There is no such thing as an easy breakup. Especially when you know it’s forever. As Sting stood in the center of the ring, his face paint half peeled off and doing his best to hold back tears, wrestling fans who were about to witness the final match of a legend knew that this was just the end of a match for a performer. I realized that it wasn’t. I have a career, but it’s the end of an era.
Sumo wrestlers rarely receive the ejection they deserve. Tragically, this is a sport where athletes too often end up on a downward spiral instead of coming out on top. In a sport where good athletes rarely finish at the top, Sting had the perfect retirement in the perfect place at the perfect time, surrounded by the people who matter most to him. Sting was 39 years old in Greensboro, North Carolina, surrounded by his two adult sons, his tag team partner Darby Allin, who Sting was tasked with coaching, and the entire AEW roster who stood on stage to praise him. He expressed his gratitude to the fans who have supported his career over the years. .
The real story of Sting is not because of great matches or industry-defining moments, but because of what was missing in his 39-year career. No one had a bad thing to say about Steve Borden, the man under the paint, at any point during his time as a wrestler in NWA, WCW, TNA, WWE, and AEW.
Sting was a wrestling fan’s wrestler. He never managed to break through his mainstream to the level of other legendary wrestlers of his era. Hulk Hogan, The Undertaker, Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock – men whose names are known all over the world. It’s not Sting, and this is by design. Every time Sting was faced with a choice between principle and personal glory, he chose the former.
In many ways, Sting mirrored his most notable run during WCW’s biggest boom period in the late ’90s, when he came down from the rafters to take on the NWo. A strong hero and champion against adversity. Not only does he stand up to a faction that pretends to tear the company apart, but he desperately goes against the tide in wrestling, where ruthlessness must be prioritized above all else in order to rise to the top. There, players would throw anyone under the bus who got in the way of them climbing the ladder and engage in behind-the-scenes maneuvering to gain favor.
Steve Borden didn’t do this. When faced with the choice of going to WWE, which destroyed WCW, or walking away, he walked. Fame awaited him if he had wanted it, but instead the wrestler decided to take a two-year break and write the next chapter in wrestling by joining TNA and helping establish a rival company.
It’s unclear what would have happened if Sting had looked in a different direction. Former WCW stars who joined WWE had mixed results. Booker T managed to weather the storm, but mostly WCW stars were joked about as Vince McMahon’s final twist of the knife against the company he had brought down. Sting probably would have won and become a star on par with The Rock or Austin, but we’ll never know because he chose his own path.
Did Borden have a demon? surely. Although he was open about his problems with anabolic steroid abuse and drug abuse in the 1980s, he found peace through faith and redemption with his family in the late 1990s. The next 20 years were devoted to righting his mistakes and at the same time approaching the wrestling business his way, Sting’s way. Even if it was because I had the utmost respect for the art of professional wrestling. Even if it means taking a personal hit because of it.
When Sting arrived in AEW to end his career in 2020, no one knew what kind of situation we were in. Logically speaking, there is no way a 60-year-old man can perform at a high level, and initially I felt like: He would serve as a mentor — and that certainly happened, but Sting also succeeded in reclaiming father time with a baseball bat, captivating audiences by jumping over tables, and for more than 30 years. It looked as if he had barely stepped out at all or wrestling.
A timeless, timeless wonder, Sting redefined what a final run in wrestling could be. A career that ended not with a cry, but with a bang. Not only has Sting managed to flourish in his three-plus years in AEW, but he has also pushed his protégé Darby Allin to new heights, with the 31-year-old now leaving the company to take on the mantle. did.
“I still have it!” echoed through the walls of the Greensboro Coliseum as Sting expressed his gratitude for AEW’s final run. It wasn’t lip service. It wasn’t an empty chant. Fans just witnessed a 64-year-old man get suplexed off a stage through a table, thrown through a plate glass, and hit with a baseball bat, but still get to hear the story of how he fought against adversity to get his way. I was able to speak.
I hope we get to see this again. That we might get to see someone take on the tough world of wrestling and come out victorious while still being a truly great human being to everyone around them. I want to believe that there is a possibility for a nice guy to finish first. If that happens, it will be because a new generation of wrestlers saw Sting leading by example. I witnessed firsthand how he connected with the crowd and achieved fame, but he didn’t have to compromise his morals to achieve it. Is it an easy way? No, but nothing Steve Borden has ever done has been about achieving things the easy way. It’s uncertain what the next generation of wrestling will look like, but one thing is clear.
There will never be another Sting.
