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Sting recently revealed that he initially wanted to hang up his boots at the end of 2023, but Ric Flair's AEW arrival made him delay it until early next year.
A couple of weeks ago on Dynamite, The Icon dropped a bombshell, saying that he would walk away into the sunset following AEW Revolution 2024. Since then, there's been ample chatter among fans as to who Tony Khan's promotion would pick as Sting's final opponent. Considering just how beloved and revered he is, viewers are expecting a memorable send-off for the WCW legend.
However, going by the WWE Hall of Famer's recent comments, he had originally planned to retire before Revolution 2024. In an interview with Sports Illustrated, the 64-year-old disclosed that he had plans to retire in December 2023.
Sting added that with Ric Flair, who showed up on last week's Dynamite, on his side, he chose to stick around for a little while more. Check out his comments:
“I wanted to finish earlier, maybe in December,” said Sting. “But now that Ric is here with me, I want to go longer, all the way to Revolution.”
AEW legend Sting on being inspired by Clint Eastwood's character from Unforgiven
In the same chat, The Icon also discussed being inspired by the character Clint Eastwood portrayed in the 1992 classic Unforgiven. Sting explained that he was influenced by how Eastwood's character, William Munny, found ways to accomplish tasks despite almost being past his prime.
“I’ve gotten some inspiration from Clint Eastwood in Unforgiven. He did all the classic spaghetti westerns, and now he’s the aged western guy. He’s still getting the job done, he’s just using different tactics. I’ve figured out new ways to entertain, new ways to go balls to the wall. But it doesn’t mean I’m any less hard on myself," said Sting.
It's safe to assume Tony Khan and AEW will leave no stone unturned to deliver a farewell that Sting and his fans will remember for years and years to come.
Who do you want to see The Icon take on in his final match? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
