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“The Icon” and his iconic final match at AEW Revolution on Sunday received a shoutout on Monday’s episode of “WWE Raw.”
On commentary, Michael Cole acknowledged Sting during the start of the match pitting Intercontinental Champion GUNTHER against Dominik Mysterio. Cole said he and WWE wanted to send congratulations to “another great champion.”
“After almost 40 years, the great Sting retired from professional wrestling,” Cole said. “Thanks for the memories. Congratulations to Sting.”
Co-commentator Pat McAfee also mentioned that Sting’s match “last night” (he and Darby Allin defended the AEW World Tag Team Championships against the Young Bucks at Revolution on Sunday) was “absolutely epic.”
Sting and Allin successfully defended the titles at Revolution, causing Sting to retire as champion. The tag team titles were vacated due to Sting’s departure and there will be a tournament to crown new champions in the future. Sting, who first gained national fame in World Championship Wrestling, was not initially signed to the then-WWF when Vince McMahon bought WCW. He signed with WWE in 2014 after a run in TNA, making his first appearance at Survivor Series that year and wrestling in his debut match for the company at WrestleMania 31. His last match for WWE was at Night of Champions in 2015, when he suffered a neck injury during a WWE World Heavyweight Championship match against Seth Rollins.
Sting headlined the WWE Hall of Fame class in 2016, where he announced his retirement. However, “The Icon” was cleared to compete in 2020 and signed with AEW, where he went undefeated before his current Retirement.