Tony Khan said the signed turnbuckle and note from Sting after his retirement match is the single most valuable possession he owns. Khan made the statement on Marking Out with MVP and Dwayne Swayze while reflecting on Sting’s run in AEW.
“I think of all the possessions I have in the world, my signed turnbuckle and the note that Sting wrote for me after his last match probably is my most prized possession,” Khan said.
Khan also called the match itself the best of its kind in pro wrestling history.
“Sting and Darby versus the Young Bucks I think was the single greatest retirement match in the history of pro wrestling,” Khan said. “In Revolution 2024 in Greensboro, in a city that has so much pro wrestling history as we know, we set every record for attendance and box office for Sting’s retirement match. We had Ric Flair and Ricky the Dragon Steamboat, who would also be right here if we were making a top five for me, on that list.”
Khan walked through the Sting and Darby Allin run that built to Revolution 2024, including the angle where the Young Bucks attacked Sting’s family.
“Sting and Darby won every match they ever had. What an incredible team,” Khan said. “And in his undefeated run, Sting became World Tag Team Champions with Darby, and what should have been a great moment for them, celebrating the championship win in Phoenix with Sting’s family, was marred by the Young Bucks. And the Young Bucks, Sting’s family, they did something nobody had ever done to Sting in all those decades. They hurt Sting’s family.”
Sting and Darby Allin defeated Matthew and Nicholas Jackson in a tornado tag team match at Revolution 2024 on March 3, 2024 to retain the AEW World Tag Team Championships. Ric Flair was in the corner. Ricky Steamboat served as special guest timekeeper. Sting’s sons Garrett and Steven Borden Jr. appeared dressed as Surfer Sting and Wolfpac Sting. Sting retired undefeated in AEW at age 64, ending a career that began in 1985.
The Greensboro Coliseum was the same venue where Sting faced Ric Flair for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship at Clash of the Champions I in March 1988, the match credited with establishing Sting as a top star.
Sting made his AEW debut at Winter Is Coming on December 2, 2020 and teamed with Darby Allin across his entire AEW run. His first AEW match came at Revolution 2021 in a cinematic Street Fight against Team Taz alongside Allin. The pair went on to compete nearly 30 times together in traditional and multi-man tag matches across the next three years. They captured the AEW World Tag Team Championships from Ricky Starks and Big Bill on the February 7, 2024 episode of Dynamite, setting up the Revolution title defense against the Young Bucks.
The build to the retirement match started on the October 18, 2023 episode of Dynamite when Sting confirmed Revolution 2024 would be his final match. The Young Bucks emerged as opponents after interrupting a Sting and Allin segment on the January 10, 2024 Dynamite: Homecoming, with Matthew and Nicholas Jackson saying they respected Sting but it was time to say goodbye. The team said they would take their roles as AEW executive vice presidents more seriously going forward.
Khan said the night meant something to him personally.
“To have Sting’s retirement match in AEW, and to have Sting go out on top, and to have him be so happy with it, it means a lot to me,” Khan said.
Sting was one of Khan’s childhood Mount Rushmore picks alongside Steve Austin, Ric Flair, and Bret Hart, with Ricky Steamboat as a fifth.
Where To Listen
Marking Out with MVP and Dwayne Swayze is hosted by Montel Vontavious Porter and Dwayne Swayze. New episodes release every Monday with audio at midnight Central and the video show premiering at noon Central on the Marking Out YouTube channel.
You can click below to watch the full episode.
