{"id":123033,"date":"2024-02-29T07:00:43","date_gmt":"2024-02-29T12:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/?p=123033"},"modified":"2024-02-29T05:54:40","modified_gmt":"2024-02-29T10:54:40","slug":"match-point-stings-last-match-aew-revolution-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2024\/02\/29\/match-point-stings-last-match-aew-revolution-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"Match Point: Sting\u2019s Last Match, AEW Revolution 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"<h4><em>Match Point is an ongoing series at Last Word on Pro Wrestling, where we look at intriguing matchups in indie wrestling and beyond. They may be dream matches, first-time matchups, or hotly anticipated rematches. In this edition, we will focus on the final match of the legendary Sting.<\/em><\/h4>\n<h3><strong><u>Chasing Perfect <\/u><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/8mxrLRdxiUs?si=jDeYKXono_xpnvcj\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The perfect start to any wrestler\u2019s career is rare. It\u2019s the stuff of dreams and fantasy booking. \u00a0Very rarely does a wrestler ever start \u201cperfect\u201d. Even those who get the perfect start face the reality that it cannot be maintained. Peaks and troughs happen.<\/p>\n<p>Momentum is seldom continuous despite what a clever video package suggests. This is the nature of things. Highs and lows. The reality is most wrestlers have time to grow through the stumbles and imperfections. Time to connect with fans.<\/p>\n<p>Build rapport. Tell their story. They have time. Miles and years ahead. There is always time for improvement. Reinvention. Re-ascension.<\/p>\n<p>There are even fewer perfect endings. The history of pro wrestling has been unforgiving to those who hang on too long. More leave the ring on a whimper, as shadows of their former selves. All heroes grow old and prove to be mortal.<\/p>\n<p>Many can\u2019t let it go in time and they pay for this. <strong>Terry Funk<\/strong>\u2018s retirements are legendary but imperfect. <strong>Mick Foley<\/strong> still wants one more death match. <strong>Ric Flair<\/strong> risked his life, passing out twice during his last retirement match, and then stated he wanted a re-do.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Undertaker<\/strong> ignored the foreboding that was on his shirt during the Last Ride documentary. \u201cMemento mori\u201d: \u201cRemember you must die\u201d. Even <strong>Shawn Michaels<\/strong>, the man who had the perfect send-off, came back for a \u201ctribute act\u201d match. The blemish of which can\u2019t be removed from his legacy.<\/p>\n<p>There are few perfect endings. Yet on Sunday night, <strong>AEW<\/strong>, its fans, and the wider wrestling community want one thing to happen. \u00a0For the Icon, symbol, the man called <strong>Sting <\/strong>has the perfect ending.<\/p>\n<h3><strong><u>Wrestling is Mythology <\/u><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>In ancient times, wrestling was more than a sport. It held religious and cultural significance. Listen to some wrestlers and they will tell you what happens in the ring is a morality play.<\/p>\n<p>Main event storylines play out like Ragnar\u00f6k. Big matches are made to feel like the end of the world is here. A hero falls. A dynasty crumbles. A story is complete. It\u2019s over\u2014the end. Then the cycle repeats. The end is another beginning.<\/p>\n<p>Within the match for the AEW World Tag Team Championship, <strong>Sting and Darby Allin vs. The Young Bucks<\/strong>, two universal themes collide.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Young vs. the old: The younger generation must claim victory over, destroy, and move beyond the ideas of the past generations.<\/li>\n<li>Man vs. nature: Man fights with his will and mind against the physical limitations placed on him by time and age.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong><u>The Return of the EVPs<\/u><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/5iA67P6sjgQ?si=qNsRzOx2DgGS7tm6\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Sting\u2019s opponents on paper are as perfect combination as fiction and reality will allow. The potential for greatness -immortality- is there. Two of the greatest tag team wrestlers of all time, <strong>The Young Bucks<\/strong> have returned to form. Both on-screen and in the ring, there is a confidence that had been missing since after <strong>Brawl Out<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>During a supposedly \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2023\/12\/18\/2023-aew-the-elite\/\" target=\"_self\">putrid year<\/a>\u201d for <strong>The Elite<\/strong>, <strong>Matthew <\/strong>and <strong>Nicholas Jackson<\/strong> could deliver in the ring. What was lacking was character motivation, layers, and direction. This had existed in prior years at the height of The Elite Saga. The quality of their work was evident in big matches in 2023.