Tag: sting

Sting reflects on final autograph signing wearing facepaint: ‘I love you all’

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Sting is reflecting on his final autograph signing wearing facepaint.

In a brief interview with Denise Salcedo, Sting thanked fans for their support over the years. After letting it be known 2025 will be the final year he does autograph signings with his signature face paint, he wore it one last time at WrestleVerse Fest in Pittsburgh on Saturday.

“I just want to say thank you, I love you, all of you, I do believe we’ve had a love affair going on for many decades now and I will miss all of you for sure,” he said. “But there will be little bits and pieces here with AEW, I’m sure, down the road. Love you all, thank you.”

When asked about his feelings at the moment, Sting said that while he feels it’s a normal day like any other, he does know for many others it’s anything but.

“I feel completely normal, like this is just another gig for me,” he said. “But you have people like my daughter, for example, who is sending me these emojis on the phone, the crying emojis going ‘Dad, this is your last one ever!’ Then you know, all of my buddies and all my friends coming here and being a part of this, it’s those kind of moments, because everyone’s feeding it where it’s like this strong undercurrent of ‘Wow, this is like, the end. This really is it.’ I don’t know how to sum it up into words. The undercurrent is definitely there. Bittersweet, for sure. I’ll be glad to get off the planes and trains and automobiles, But I will miss the people for sure, absolutely.” 

Sting had his final match last year at AEW Revolution, teaming with Darby Allin one last time to defeat The Young Bucks. Despite this, Sting has made cameo appearances for the company in the last year, including at WrestleDream when he helped Allin defeat Jon Moxley.

Report: Steven Borden expected to be under AEW contract ‘before long’

Posted on by Shounak Chakrabarti

Sting’s son, Steven Borden, is reportedly expected to be under an AEW contract soon following praise from AEW President Tony Khan.

Borden recently made his AEW in-ring debut in a dark match, where he faced fellow Darby Allin trainee Kiran Gray. After the match, Khan commented positively on Borden’s performance, telling Fightful Select, “I thought he was excellent. He’s doing a great job. Very exciting in my opinion.”

Another AEW source close to Fightful noted that they expect Borden to be under an AEW contract before long if he’s not already. Other sources also spoke positively about the WWE Hall of Famer’s son’s work and physique. The source also claimed that they would trade years of their NFL team’s victories to look like Borden.

He was also involved at AEW Revolution last year during Sting’s retirement bout against The Young Bucks. Borden had appeared as Sting’s Wolfpac persona while his brother, Garrett, appeared as his father’s Surfer Sting persona.

Long before starting his wrestling career, Borden played tight end for the University of Kentucky in 2013 and 2014. He has also been the general manager of SAGA Fitness since July 2021.

Sting’s son Steven Borden makes AEW in-ring debut

Posted on by Josh Nason

Image: AEW

Less than a month after wrestling in his first-ever singles match and two months after his first-ever match, Steven Borden has made his AEW debut.

The son of Sting wrestled a dark match prior to Wednesday’s AEW Winter is Coming edition of Dynamite from Atlanta, Georgia, defeating Kieran Gray — the same opponent as in his singles debut and a fellow Darby Allin trainee.

He’s been training since early 2024. Allin told Ariel Helwani earlier this year that Borden “was good” in his debut match that saw he and Killer Kross take on Borden and JD Drake and that he can go “as far as he wants to take it.”

Borden was part of Sting’s retirement match back at AEW Revolution 2024 dressed as Sting’s Wolfpac persona while his brother, Garrett, appeared as his dad’s Surfer Sting persona. It was that night where he got bit by the wrestling bug after previously having no interest.

He played tight end for the University of Kentucky in 2013 and 2014 and has been the general manager of SAGA Fitness since July 2021.

Sting: Tony Khan ‘treated me like gold’ throughout AEW run

Posted on by Joseph Currier

AEW felt like home to Sting throughout his entire retirement run.

While speaking with Going Ringside at a signing for Palm Beach Autographs over the weekend, Sting was asked to compare the runs he had in TNA, WWE, and AEW. Sting responded by expressing how much of a natural fit AEW was for him.

“They’re all different in some ways, but the thing that I liked about AEW is it always — it just felt like my brand,” he said. “It felt like home to me.”

Going Ringside then asked Sting if AEW boss Tony Khan was a good person to work for.

