Sting spotted with a drastic new look days after emotional announcement

Sting is approaching one year of retirement from active competition, but it's clear that he will remain synonymous with pro wrestling. The legendary star hung up his boots at AEW Revolution 2024 and has continued to make special appearances for his fans. The WWE Hall of Famer's recent announcement is making more sense now that we've seen his new look.

The Icon wrapped his 40-year career and his undefeated AEW run at Revolution 2024 in the historic Greensboro Coliseum, teaming with Darby Allin to retain the World Tag Team Championship over The Young Bucks. Since then, Sting has made a few All Elite bookings, plus several conventions and signings. The 65-year-old recently shocked the wrestling world by announcing that 2025 will be his final year appearing for fans in full gear, including his signature war paint.

The Stinger officially kicked off his final appearance tour on Saturday at OG Collectibles in Downey, California. Appearing from 11 am to 2 pm, the TNA Hall of Famer met numerous fans and was praised for interacting with every single person. The promoter was also praised for running a smooth event.

One big topic of discussion coming out of the event was the look that the man known as Steven Borden was sporting. It seems like the fan-favorite legend is retiring the paint as he's ready to sport a different, bearded full-time look in his real life.

The Vigilante worked 29 matches in AEW, and all were tag team bouts with Allin, plus other partners in multi-man matches such as CM Punk, Sammy Guevara, The Hardys, Shingo Takagi, Miro, Orange Cassidy, Keith Lee, Tetsuya Naito, Hook, Chris Jericho, and Adam Copeland.

Sting sends a message to Darby Allin

Sting and Darby Allin formed a special bond during their run together in AEW. After retiring, the WCW Legend publicly declared Darby to be his best tag team partner ever.

The Daredevil celebrated his 32nd birthday earlier this month. The Icon took to Instagram to send well wishes to his final tag team partner:

"Happy birthday young man Darby! From OLD MAN STING [scorpion emoji]," he wrote with the photo below.

The Icon and Allin teamed up for the first time at Revolution 2021. The cinematic Street Fight saw the fan favorites defeat Ricky Starks and Brian Cage of Team Taz. The 14-minute pre-recorded match aired as the co-main event of the night.