Inside Sting’s Last Match
An inside look at Sting’s last match
As Darby Allin made his crash landing on Sunday, descending approximately twenty feet from the top of a ladder onto a sheet of glass, which rested atop an array of steel chairs, Jim Ross summed up the moment quite succinctly.
“For the love of God, what have we seen?” he asked, only moments after shards of glass scattered and soared through the air. While JR isn’t on the headset as often as he once was, he nailed that call.
Sting retired this past Sunday, wrestling the final match of his iconic career beside Darby Allin at Revolution against The Young Bucks. And to the credit of all four men involved, it was a spectacular end to an unforgettable career.
While wondering if Allin has a death wish–later this month, he is planning to climb Mount Everest–the Bucks seized a two-on-one advantage against Sting. But the sides were evened out when Allin miraculously returned, and Sting caused the faithful at the Greensboro Coliseum to erupt when he locked the Bucks’ Matthew Jackson in the Scorpion Deathlock for the victory.
It is a long-standing wrestling tradition that a retiring wrestler goes out on their back. In other words, it is customary to lose your last match.
That may be tradition, but the powers-that-be in AEW are making their own rules.
Speaking with a multitude of people involved in the match and behind-the-scenes, the match went almost exactly as planned. There was a little room left for improvising, which is standard. Yet nearly everything came off exactly how it was hoped to come out. And it all worked in picture perfect form. Despite being only weeks away from turning 65, Sting looked like his old self one last time.
Behind closed doors, there was plenty of discussion about the direction the match should take. But the goal was to give Sting the match he wanted, and ultimately, that is what was presented.
While the Bucks’ Matt and Nick Jackson quieted critics with their performance, the online vitriol has been directed at Darby.
Unquestionably, the swanton off the ladder was excessive. Adding to an extremely dangerous spot is that glass, clearly, is unpredictable. But, multiple people confirmed, that was the one spot Darby wanted above all. There was a Plan B with a different finish in the event he could not return to the match, which turned out to be no more than a precaution.
Once it was determined that Darby would make the jump, safety measures were applied. A rehearsal occurred earlier than usual in the day, and a stunt coordinator instructed how to place the items and reviewed the proper protocols. There were also nearby doctors anticipating the spot, and they were on high alert. And had Darby not been able to return to the match, the Bucks were prepared to call an alternate finish.
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