“He was the best. He was phenomenal,” Sting said. “Treated me like gold the whole way through. If it wasn’t for Tony, I wouldn’t have had the run that I had. And Darby [Allin], my partner.”

Sting made his AEW debut in late 2020 and stayed undefeated for his entire time in the company, capping things off with a victory in his retirement match at Revolution in March 2024. He retired as a champion with Sting & Allin retaining the AEW Tag Team titles over The Young Bucks.

The signing for Palm Beach Autographs was one of the last stops on Sting’s “2025 or Never” tour. At the end of this year, he will no longer be appearing in the full Sting costume and face paint for his convention bookings.

Sting calls John Cena ‘one of the greatest of all time’

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Sting wishes John Cena the best of luck in his upcoming retirement.

Speaking with Going Ringside, the former WCW Champion wished Cena well ahead of his retirement match this coming weekend at Saturday Night’s Main Event, where he’ll take on Gunther.

“Kudos to John. He’s one of the greatest of all time. I love to see it. I’m rooting for him. I’m hoping it turns out to be phenomenal, I’m sure that it will. I’m always rooting for those older guys, you know. Go Aaron Rodgers,” he said, referring to the NFL star.

Sting got to interact with Cena during his brief run in WWE. On the September 14, 2015 edition of Raw the two teamed up to defeat Seth Rollins and The Big Show in a tag team match. The match was held just days before Night of Champions where Sting suffered a neck injury while wrestling Seth Rollins, which kept him out of action until his AEW debut years later.

At his own retirement match back at AEW Revolution 2024, Sting teamed with Darby Allin to defeat The Young Bucks.

WOL: A live perspective on the singles debut of Sting’s son

Posted on by Jim Valley

Image: Jim Valley

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.

Click Here to Listen (sub needed) or watch the extended version on our YouTube channel

Sting’s son Steven Borden to compete in second-ever match

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Steven Borden — the son of pro wrestling legend Sting — is set to compete in his second-ever match.

Defy Wrestling has confirmed that Borden will be in action at the promotion’s AEON event in Seattle on Friday, November 21. He’s facing Kiran Grey at the show, with both Borden and Grey having been trained by AEW star Darby Allin.

This will be a different experience for Borden than his debut match, which was held at an art gallery in New York City as part of an exhibition Allin was putting on with artists Raymond Pettibon and Charlie Ramone. That bout saw Borden team with JD Drake against the duo of Allin & Killer Kross.

On the Ariel Helwani Show, Allin said Borden’s debut went well — and he believes Borden has what it takes to succeed in the ring. Training Borden was something Allin was happy to do given the connection he has with Borden’s father.

“As far as he wants to take it — as far as he wants to take it,” Allin responded when asked how far Borden can go in wrestling.

While in college, Borden was a football player at the University of Kentucky. Pursuing wrestling as a career is something that started to interest him when he was involved with Sting’s retirement run in AEW.

The November 21 Defy event is being held at Washington Hall and will include AEW’s Bryan Keith defending the Defy World Championship against Cody Chhun.

DragonKingKarl: The 1990 wrestling year in review

Posted on by Karl Stern

On this edition of the DragonKingKarl Show, I grab the March 1991 issue of Pro Wrestling Illustrated which covers 1990 in-depth.

Besides the annual year-end awards, the magazine also covered the major events of a hugely transitional year.

Ric Flair was no longer king of the NWA with Sting now the reigning World Champion. Hulk Hogan was out of the WWF title picture as Ultimate Warrior now had that championship. The AWA was still barely hanging on, and a major angle in USWA was grabbing attention, while a newcomer named Steve Austin was making waves in Texas.

Click Here to Listen (sub needed)

Sting returns during ‘I Quit’ match at AEW WrestleDream

Posted on by Josh Nason

Sting made his return to AEW during Saturday’s AEW WrestleDream, aiding former World Tag Team Champion partner Darby Allin in the main event ‘I Quit’ match against Jon Moxley.

After Moxley was attempting to drown Allin in an aquarium several times, the lights went out and the grey-haired and goateed Sting appeared with his bat in tow. He then choked out Moxley with the bat, hit PAC and Claudio Castagnoli, shattered the aquarium, and tossed the bat to Allin.

Marina Shafir then got in Sting’s face only to be carried to the back by “The Icon.”

Allin later used Sting’s Scorpion Deathlock (while Moxley was writing in a puddle of water and broken glass) to make Moxley say “I Quit.”

