Stephen Borden spoke with WrestlingNews.co’s own Steve Fall for a new interview following his participation in his father’s retirement match at AEW Revolution, as Sting and Darby Allin defeated The Young Bucks to retain the Tag Team Titles in a Texas Tornado Match.
Sting’s sons Garrett and Stephen were involved in the match as Stephen and Garrett participated in Sting’s entrance by dressing up as past versions of Sting. Stephen was the Wolpac version, and Garrett was Surfer Sting. Here are the highlights:
On what was the atmosphere backstage preparing for Sting’s last match:
“I mean, it was a phenomenal atmosphere. I think there was one of those things where everybody’s very aware that this was the end. And so not just his final match. But you know, maybe his final time being back there in that capacity. Of course, he’s not just going to disappear and never sees AEW again, but you know, it’s the final time prepping and putting his gear on. And so there was a finality to it. And so I think, speaking for myself, and how it felt, at least it felt like, everybody just kind of wanted to hold on to every moment. Everything felt like the last lot. A lot of kind words were said to him, said to Garrett and I about him. It was an overwhelmingly good experience, top to bottom.”
On whether he was with his father the entire night:
“Most of the night. We part off, so we had a lot of family there as well. Some of my dad’s friends and family and obviously people that he wrestled with back in the day Lex [Luger] was there, Dallas Page [DDP], a lot of those guys. So kind of bouncing in between seeing everybody and then his room, you try to give them a little bit of space. Because as much as you know, I’m his son, and I’m still another person you know he has to. It was a technical match. And it was his last match. There’s a lot of pressure. So he’s trying to get in the zone a little bit and think, and so we parted off. But yeah, we spent quite a bit of time together, especially the last couple hours before he went out.”
On the advice he got from his father about the moment:
“And he obviously knows Garrett and I, so his perspective was, like, ‘Let’s not try to plant a bunch of different thoughts in Stephens’s head or Garrett’s head about how they should or shouldn’t just kind of let them go out and do it.’ So it wasn’t like, ‘Make sure to impersonate me in this manner or, you know, do this because I did this it was let’s just go out there.’ And ultimately, you know, it wasn’t about us at all anyways, and I think that especially the second that my dad walked out there, people could care less about Surfer or Wolf Pack Sting. So it was just basically go out there and have fun and enjoy the ride.”
On advice about doing the Sting splashes:
“I think people the assumption was the Garrett, and I grew up doing Stinger splashes, you know, every weekend or something. We had our first attempts were the day before. And so, not a ton of practice. And it’s actually something that looks so simple. But strategizing, where you don’t overshoot, is kind of more difficult than it seems. And so I actually was joking earlier. You know, if that was the free throw line that I pulled up from, I probably could have pulled up from half-court if I really went for it. But the last thing you want to do is overshoot and go over the top on your dad’s last ride. So, just a few cues from my dad to have fun and jump high.”
On the feeling after the match:
“Like, the second that Garrett and my small part came to a conclusion, we sprinted backstage to get to the TV because the sport, it’s obviously a very physical sport, anything can go wrong. And I think it’s easy to just think the match is gonna go the way it goes, and everything’s gonna be fine. But Darby was doing some wild stuff, my dad was doing some wild stuff that a 25 year old could get hurt doing. And he’s got a couple of decades on that. And so my biggest concern was, ‘Okay, as long as my dad stays healthy, and as long as Darby stays healthy, we’re good. They’re gonna get through it like they’re pros. I knew that some gnarly stuff was gonna happen.’ So the relief of standing there in the ring at the very end, knowing not only that nobody got hurt but that it went well and everything was executed properly. And my dad was happy. He’s such a critical person of himself. So to see him, you know, you were there at the press conference at the end, he had a really positive thing to say about the match. That was, for me, the biggest relief ever. My weight could have fallen off my head, and as long as he’s happy, I would have been, you know, fine with that.”
This interview is exclusive to WrestlingNews.co. If you use these quotes, please include a link back to this page.
