Sting’s elder son, Garrett Borden competed in his debut wrestling match at Rhodes Wrestling Association on May 17.
He faced Brandon Barretta at the promotion’s Final Reckoning event. Garrett used Sting’s signature Stinger Splash on Barretta to get the win in his first pro wrestling match.
Garrett’s younger brother, Steven made his NJPW debut a couple of months ago at Academy Showcase. They hyped their wrestling careers shortly after Sting’s retirement in 2024. Garrett and Steven made a few appearances for matches in his career, and paid tribute on his final match in AEW.
Garrett’s wife also trained at the Rhodes Wrestling Academy where she competes as Jael. Currently she is on hiatus but is actively involved in community outreach for AEW. Rhodes Wrestling Academy is operated by AEW’s Dustin Rhodes.
Sting’s son, Steven Borden, made his NJPW debut last weekend in a tag team match.
YouTuber Bighorn Blockbuster shared a vlog about the NJPW Academy 3rd Anniversary Showcase. The event took place at NJPW’s LA Dojo on March 21. Borden teamed with Allan Breeze against Hitt & Vin Parker.
Breeze and Parker kicked off the match and a struggle of supremacy began with their multiple attempts to wear down each other. Borden and Hitt were tagged in simultaneously, but despite Hitt’s overtowering physique, Borden managed to gain the upper hand. He took a few brutal slams during the bout but sustained momentum.
Borden paid tribute to his father with his in-ring moves and eventually pinned Parker to get the win for his team.
Borden made his wrestling debut in October 2025 and competed in a few AEW dark matches and ROH tapings. Earlier this year, NJPW’s Fred Rosser announced that he was training Borden. Tony Khan is also cited to have an interest in signing the second-generation wrestler.
With less than ten career matches, Steven Borden Jr. is set to make his debut in NJPW.
Announced by the company on social media Wednesday, Sting’s son will compete as part of the NJPW Academy’s third anniversary showcase event at the LA Dojo on Saturday, March 21 at 2 pm local time. His opponent was not revealed.
After making his debut last October in a tag match that included Darby Allin, Killer Kross and JD Drake, Borden has appeared for DEFY Wrestling twice and AEW four times, competing in dark matches. He also worked a dark match for Ring of Honor. He was last in the ring in early-February.
In February, NJPW roster member Fred Rosser revealed he has been training Borden while AEW head Tony Khan said in February that “developing (Borden) for the future is a huge priority to me and everyone in AEW.” He has not stated whether he is under an AEW contract.
Steven Borden Jr. was part of AEW’s show at the Esports Arena in Arlington on Saturday night.
The son of Sting wrestled Jon Cruz on the Ring of Honor portion of the show. Full spoilers from last night’s ROH tapings are not yet available.
The match was Borden’s fifth on record and second under the AEW/ROH banner. Fightful Select reported last month that one source in AEW believes Borden will be “under an AEW contract before long if he’s not already.”
Borden Jr.’s in-ring debut took place on October 3 in New York at an art installation associated with Darby Allin, where he teamed with JD Drake in a loss to Allin and Killer Kross. His other three matches were singles bouts against Kiran Grey, who is listed as having been trained by both Allin and the Nightmare Factory in Georgia. Borden defeated Grey at DEFY’s November 21 show and again in a dark match at the December 10 AEW Winter Is Coming event, before losing to Grey at DEFY’s December 28 show.
Images and clips of Steven Borden Jr. vs. Jon Cruz courtesy of the Aaron Loves Wrestling podcast are available below:
Fresh off his AEW debut, Steven Borden Jr. has been announced for a new indie date.
Borden — the son of wrestling icon Sting — will return to Defy Wrestling on Sunday, December 28 for a match against Kiran Grey. It’s part of the card for Defy’s Ender event that is being held in Los Angeles to close out 2025.
Both Borden and Grey are trainees of Darby Allin. They’ve already been frequent opponents as Borden starts off his wrestling career. Ahead of this match, they’ve faced each other twice. Borden defeated Grey at Defy last month and in their dark match this Wednesday prior to AEW Dynamite.
The first match of Borden’s career took place in October when he and JD Drake wrestled Allin & Killer Kross in a tag team bout at an art gallery in New York City. While he never had any interest in following in his father’s footsteps before, Borden caught the wrestling bug when he participated in Sting’s AEW retirement tour. He is a former college football player for the University of Kentucky.