Sting’s last on-screen appearance came at 2024’s All In, freeing Allin from a coffin that the Young Bucks and Jack Perry were about to set on fire. He also appeared in a non-televised segment following an August AEW Collision from Philadelphia’s 2300 Arena to take part in an Eddie Gilbert tribute.

Darby Allin: Sting’s son had ‘good’ debut, can go as far in wrestling as he wants

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Darby Allin believes Sting’s son has what it takes to succeed in the ring.

The younger Steven Borden made his official wrestling debut earlier this month, teaming with JD Drake against Allin & Killer Kross in a tag team match. The bout was held at an art gallery in New York City as part of an event Allin was putting on.

While appearing on The Ariel Helwani Show today, Allin said he’s been working as Borden’s main coach getting him ready to step into the ring. He’s been training Borden for a little over a year and believes his debut went well.

“He had his first match last week. I wrestled him in a tag team match. It was good,” Allin said. “For his first match, yeah, it was good.”

Though he wasn’t previously interested in pursuing a career in wrestling, Borden decided he wanted to start training after being involved with his father’s last match. Because Sting gave him so much, Allin was more than happy to help out his son.

Helwani asked Allin how far he believes Borden can go in wrestling.

“As far as he wants to take it — as far as he wants to take it,” Allin responded.

Allin said Borden is just going by his real name as of now. He’s not wearing face paint but physically looks like his father.

Borden was a football player at the University of Kentucky when he was in college.

The final match of Sting’s in-ring career took place at AEW Revolution in March 2024, when he and Allin defeated The Young Bucks. Allin told Helwani that his experience working with Sting showed him how to be humble and that you can have peace after wrestling.

“Outside of the ring, I feel like he forgets he’s Sting half the time,” Allin said. “Someone that was in his position, you wouldn’t even think that he’s Sting because he’s so chill and he’s so giving to everybody. So it taught me to really keep a level head on and just be humble and nice to everybody.”

Sting’s son makes pro wrestling debut against Darby Allin and Killer Kross

Posted on by Ian Carey

Sting’s son, Steven Borden, has made his pro wrestling debut.

He wrestled Friday night, teaming with JD Drake of The Workhorsemen against Darby Allin and Killer Kross. The match took place at 52W Hardway, an event combining art, music, and wrestling curated by Darby Allin, Raymond Pettibon, and AEW’s Charlie Ramone. The exhibit runs for two weeks, with live wrestling only on October 3 and 10.

Borden wore plain black pants with no makeup for the match. He previously portrayed Wolfpac Sting during his father’s retirement match against The Young Bucks at AEW Revolution 2024.

ARTnews covered the event and posted footage to Instagram, writing:

“Last night, live wrestling took over 52 Walker. As part of the gallery’s newest exhibition—a showing of Raymond Pettibon’s wrestling drawings—Pettibon’s friend and former two-time AEW TNT Champion Darby Allin staged matches inside a ring installed in the gallery. He was joined by Killer Kross, Steven Borden, Sid Ellington, Kiran Grey, and Timothy Thatcher, with Los Angeles band Purest Form opening the night.⁠ Organized by Ebony L. Haynes, the two-week presentation—part exhibition, part event—centers on Pettibon’s critique American myths of masculinity, power, and spectacle.⁠ Catch the next and final match on October 10 at 52 Walker, and follow ARTnews for more.”

Up next for Darby Allin is AEW WrestleDream on October 11 in St. Louis, where he’s scheduled to face Jon Moxley in an I Quit match.

Sting’s son to make pro wrestling debut next month

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Sting’s son is making his wrestling debut.

It was announced in a press release that Steven Borden, son of the WWE Hall of Famer and AEW star, would be making his debut next month as part of a 52W Hardway art exhibit by artist Raymond Pettibon in association with Darby Allin and AEW backstage personnel Charlie Ramone. The exhibit will feature live wrestling and music inside the art gallery on October 3 and 10.

Ticket information for the shows can be found here.

Shortly after Sting had his retirement match at last year’s AEW Revolution pay-per-view, Darby Allin told Fightful that Borden was training with him to become a professional wrestler. A former NFL prospect, Borden appeared at Revolution dressed as his father during his association with the nWo Wolfpac stable. Later that year, Borden on the Von Erichs podcast said that he had been training with Allin, Adam Copeland, and FTR in preparation for an in-ring debut.

