Sting Reflects On AEW Run, Rafters Entrance On Dynamite

Sting recently looked back at his AEW run ahead of his final match at AEW Revolution this weekend. The Icon spoke with ESPN for a new feature piece on his final run and more; you can check out the highlights below:

On his rafters entrance on Dynamite: “You climb and step over that rail, and it’s like, ‘It’s time to let go now.’ I used to say my sphincter muscle gets very tight in those moments. And it does. It can be scary. I had one little pang when I was up there. It was like a 30-second pang when I realized I’m getting ready to do this here again. We’re having this casual conversation. ‘All right, you ready to go?’ I’m ready. Let’s go.”

On retiring after Revolution: “I’ve had my run, I’ve had my time, and it’s just time for me to bow out. It’s just time. It makes perfect sense. And gosh, I was given an opportunity through [AEW owner and promoter] Tony Khan to not just bow out or just disappear like I had other times in the past, where you disappeared with your tail between your legs, so to speak. This time, I was given an opportunity and Tony was willing to kind of let me go out under my own terms.”

On his first match for AEW at Revolution 2021: “Cody [Rhodes] and Darby, and all the guys that I was wrestling with said, ‘Oh my gosh, you can still do this — you can go, you can still hang.’ And the rest is history.”

On doing big bumps like his ladder jump onto Sammy Guevara: “I was always the guy that wanted to be balls to the walls, no matter what. Didn’t want to coast, didn’t want to go halfway. I didn’t want wrestling fans to be bored out of their minds, or feel like I was giving them a second-rate performance ever. I saw the guys that operated like that and just collected a paycheck. Wrestling fans could see through that kind of stuff.”

On kids watching his AEW run: “All three of my kids are texting me constantly. All the things that they’re writing to me about what I’m doing and how cool they think it is, and it’s almost like strengthening our relationship even more. This whole thing, it’s very cool. So, I love having them involved. It’s just been a great experience and what a way to end it, you know?”