many consider to be one of Sting's
00:59 most electrifying chapters of his career.
01:02 As Sting, and arguably one of the most beloved pro wrestlers of all time, one who has truly
01:07 transcended generations, is about to call it a career and have what is being advertised
01:13 as his last match ever, the journey for the icon's resurrection in wrestling is a tale
01:19 worth diving into.
01:21 Let's uncover the captivating story of Sting's triumphant run in All Elite.
01:27 This is Sportskeeda Wrestling, I'm Kevin, let us know what you, watching this video
01:32 right now, think of Sting's time in AEW.
01:36 Hit the like button, and if you don't, I'm just going to hit you with the end of a baseball
01:39 bat.
01:40 I'm not going to swing it, just the end.
01:41 I'm going to nudge you.
01:42 A man known to mortals as Steve Borden, who broke into the wrestling business in the 1980s,
01:48 would become one of the biggest names in the business with WCW during their prime years
01:55 going head to head with WWE in the Monday Night Wars.
01:59 So when WWE acquired WCW in 2001, fans wanted to see him, Sting, the man who was the franchise
02:08 player for the competition, in WWE.
02:11 Oh, the dream matches we could get with the icon.
02:16 But dreams were just that, things that wouldn't be fulfilled, at least depending on who you
02:21 talked to.
02:22 Sting wouldn't join the WWE right away, even though there was reportedly some offers there,
02:27 and the way that some WCW superstars were being treated in WWE may have made him not
02:33 really want to jump into that just yet.
02:35 In 2003, after sporadically performing around the world in isolated matches with other names
02:41 that were holdovers from WCW, Stinger joined TNA Wrestling, helping establish it as the
02:47 challenger brand for WWE in the 2000s, where he would capture the world title on numerous
02:53 occasions, share the screen, and raise the star power of names like AJ Styles, Samoa
02:58 Joe, Kurt Angle, and familiar foes like Hulk Hogan.
03:02 Sting's star power was an anchoring force for TNA, until 2014.
03:07 It finally happened.
03:11 In 2014, Sting surprised everyone, showing up and truly influencing the end of a huge
03:21 Survivor Series pay-per-view main event.
03:24 The momentous occasion saw fans absolutely lose their mind as the man with the vibes
03:31 of the Crow movie made his way to the ring.
03:34 It felt like such a special moment.
03:37 However, his tenure in WWE ultimately proved to be disappointing circumstantially and just
03:43 because of other factors that played into it.
03:45 He lost his first match in WWE at WrestleMania 31, but he lost it to Triple H, and he failed
04:00 to capture the WWE Championship at Night of Champions 2015 against Seth Rollins.
04:06 That match was really good, until Sting got injured on a buckle bob and nearly suffered
04:12 a serious spinal injury.
04:14 The culmination of Sting's WWE journey came to an end in 2016 with his induction in the
04:19 WWE Hall of Fame, where he announced his retirement from pro wrestling.
04:26 This left the bitter taste in the mouths of many fans, discontent simmering under the
04:31 surface with many feeling like WWE did wrong by one of the biggest names from WCW.
04:38 Obviously, injuries and the risk of it along with father time catching up with Sting may
04:43 have influenced this decision.
04:45 He made sporadic appearances for WWE thereafter, but it was reported that Sting was no longer
04:50 under contract with WWE coming up in 2020.
04:54 Many felt that Sting was done with wrestling at this point.
04:58 Coming near 60 years old and having such an already successful career, what else was there
05:04 left to prove?
05:05 However, a new well-financed option would come up against WWE in AEW.
05:13 Backed by NFL Jacksonville Jaguars executive Tony Codd, AEW was airing on TNT, same TV
05:21 network in the United States that aired WCW.
05:25 They were familiar with that man called Sting.
05:29 Then on a fateful episode of AEW Dynamite titled "Winter is Coming" on December 2,
05:35 2020, chaos ensued as the Team Taz faction launched an assault on the fan favorites Cody
05:42 Rhodes, Dustin Rhodes, and Darby Allin, who would come to their rescue.
05:48 In a moment that sent shockwaves across the arena of wrestling fandom, the lights dimmed.
05:55 The iconic figure of Sting emerged, greeted by an eruption of cheers from the crowd.
06:02 The nostalgic resonance coming through the generations further amplified by the cry of
06:09 "It's Sting!" from Tony Schiavone, a voice deeply intertwined with Sting's WCW years
06:18 - making it a thrilling new chapter, revived in the present but honoring the past.