Along with Borden, it was announced that Allin, Killer Kross, AR Fox, Sid Ellington, Kiran Grey, and Timothy Thatcher will also be a part of the live wrestling shows.

VIDEO: Wrestling icon makes surprise 2300 Arena debut after AEW Collision taping

Posted on by Josh Nason

Former AEW and WCW star Sting made his surprise 2300 Arena debut following Thursday’s AEW Collision taping in Philadelphia.

His appearance was part of a post-event tribute to Eddie Gilbert put on by AEW head Tony Khan that also saw Jeff Jarrett, Tommy Rich, and Eddie’s brother Doug Gilbert in attendance as well.

From our Dave Meltzer: “Eddie Gilbert was the guy who saw the potential in Sting before anyone else and was the architect of Sting’s babyface turn in the UWF just as the promotion was being sold to Jim Crockett.”

Gilbert was the booker for Eastern Championship Wrestling before he was fired by Tod Gordon, replaced by Paul Heyman, and the eventual creation of the Extreme Championship Wrestling brand. Heyman was a friend and protege of Gilbert.

After Doug, Jarrett and Rich came out talking about Eddie and the former ECW arena,

Khan called out Doug Gilbert, Eddie’s younger brother, who at one time was a star heel in Memphis. Gilbert talked about being the first person to jump out of the Eagle’s Nest in the arena and how Eddie was the King of Philadelphia.

Then, out came Sting who talked about Eddie and what he meant to his career. He asked the fans to chant “Hot Stuff” which led to Donna Summer’s “Hot Stuff” being played to end the night.

It’s unknown if the segment will be released on YouTube.

On X, Khan thanked the group for being there.

Sting says AEW Revolution retirement moment was ‘probably the highlight of 40 years’

Posted on by Ian Carey

Sting says his retirement match at AEW Revolution 2024 went exactly as he had envisioned it.

His sons, Garrett and Steven Borden, took part in his entrance and got involved in the match that night, delivering Stinger Splashes to The Young Bucks. Asked about seeing his sons in face paint as Wolfpac Sting and Surfer Sting, Sting said it was “probably the highlight of 40 years” for him.

“It was exactly as I envisioned it being. It was like a dream, a surreal kind of a situation to actually witness it, even though I had pictured it happening exactly the way it did. But an amazing night,” he said to The Wrestling Classic.

“It’s just going to be etched in my mind forever. It’s probably the highlight of 40 years for me.”

The interview took place at WrestleVerse Fest in Chattanooga, TN, on August 30. Sting is currently on his “2025 or Never” tour, in reference to it being the last events he will appear at in full Sting makeup.

“It’s not a goodbye, it’s just no more of this (facepaint),” Sting said.

Upcoming events Sting is scheduled for include Horrorhound Weekend in Cincinnati on September 13, Arkansas Comic Con in Little Rock on September 14, and Houston Celebrity Comic Con on September 20.

Sting officially retired at AEW Revolution on March 3, 2024, retaining the AEW World Tag Team titles with Darby Allin against The Young Bucks. His full conversation with The Wrestling Classic is available below.

Sting on his special connection with fans: ‘It was like a two-way street’

Posted on by Joseph Currier

For Sting, what made his connection with the fans so special was how mutually beneficial it was.

The 66-year-old wrestling icon retired from the ring in March 2024 and is currently on his “2025 or Never” tour, which is the last time he’ll be appearing in the full Sting costume and makeup at conventions. He recently spoke to The Sportster at the Monster Mania convention in New Jersey, opening up how much the support from fans meant to him throughout his career.

“A lot of fans will talk about how much wrestling meant to them, how much my character meant to them,” Sting said. “And the thing that I always say is — and it’s true — it was a mutual thing. So they say ‘thank you’ to me for all the years. And I say ‘thank you’ back for all the years. And it was like a two-way street, it was a relationship. And so, I was blessed just as much as they were blessed. And sometimes I was pissed just like they were pissed. I mean, we have all of our different emotions. But overall, it’s just amazing to think that there is no Sting without the crowd.”

Sting said the best part of this convention tour has been hearing stories from fans, like how his vigilante character helped them overcome being bullied as kids. He’s also loved seeing old friends like Kevin Nash and Lex Luger.

At the moment, Sting has 16 more convention bookings through the end of the year. He will still be making appearances after that but will not be doing so in full costume.

Sting had his final match at AEW Revolution 2024, teaming with Darby Allin to defeat The Young Bucks. He remains under a licensing contract with AEW.