WWE and WCW Wrestling Icon Sting Announces His Retirement - IGN
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WWE and WCW Wrestling Icon Sting Announces His Retirement

He's hanging up his boots for good.

Adele Ankers-Range Avatar
By Adele Ankers-Range
Posted: Oct 19, 2023 1:09 pm

Wrestling legend Sting has officially announced his retirement, setting AEW Revolution 2024 as his final match.

Steve Borden, better known in the wrestling world as Sting, confirmed the news on Wednesday night's episode of AEW Dynamite. The crowd reacted by chanting "thank you, Sting" and "you still got it" as a show of gratitude for his legendary career in the ring.

Sting, who is 64 years old, shouted out several major wrestling stars, including "the most charismatic human being" Dusty Rhodes and "nature boy" Ric Flair, as he reminisced over some of the big moments from his time as a professional wrestler, spanning back to his 1985 debut with Continental Wrestling Association (CWA).

The former world champion previously announced his retirement during his WWE Hall of Fame induction speech in April 2016, where he told wrestlers and fans in attendance that he was ending his career under the "WWE Umbrella" and that he couldn't be prouder, concluding, "this isn't goodbye, but see you later".

Sting sustained a serious injury at WWE Night of Champions 2015, and only recently revealed the extent of his suffering. Speaking on Ric Flair's To Be The Man podcast in April, the WWE Hall of Famer shared that he had "a temporary paralysis" during his ill-fated match in the squared circle against Seth "Freakin" Rollins.

"The power in my legs was just kind of going away. I felt like I didn't have control over them, and I didn't. I had a temporary paralysis, and you know, for a few minutes, I thought I don't think I can continue. I think I'm done," he explained. "Somehow or another, it just kind of came back enough where 'ok, I can do another minute or two.'"

Sting made one appearance on RAW in 2019 for the 70th birthday celebration of Ric Flair before making a surprise AEW return in 2020 after signing a new full-time, multi-year agreement. He has enjoyed a widely celebrated run with the company, but appears to be making this wrestling retirement the definitive one.

Fans have since taken to social media to celebrate his illustrious career in the ring and thank him for the wrestling memories he has created over the decades.

Sting will officially hang up his boots after his final match at AEW Revolution 2024, a pay-per-view event typically held during the first weekend of March.

Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on X @AdeleAnkers.

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