06:26 Sting was in AEW.
06:28 In the follow-up episode of Dynamite, Sting said that there's something familiar about
06:33 this place, pointing at a young Darby Allin.
06:36 Fans had already begun drawing comparisons between Darby and Sting.
06:40 Despite their contrasting wrestling styles in the ring, their notable parallels between
06:45 the two were there.
06:47 Both exuded an aura of mystery, darkness, and an enigmatic allure.
06:53 Sting's legendary crow persona in the WCW days, marked of black and white face paint
06:58 and a brooding presence, found echoes in Allin's modern-day dark, unconventional persona as
07:05 a daredevil in AEW.
07:07 Aligning Darby with Sting felt like a no-brainer.
07:11 It worked wonders for the icon, and the decision yielded remarkable results for the wrestling
07:17 promotion.
07:18 It also allowed Sting to not have to be in the ring as a single superstar, lessening
07:23 the load on him but still allowing him to be an active and influential attraction through
07:28 storylines and overall presentation of everything elite.
07:31 Now, when would Sting get back in the ring?
07:34 We were seeing him at ringside with Darby Allin quite a bit, but the anticipation was
07:38 quickly brewing as Sting was going to get in there and get physical.
07:42 When was he going to have another match?
07:44 That came on January 21, 2021, when it was revealed that Sting would join forces with
07:50 Allin to take on Team Taz's Brian Cage and Ricky Starks in a street fight scheduled for
07:57 the Revolution Pay-Per-View event on March 7.
08:01 This heralded Sting's return to the ring for the first time since he faced Rollins
08:06 years earlier in that WWE title match in September of 2015.
08:11 It was a special attraction, one that AEW was presenting exclusively on their platform
08:17 with a beloved name.
08:19 Notably, this match was a pre-taped cinematic presentation, ensuring Sting's involvement
08:24 could be safer and in more of a controlled environment.
08:28 These were the pandemic times, cinematic matches were the norm.
08:32 Sting and Darby won the match with a huge, overwhelming amount of fan support.
08:37 It was just a few months in, and Sting's AEW run was already better than the time he
08:42 had in WWE.
08:43 Yes, we can hear you screaming at us in the comments already.
08:46 But Darby persuaded Sting to step into the realm of live events.
08:51 Fans hadn't seen him in the ring in a live setting like this in some time.
08:56 The cinematic matches may have become a thing of the past, and this marked Sting's first
09:01 live match in front of a live crowd since 2015.
09:05 From this point forward, Sting and Darby emerged as two standout attractions in AEW.
09:11 Their partnership continued to flourish.
09:13 For the first time in 20 years, on August 18, 2021, on an episode of Dynamite, Sting
09:19 stepped into the ring on TNT, teaming with Allen to triumph over 2.0.
09:26 As AEW continued to be on a roll, acquiring big names who left WWE, on August 21, 2021,
09:33 the highly anticipated debut of CM Punk unfolded in front of a sold-out crowd in Chicago.
09:40 While we won't delve into the specifics of his tenure with the company, it's worth noting
09:46 that Sting played a significant role during Punk's debut and initial days in AEW.
09:52 The best in the world squared off in his return match to pro wrestling in general with Sting's
09:58 protege Darby Allin at the All Out pay-per-view.
10:02 During this time, Sting was at ringside, sharing several interactions with CM Punk, sparking
10:07 speculation among fans about the possibility of a future match between the two icons.
10:13 While the anticipated match never materialized, fans were treated to a different kind of spectacle.
10:19 Punk and Sting would later join forces along Darby in a thrilling six-man tag team match
10:25 against the villainous MJF and FTR in December of 2021.
10:31 It is one of the best TV matches that AEW has ever had.
10:36 Sting continued to grace us with his presence on AEW television.
10:40 At the Revolution pay-per-view event, Sting, alongside Sammy Guevara and Allin, emerged
10:46 victorious in a Tornado Tag Team match against Andrade, Matt Hardy, and Isaiah Cassidy.
10:51 We were starting to see a pattern here.
10:54 Sting continued to be limited in his physicality, but every time he was, it felt special.
11:00 He made a notable appearance with Darby at AEW New Japan Pro Wrestling's Forbidden Door,
11:08 a collaborative event between AEW New Japan in June of 2022.
