There had been lots of speculation around the possibility of Sting retiring since 'The Icon' first indicated that he might do several months ago, but this promoted announcement did something better - it introduced a countdown clock.
Harking back to his WWE Hall Of Fame speech where he echoed his old catchphrase about nothing being for sure, this time was different. Bittersweetly so, but different - after reviewing his career in short-form, Sting announced it'd be coming to an end at Revolution 2024.
This was both a delivery of the huge announcement, and the promise of some electrifying booking to come. Heels should want the spot, or worse want to stop him even making the show. Darby Allin, in the meantime, will find himself fan-cast into a dream farewell match that has felt in the works since 2021. This is the stuff that makes the hair stand on end, and after years of peerless presentation of the character, AEW have earned the emotions.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett
