AEW’s legendary wrestler Sting has announced that 2023 will be his final year in wrestling.
The Icon will wrestle his last match this year, ending a career spanning four decades and thousands of matches.
The former WCW and TNA Champion has done it all in wrestling, and will want to go out in style, as his friend The Great Muta did earlier this year.
But who will Sting’s last match be against? In this article, we’ll talk you through when and who Sting’s final AEW match will be against, and why.
Sting’s Last Match
It seems obvious that Darby Allin should be Sting’s final opponent in wrestling.
The pair have been inseparable since Sting’s debut at Winter is Coming 2020, teaming together in a number of matches.
They remain undefeated in tag team action in AEW, and if Sting was younger would definitely be challenging for the AEW Tag Team Championships.
However, Sting’s last match will not be against Darby Allin.
Speaking to “The Ringer“, the WWE Hall of Famer revealed that he had already decided on who would be a part of his final match but ruled out a first one-on-one match in AEW.
He spoke about how he “won’t have a singles match” in AEW, putting the end to rumours that Sting vs Darby Allin would be the final match in The Stinger’s career.
“Well, I know Darby [Allin] is going to be a part of it for sure. I won’t have a singles match at this point. Darby will be along with me and I’ll be along with him and we can add more to it as far as I’m concerned. But I have a few people [in mind] and I really don’t want to say now.”
There has not been any announcement about what Sting’s last match will be, although we can make a fair assumption about a few things involved in it.
When will Sting’s last match be?
Based on current rumours, Sting’s last match could take place in Wembley Stadium on August 27th, 2023, at AEW All In 2.
The huge show is the first time the company have toured the UK, and will be the first time Sting has wrestled in the country since leaving TNA in 2014.
Being part of TNA during their peak popularity in the UK (their record attendance in a house show in London in 2009), couple with his career in WWE, WCW and AEW, Sting has a big following in the UK.
It is the perfect place to have his final match, in front of a crowd who has historically not had much chance of seeing “The Icon” live and in the flesh.
Who will Sting’s last match be against?
While he won’t be wrestling against Darby Allin in his last match, it is expected that the young star will be involved.
Given that he is too old to have a singles match in AEW, Sting will team with Darby Allin for his final bout. I would expect it to be a tag team match, rather than a six-man tag team match.
This will give Sting more chance to showcase himself, and not relegate himself to being such a small part of his final bout.
While there are many different teams he could face off against in his last match, I can have an educated guess over who his final match will be against.
I expect Sting’s last match before retirement to be Sting & Darby Allin vs Chris Jericho & Sammy Guevara.
There is some logic to this, and not just some dream match pulled out of nowhere.
The match is basically a dream match pulled out of nowhere, but has some basis and history to it.
Chris Jericho and Sting are two of the biggest legends in wrestling. They both came from WCW, moving on to WWE and AEW together as well.
However, despite being in the same promotion for a number of years, Chris Jericho has never wrestled against Sting.
Even throughout their long spells together in WCW and AEW, they have never shared the ring together. The chance to do such a legendary, one-off match in front of AEW’s biggest ever crowd is a chance they will not want to miss.
Chris Jericho has spoken about a potential match with Sting, which he revealed “there has to be a match” between the two legendary wrestlers.
He spoke to Tony Schiavone and Aubrey Edwards about how he wants to face The Icon inside an AEW ring. He also revealed how they’ve only ever shared the ring together once in his 30+ year career.
Speaking to the AEW Unrestricted podcast , Chris Jericho said;
Whenever there’s a Sting vs Jericho match, which there has to be because Sting and I have never been in the ring together ever, except for when Keith Mitchell retired and we had that after-ceremony.
Never been in the same ring ever. Ever, ever, ever. There has to be a Sting and Jericho match in whatever way we decide it and that would be a great time for ‘Painmaker’.
Adding Chris Jericho’s long-time partner in both the Inner Circle and the JAS, in Sammy Guevara, would be the obvious thing to do, and be more suitable than another teammate like Daniel Garcia.
Guevara is also one of the “Four Pillars“, four young talents tasked with carrying AEW on their shoulders into the future.
Alongside MJF and Jungle Boy, Darby Allin and Sammy Guevara are two of the four pillars, so have the history to match Jericho and Sting going into The Icon’s final match.
It seems too obvious that this should be Sting’s final match. With other huge bouts like Goldberg vs Wardlow, and CM Punk vs Kenny Omega rumoured for the show, AEW All In 2 could be one of the biggest wrestling events of all time.
Who do you think Sting should wrestle in his final match? Tell us your thoughts in the comments section below.