11:13 Teaming up with Shingo Takagi of the LIJ faction, they competed in a thrilling six-man tag team
11:19 match and the trio emerged victorious over The Young Bucks and El Phantasmo.
11:24 More on the Young Bucks in a little bit.
11:26 It looked like Sting was having a ball.
11:29 He wasn't there every week, but when he was, fans got that special something.
11:35 They greeted him with thunderous applause and excitement.
11:38 That's how a legend should be booked.
11:40 If he was going to have a supporting role, it was an influential one, and he was always
11:45 treated as someone who was revered, even by his foes and villains in AEW.
11:50 Sting was also able to do some outlandishly crazy things in matches around this time,
11:55 jumping off balconies in his 60s.
11:58 That all out, Sting, Allen, and Miro secured a victory against the House of Black in another
12:03 six-man tag team match.
12:05 The occultic bad dudes of the House of Black, Brody King and Buddy Matthews, were on the
12:10 receiving end of a beating from Sting and Darby at the Rampage Grand Slam event.
12:17 During this match, we got something else.
12:20 A long-time in-ring rival of Sting from his WCW days, the biggest superstar to maybe ever
12:28 leap out of New Japan Pro Wrestling to the stateside wrestling landscape, the Great Muda,
12:34 unexpectedly came out and aided them in an assault by the House of Black.
12:39 Finally at full gear, Sting and Allen emerged victorious, once again, this time overcoming
12:44 a challenge posed by Jeff Jarrett and Jay Lethal.
12:47 But a more interesting match for long-time fans of Sting would go down in Japan, the
12:53 Great Muda's final bye-bye event.
12:57 Sting and Allen joined forces with Muda and defeated Akira, Hokushi, and Nomichimera Fuji
13:03 in a trios match.
13:04 This would be the final match of Keiji Muto under the Great Muda persona, and for Sting
13:09 to be a part of it made it even more special.
13:13 Maybe this got Sting thinking about the special occasion he would want for his final match.
13:19 The summer of 2023 saw Sting and Allen finding themselves embroiled in a heated rivalry with
13:25 Swerve Strickland and his devious group, the Mogul Embassy.
13:29 Amidst these developments, Sting also found a challenge from someone of his past, Christian
13:35 Cage, who is now a really, really despised person on television.
13:41 The rivalry intensified, leading to a significant showdown at AEW's biggest show ever in front
13:47 of a sold-out crowd, their first show ever in the UK at Wembley Stadium, All In.
13:54 It was revealed Sting and Darby would up the ante, going head-to-head with Swerve and Cage
14:00 in a coffin match.
14:02 Stepping into the ring with the enigmatic Joker persona, Sting added a little bit more
14:08 flair, yeah, getting a little crazy alongside Allen, besting Strickland and Cage in a special,
14:15 special match.
14:16 The feud with Christian reached new heights when Darby challenged him for the AEW TNT
14:21 Championship at the WrestleDream event.
14:23 Despite a valiant effort, Christian successfully retained, you know, for all of his nefarious
14:28 tactics.
14:29 However, tensions escalated post-match when Christian targeted Sting.
14:34 Before Christian could execute this brutal assault, who came out?
14:38 You think you know me, you think you know me.
14:40 Adam Copeland, known to most of us as Edge.
14:42 Yes, Christian's longtime tag team partner made his highly anticipated debut to save
14:48 the day.
14:50 A different story altogether, it's worth noting that Sting played a pivotal role in
14:54 Copeland's early days in AEW, much like he did with Punk.
14:59 Teaming with Allen, Edge, excuse me, Adam Copeland and Sting joined forces to take on
15:04 Christian Cage, the now evil Nick Wayne and Luchasaurus in a, wait for it, six-man tag
15:12 team match at full gear.
15:13 A match they would win.
15:15 The six-man tag team matches were limiting what Sting would do in the ring, and that
15:19 was done for a reason, to preserve him as a special attraction in AEW.
15:25 And now at 64 years old, he had reached what looks like the end of the line.
15:31 On the October 18th, 2023 episode of Dynamite, Sting announced emotionally that he would
15:37 be hanging up his boots for good in in-ring competition in 2024.
15:42 He also announced that his final match would take place at Revolution on March 3rd in North
15:48 Carolina, part of the territory that he made famous with Jim Crockett promotions, which
15:53 eventually became WCW.