<\/p>\n<p>Any initial concerns that stemmed from the muddled backstage presentation of the Buck\u2019s new EVP characters evaporated when they acted. The Bucks reminded AEW fans something about Sting they had forgotten. Almost full circle, The Bucks repeated the trick that made Sting\u2019s first AEW match such a must-watch. They showed the man as human.<\/p>\n<p>When <strong>Brian Cage<\/strong> first hit Sting with a powerbomb, fans sincerely feared for Sting\u2019s health. Having been forced into retirement in April 2016, we did not know how much punishment the icon could take. By comparison, the Sting of 2024 seemed ageless and reckless.<\/p>\n<p>At 64 years of age, Sting jumped off a balcony and found a way to win the AEW World Tag Team Championship.<\/p>\n<p>Then The Bucks picked their moment. Their white suits seemed for a symbolic representation that they were the real good guys and contrasts with Sting and Darby\u2019s black aesthetic.<\/p>\n<p>But it was clever foreshadowing. Blood was spilled. White baseball bats took out Darby, Sting, and his sons. Again, Sting was humbled. A human being was left broken on the mat.<\/p>\n<h3><strong><u>Succession<\/u><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>In The Young Bucks&#8217;s return interview, their motives were jumbled up with the caricature images of themselves as selfish, passive-aggressive, and immature man-children drunk with power that some fans have claimed is the \u201creal\u201d Young Bucks.<\/p>\n<p>Underneath the new entrance video, its corporate jet, and its new Succession-inspired music, their motives are no different from previous generations of heels. There are two reasons they must retire Sting.<\/p>\n<p>First, Matthew Jackson talked about how in forming AEW, they risked their reputations, friendships, and their legacy on forming this company. The scars and hurt were displayed. When talking about Sting as a model employee, Matthew said he envied Sting.<\/p>\n<p>How fans and people backstage respect and love him. He wishes fans feel the same way about their legacy someday. It\u2019s jealousy. They want something they feel will be denied to them. So, by proxy, they are going to trample on someone else\u2019s legacy. Put a blemish on something they think they can\u2019t have.<\/p>\n<p>Second, things must change. When they started AEW the motto was \u201cchange the world\u201d. They did and things changed. Then an \u201cold\u201d symbolic figure brought toxicity. Not Sting. But Sting is symbolic of that same old mentality, despite being a man who reportedly has never asserted this with authority or his wrestling ideology.<\/p>\n<p>Sting is a symbol of that old-school way of wrestling. They are loved by veterans who will never give them the respect they want. It\u2019s not about Sting the man; it\u2019s about Sting the symbol. It\u2019s about putting a middle finger on those who overlooked them.<\/p>\n<p>As with every regime, every dictator, or heel government, they want to destroy the symbols of the past. Build their symbol, their idealogy, on the past\u2019s ashes.<\/p>\n<h3><strong><u>Symbols Defy Age<\/u><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/o60NM_Kr4Uo?si=pFHUihcIqsSqR4Hd\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Sting\u2019s legacy defies age. The face paint has changed with time and the face under it has wrinkled. The hair has been dyed to hide the silver. A t-shirt has covered Sting\u2019s singlet. What hasn\u2019t changed is the energy. The instincts. The ability to be a vulnerable human being who needs our sympathy to keep going.<\/p>\n<p>Then somehow find the inhuman strength to resist a chair shot, kick out of a brutal finisher, and fire up like a match being lit in a firework factory. Being able to switch between both at just the right moment has made Sting the ultimate babyface. It defies logic and realism, but it\u2019s the human spirit.<\/p>\n<p>As a symbol, Sting is the bridge between AEW and its spiritual predecessor, <strong>WCW<\/strong>. As a symbol, Sting is one of the few heroes left in wrestling who has not tarnished his legacy with poor in-ring performances or life choices. Sting is as pure and wholesome as a person as any wrestler can hope to be. In an industry driven historically by selfishness politics and abuses of power, Sting is an exception.<\/p>\n<p>This is why many fans want this to be the perfect send-off. This is why fans want the best for Sting. A man whose uncharacteristically been selfless and put the business first his entire career it seems. Few symbols can live up to their legacy.<\/p>\n<p>And yet Sting is a human being. A man who lost his father recently and still had the strength and ability to make that tragedy a story beat. Symbols live forever, but humans do not. Human beings fail and eventually pass.