Sting Confirms AEW's Original Pitch For His Retirement

At Sunday's AEW Revolution pay-per-view, Sting brought an end to his legendary wrestling career. The Icon teamed with Darby Allin to defeat the Young Bucks in a chaotic main event, retaining the AEW World Tag Team Championships in the process. 

In a recent interview with Pro Wrestling Illustrated, Sting shed some light on AEW's original pitch for his retirement, explaining that the company initially suggested delaying his last match until later in the year. He stated:

"Tony [Khan] was actually trying to get me to stay longer, maybe retire at Wembley. But it gets tougher and tougher every time you go out there, and you have all of these young guys who are ready to play—there’s only so far you can push it. It’s kind of sad, of course, but, at some point, you just have to do it. There’s a part of me that’s sad, but there’s another part of me that’s relieved. It’s bittersweet, but I’m looking forward to it."

The Wembley Stadium show referred to is All In 2024, set to take place on August 25. It will be AEW's second major show at Wembley, after last year's All In saw MJF defeat Adam Cole in the main event. Sting was part of the 2023 card, again teaming with Darby to defeat Christian Cage and Swerve Strickland in a Coffin Match.