The 5/31 AEW Dynamite was filled with a few pleasant surprises, including the return of the legendary Sting!
After the match between Gates of Agony (Toa Liona & Kaun) vs. Darby Allin & Orange Cassidy wrapped up, Brian Cage, Swerve Strickland, and Prince Nana started making their way down to the ring to seemingly gang up on Allin and OC. However, that never came to pass, as Sting’s music hit and Tony Schiavone yelled his classic “IT’S STIIIING!” line. The Icon entered the ring with his baseball bat in tow, scaring away The Embassy for the time being.
This is the first time Sting has appeared in AEW since the April 12 episode of AEW Dynamite, in which he said “showtime is almost over” for himself.
AEW’s explanation for why Sting was missing
On that same April 12 episode of Dynamite, Sting explained that he wanted to step aside while Darby Allin chased the World Heavyweight Title, but since Allin and MJF’s differences appear to be taking a backseat for now, Sting is back by his protege’s side. Allin and Sting first crossed paths on the December 2, 2020 “Winter is Coming” AEW Dynamite and have been intertwined ever since.
AEW Founder and President Tony Khan recently commented on the potential retirement of Sting, saying:
“I am going to try and keep Sting wrestling and active as long as he wants to do it. He hasn’t really given me a set time. He’s mentioned it at times that he’s not going to wrestle forever. Truth be told, I would like Sting to compete as long as he wants. I really think he adds so much to the company and going forward, as we add more TV shows, more presence on TBS and TNT for AEW.