After they faced off the first time in Defy, Borden cut a promo calling out Grey for claiming that Borden has nothing to lose. Borden said that, as the son of a legend, there are tons of people out there waiting for him to fail. He’s trying to earn everything that comes to him in pro wrestling.
Welts. Abrasions. Bruises. Steve Borden Jr earned his win against Kiran Grey in his DEFY debut. 🦂
AEON wasn’t just a show — it was a shift. The noise. The shock.
It’s time for the Saturday edition of Wrestling Observer Live.
Steven Borden, the son of Sting, made his independent wrestling and singles match debut Friday night in Seattle at Defy Wrestling and Jim Valley was there live. You’ll get Jim’s thoughts and observations on the match and what you could see from Borden going forward.
Plus, there’s a ton of other wrestling on Saturday: AEW Full Gear, AAA Alianzas, WWE SmackDown results from Friday and for next Friday. And then there’s New Japan, CMLL, All Japan, NOAH and results from around the world.
We have another giant issue of the Observer out. There is a ton of news in this one but want to call attention to a great story by Pat Laprade on Paul “Butcher” Vachon, covering his wrestling and promoting career with all kinds of anecdotes such as his role in getting WWF’s Saturday Night Main Event off the ground, the early career of Andre the Giant, setting what was then the all-time get record in the U.S. at Comiskey Park in Chicago, and promoting what is still the largest crowd in Canada outside of Toronto. Besides the Vachon story we go in detail on the career of Sting and his retirement, as well as the careers of Paul Heyman and Bull Nakano, the muder charge against Daniel Rodimer and the investigation regarding the alleged rape of Ashley Massaro.
Famous pro wrestling retirement shows
The retirement of Sting and AEW Revolution
An historical first coming from the show
Sting’s run in TNA
Other expected finishes of Sting’s career
How Sting got into pro wrestling
The Blade Runners debut
Getting into Mid South
The first Flair-Sting match and it wasn’t in Greensboro
The first Clash of Champions and its ratings
Going head-to-head with WrestleMania
When Sting was supposed to win the NWA title the first time and why it didn’t happen
Why he almost didn’t get the title when the second title change date was planned
Sting vs. Hogan and how it got screwed up
The two people most responsible for Sting’s career not ending nearly a decade ago
Sting’s WWE run and why Vince McMahon ruined it
Sting’s final show
Ospreay vs. Takeshita
Early PPV numbers
Notes on how many buyers of this show ordered WWE & TNA shows
Milestones on gate, merch and and Greensboro Coliseum wrestling records
When was the finish decided
Okada signs with AEW, the truth about his contract
The debut of Mercedes Mone
The life and times of Butcher Vachon, the early years of his career, the creation of Stan Vachon, AWA title run, formation of Grand Prix Wrestling, The Vachons vs. LeDucs feud, early career of Andre the Giant, creation of the name Andre the Giant, life after wrestling
Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul
Daniel Rodimer murder arrest, the story behind what happened, the victim, his pro wrestling career and his political career
NCIS investigation into Ashley Massaro
The careers of Paul Heyman and Bull Nakano
The most detailed look at the ratings including how the shows did compared to last year, last week, segment-by-segment and placings
How CMLL show with AEW talent is doing
Unique show in Mexico this week
Vampiro wants to do rematch from Lucha Underground match
New Japan anniversary show
Best of Super Juniors notes
BJ Whitmer sentencing
More on crazy TNA buy rate
What happened with Kevin Kelly in AEW
Update on Kenny Omega
Update on Sammy Guevara suspension
Behind The Rock’s promo
Notes on new WWE sponsorships
Next Saudi Arabia date
Vince McMahon and Brock Lesnar and the next video game
Mr. Stone vs. Lexis King has been added to Tuesday’s NXT.
The gauntlet match to determine Gunther’s WrestleMania 40 opponent from last night’s Raw is now up in full on YouTube.
Rap star Travis Scott appeared on Raw, entering the building with Jey Uso.
