AEW
“The Icon” and his legendary final match at AEW Revolution on Sunday received high praise on Monday’s episode of “WWE Raw.”
On commentary, Michael Cole paid tribute to Sting at the start of the match, which pitted Intercontinental Champion GUNTHER against Dominik Mysterio. Cole said he and WWE wanted to congratulate “another great champion.”
“After nearly 40 years, the great Sting has retired from professional wrestling,” Cole said. “Thanks for the reminder. Congratulations to Sting.”
Co-commentator Pat McAfee also mentioned that Sting's match “last night” – he and Darby Allin defended the AEW World Tag Team Championships against the Young Bucks at Revolution on Sunday – was “absolutely epic.”
Sting and Allin successfully defended the titles at Revolution, sending Sting retiring as champion. The tag titles were vacated due to Sting's departure and there will be a future tournament to crown new champions. Sting, who first gained national fame in World Championship Wrestling, initially did not sign with the then-WWF when Vince McMahon bought WCW. After a run with TNA, he signed with WWE in 2014, made his first appearance at Survivor Series that year, and wrestled his first match for the company at WrestleMania 31. His last match for WWE came at Night of Champions in 2015, when He suffered a neck injury during a match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Seth Rollins.
Sting headlined the WWE Hall of Fame Class in 2016, where he announced his retirement. However, “The Icon” was cleared to compete in 2020 and signed with AEW, where he remained undefeated until his actual retirement.