<\/p>\n<h3><strong><u>This is Everything <\/u><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Darby Allin is not Sting\u2019s spiritual successor or a surrogate son. The daredevil and underdog has been presented as an equal to Sting. So much so that the character\u2019s wild abandonment has repeatedly rubbed off on Sting who has performed dives that no sixty-year-old should perform.<\/p>\n<p>Darby draws his energy it seems from similar magic ley lines as the Stinger. Darby has been perhaps Sting\u2019s greatest tag team partner because of how their differences complement each other as much as their similarities. The past and future teaming up in the present.<\/p>\n<p>Holding the AEW Tag Team Championship fits the narrative. It affirms the legitimacy of the AEW structure- and losses matter- because Darby and Sting have been undefeated. It puts immense stakes onto both champion and challengers because of the fate of a division.<\/p>\n<p>Presuming this is the main event of <strong>Revolution<\/strong>, it gives The Young Bucks the match position that has alluded them in their AEW run so far and the champions the chance to leave it all behind.<\/p>\n<p>In Darby Allin\u2019s own words, this match \u201c<em>scares me. This is the very last match. There is nothing left to lose\u2026 I know that I\u2019ll stop at nothing to make sure it\u2019s one of the most memorable matches that he\u2019s ever had. People are always going to remember this. It\u2019s my mission statement to make sure that this man\u2019s career ends with the respect it deserves. If I have to sacrifice myself, so be it, a sacrifice must be made<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0 (Darby Allin, speaking on the Battleground Podcast).<\/p>\n<h3><strong><u>There are Few Perfect Endings in Wrestling <\/u><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/BAJKk8aCeoc?si=qB2C1BoRq-6t4iG7\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>On Sunday, the world ends again. It\u2019s Ragnar\u00f6k again. The heroes overcome age, and the establishment and retain the villains prove the symbol is a man and a new era begins. Sting\u2019s legacy becomes immortalized.<\/p>\n<p>The Young Bucks and Darby Allin will move into new roles, changed by the events. It begins again and a new end of the world will be built. Their legacies still have peaks and troughs, highs and lows to reach.<\/p>\n<p>The man called Sting rides into the sunset. Either driving tall, proud, and indestructible like an icon or slumped over, made mortal, wounded, and a man facing death.<\/p>\n<h3>More From LWOS Pro Wrestling<\/h3>\n<p><em>Header photo \u2013 AEW \u2013 Stay tun<\/em><em>ed to the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-auth=\"NotApplicable\" data-linkindex=\"1\" target=\"_self\">Last Word on Pro Wrestling<\/a>\u00a0for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world. As well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world.\u00a0 You can catch AEW Dynamite on Wednesday nights at 8 PM ET on TBS. AEW Rampage airs on TNT at 10 PM EST every Friday night. AEW Collision airs Saturday at 8pm Eastern on TNT. More AEW content available on their\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@AEW\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">YouTube<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Match Point is an ongoing series at Last Word on Pro Wrestling, where we look at intriguing matchups in indie wrestling and beyond. They may be dream matches, first-time matchups, or hotly anticipated rematches. In this edition, we will focus on the final match of the legendary Sting. Chasing Perfect The perfect start to any [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4960,"featured_media":123040,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4677,6,2192],"tags":[5979,290,491,1603,1604,469,395,588,681,423,297,176,250],"class_list":["post-123033","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aew","category-north-america","category-wrestling","tag-aew-revolution","tag-brian-cage","tag-darby-allin","tag-matt-jackson","tag-nick-jackson","tag-ric-flair","tag-shawn-michaels","tag-sting","tag-terry-funk","tag-the-elite","tag-the-undertaker","tag-the-young-bucks","tag-wcw"],"modified_by":"Michael Joseph Sugue, Manager","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123033","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4960"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=123033"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123033\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/123040"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=123033"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=123033"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=123033"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}