AJ Francis, the former Top Dolla, wrote about visiting backstage at Raw: “Bun B invited me to his show at Rodeo Houston so I pulled up to H-Town today… at the rental car spot a fan told me RAW was in Houston. EVERYONE I saw was excited to see me & that felt good…”
Steven Borden, the son of Sting, spoke to Comicbook on the possibility of a wrestling career:
“Now, to answer your actual question, the answer for my whole life, the reason why you would have heard that from Darby is because that has been the answer since I was a kid. I think it was probably a question that I’ve been asked more than anything in my entire life, ‘When are you going to get into wrestling?’ I just always liked leaving it as my dad’s thing,” he said. “I never really had much interest in stepping into his world. I thought that was his thing. I would say it’s mostly still similar, but that said, maybe in the last six months to a year that answer has gotten a little bit more murky. Part of that is probably because I’m not ready to let him walk away or watch him walk away. I think somebody tweeted at me something like, ‘the hardest part about being a Sting fan is that he couldn’t stay young forever.’ And that actually hit me a little bit.”
“I would never be Sting two,” he continued. “There’s only one Sting so it’s more just the similarities and all of that. But yeah, so I think maybe the answer has gotten a little bit less clear. Recently, I’m just, this is a very transparent answer that I’m giving. All of this is very new, so it’s all something that’s happening in real time. Some of it might just be because there’s a lot of emotion around the ending of a 38 year career, and maybe I’m just not ready to let it go yet.”
The New York Post has an article on Mercedes Mone’s expected AEW debut at Big Business on Wednesday.
The New York Times is reporting that Jesse Ventura is among the names on independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy’s list of potential running mates.
Steven Borden Jr. has never had more respect and admiration for his father.
Ahead of Sting’s retirement match, Steven wrote a post on Instagram sharing some thoughts about his father and the career that he’s had. Steven wrote that, through nearly four decades, Sting laid it all on the line and stayed electric the whole way. And Sting managed to do that while teaching and showing his children what it means to be a person of character.
Steven said he isn’t ready for this ride to be over, but he’s ready for Sting to enjoy the sunset.
“Until then, I can’t wait to watch you go do Sting things one last time,” Steven wrote. “I love you Dad. Icon Forever.”
The full post can be read below:
You were Sting before I was born.
I’ve never known a life where the possibility of you rappelling from the rafters, diving off high objects, and Scorpion death dropping people doesn’t exist.
But now that day has nearly come, and I’ve never had more respect and admiration for you than I do today.
There’s too many things I could say – I don’t know how to encapsulate it all.
For now I’ll just say this.
You did it, Dad.
You found a way – through nearly four decades, you laid it all on the line. You stayed electric the whole way.
You did that while also teaching me what it means to be a man of character, integrity, and grit.
More importantly, you showed me – and you’re showing me now.
Garrett, Gracie, and I have you to thank for more good than you’ll ever know.
I know you remember what my answer was that day as a kid in Central Park when I was asked who my hero was.
The answer is still the same.
I’m still convinced you’re the coolest dude to walk the planet.
Now it’s time for one last ride. I’m not ready for it to be over, but I’m ready for you to enjoy the sunset.
Until then, I can’t wait to watch you go do Sting things one last time. I love you Dad.
Icon Forever.
Sting responded to Steven’s post:
Steven James Borden- you’ve always had a way with words. Teary eyed…
Sting will compete in the ring for the final time at AEW Revolution this Sunday (March 3). In the headlining match of the pay-per-view, Sting & Darby Allin are defending their AEW Tag Team titles against The Young Bucks.
Sting’s sons Steven and Garrett played a role on AEW television during the final weeks of their father’s in-ring career. When Sting & Allin won the AEW Tag Team titles on the February 7 episode of Dynamite, Steven and Garrett celebrated the victory with them. There was then an angle where The Young Bucks attacked Sting, Allin, Steven, and Garrett with baseball bats.
Despite their Dynamite appearance, Allin told Digital Spy that Steven and Garrett have no interest in becoming pro wrestlers. Both Borden sons are former college football players.
Allin said:
They’re not interested at all. I’ve asked [Sting] I was like, ‘I’m just curious, I really want to know have your sons ever tried this?’ And he said, ‘No, they’re not interested.’
It just wasn’t a thing that they wanted to do, but I was curious because they’re pretty big dudes. They should get together, become a tag team – that would be cool.
The Players’ Tribune published a piece on Saturday where they collected voicemails from Sting’s family and members of the AEW locker room sharing memories of Sting and reflecting on his career.
