We probably should have guessed it was coming, but during last night's episode of AEW Dynamite, WWE Hall of Famer Sting announced that he will officially retire from in-ring competition at AEW Revolution.
The crowd reacted by expressing their gratitude for everything he's done after what's proven to be an extraordinary career. Putting over the people he's worked with over the years (Hulk Hogan's name drew boos from those in attendance), Sting admitted that his forced retirement in 2015 never sat right with him.
After making his WWE debut, the 64-year-old competed in a handful of matches, including against Triple H at WrestleMania. However, it was at Night of Champions in 2015 that he suffered what appeared to be a career-ending injury while battling Seth Rollins.
Reflecting on that earlier this year, Sting said, "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. Somehow or another, it just kind of came back enough where 'Okay, I can do another minute or two.'"
The following April, Sting announced his retirement while being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. At the time, he said "the only thing that's for sure is that nothing is for sure" and circled back to that last night when he pointed out "the only thing's that's for sure" is that AEW Revolution will be his final match.
As of now, we don't know when or where that PPV will take place or who Sting will face.
The WCW icon signed with AEW in 2020 and has since competed in a number of matches, impressing fans in the process. His career ending the way it did in WWE would have been a real shame, so the fact he's got a second chance has been great to see.
You can check out Sting's announcement in its entirety below.