15:55 Thousands of tickets were sold in Greensboro, North Carolina in anticipation for this very
16:01 momentous match, the final one for the Stinger.
16:06 And with this announcement, AEW President Tony Khan came up with something special,
16:10 a huge surprise for the icon by signing one of Sting's greatest friends and greatest rivals
16:17 in the nature boy, Ric Flair.
16:20 Ric made his debut for the company on the October 25th episode of Dynamite and expressed
16:25 his intention to stand by Sting's side for his farewell run into this final match, marking
16:32 a poignant return between these two legendary figures in the business.
16:36 In the weeks leading up to Sting's retirement, discussions and speculations arose regarding
16:42 who would serve as a fitting final opponent.
16:46 From the fan base, a prevalent sentiment emerged that if it was going to be a singles match,
16:52 Sting should face Darby Allin.
16:54 Given Darby's integral role to Sting's final chapter in pro wrestling, their shared history,
17:00 many believed it would be the right choice, an emotional one, and certainly give Darby
17:06 yet again an extra little rub.
17:09 However, Sting had been adamant about not wanting to participate in a singles match
17:14 at this stage of his career, and considering those serious spinal issues, while he's still
17:19 wrestling on them, even in a limited capacity, that's still a smart decision.
17:24 As a result, the idea of Sting facing Darby in a singles bout was dismissed.
17:30 Instead, AEW opted to book Sting in a tag team match alongside Darby for his farewell
17:37 bout.
17:38 The opponents chosen for this very, very special match were none other than the widely acclaimed
17:44 (but also controversial) tag team duo that many feel might be the best tag team of their
17:51 generation, the Young Bucks, Matt and Nick Jackson.
17:56 Also, the executive vice presidents who are tied to some very controversial backstage
18:01 issues who now portray themselves as evil corporate villains, Matthew and Nicholas Jackson.
18:09 But before Sting could bid farewell to the wrestling world with his final match, there
18:14 remained one significant milestone for him to achieve, winning one final championship.
18:21 Thus, AEW booked a tag team championship challenge for him and Darby against Ricky Starks and
18:28 Big Bill.
18:29 In a memorable and special match, they secured the title on the February 2, 2023 episode
18:35 of Dynamite.
18:36 It was a poignant moment as Sting clinched his first championship in what might be the
18:41 last of his career in AEW, along with the man who helped sustain his stardom in modern
18:47 wrestling.
18:48 The celebration would be short-lived, as moments later, after this triumphant victory, Matthew
18:54 and Nicholas abruptly stormed the ring in their glitterati white suits, launching a
19:00 vicious bloody attack with baseball attack.
19:05 The brutal attack left the newly crowned champions battered and in their own blood, and casting
19:11 a dark shadow over what should have been a special fun thing.
19:15 Goddamn you, young bucks.
19:17 Don't worry, Sting's been assaulted like this by the Four Horsemen and other bad guy groups
19:22 in the past.
19:23 And when it comes down for that road to wind its way into Greensboro, Sting putting on
19:29 the makeup one last time, lacing up the boots one last time, he will wrestle his final match
19:38 at AEW Revolution with Darby Allin at his side.
19:42 And the young bucks are going to have hell to pay.
19:45 As top names in AEW with their current heel personas, they could provide the perfect foil
19:50 for Sting's farewell, maybe even ensuring a chance that they get to win this final match
19:56 for Sting.
19:57 Many fans had hoped Sting's tag team championship reign would be a little bit longer, but nevertheless,
20:03 his title win in AEW is a testament to his enduring legacy.
20:07 Now all we have waiting for Revolution is possible revenge.
20:11 He might win, he might lose.
20:13 It does add a little bit more of a what's going to happen factor with the titles being
20:17 brought into it.
20:18 But one thing is for sure, Sting will retire at Revolution.
20:22 Reflecting on Sting's tenure in AEW, it's clear that Tony Khan's management of the wrestling
20:27 icon is commendable.
20:28 A lot of people critical of Tony Khan and other things in AEW, but despite any missteps
20:34 along the way, AEW's handling of Sting's character has been nothing short of exemplary,
20:40 ensuring that the final years of his wrestling career have been made to feel special.
20:46 That's Showtime folks.
20:48 Let us know what you think of Sting.
20:49 What are your favorite matches from his career overall?
20:52 What have you thought of his time in AEW?
20:54 Those comments are right down there.
20:57 [music]