Top AEW star recalls interesting first meeting with Sting

AEW is getting ready to send Sting off into retirement. The veteran has been with the company for a few years and has left a major impression on the locker room.

Sting and Darby Allin first teamed up at AEW Revolution 2021. Since then, they have dominated the competition and are the current World Tag Team Champions. Their next challenge will come in the form of The Young Bucks at Revolution on March 3.

Allin recently penned a piece for The Player's Tribune to pay tribute to his mentor. The 31-year-old recalled the first time he met The Icon:

"When I got paired with Sting, I didn’t know what to expect. It’s funny — for weeks they had me up in the rafters, and I wasn’t sure why. You’d think I would’ve put two and two together, but I didn’t. I was just like, 'Sit in the rafters? OK cool.' But then at some point someone said, 'Yo….. you know why we’re doing this, right? Sting’s coming.' And I just remember thinking how crazy that sounded. Like, I couldn’t process it. STING? And in his first show back…. he’s going to have a staredown with ME? Haha what the f***," he wrote.

Allin continued and recalled how former AEW Executive Vice President Cody Rhodes introduced him to The Stinger before Dynamite:

"An hour before the show, Cody pulled me aside. He was like, 'Alright. Sting’s here. I want you to meet him before you go out there.' Then he walked me over to Sting’s trailer. It happened so fast, I barely had time to remember how nervous I was. But there was nothing to be nervous about. We started talking through the segment, and it was actually wild: there was no ego from him, no big-timing, no This is how it’s gonna happen, kid. None of that. If anything, it was the other way around. He was asking me how it’s gonna happen, and if I was OK with this, this and this, and if everything was cool. We’re talking about a guy who’s headlined some of the biggest shows ever, made s***loads of money, been on top longer than I’ve been alive. He’s showing up for this massive return. And his main concern is that I’m feeling comfortable. A 27-year-old nobody who he’s probably thinking jacked half his look. I was just like, WHAT IS HAPPENING. THIS IS INSANE. HOW IS STING SO NICE," he wrote.

Allin noted that this was in December 2020. He referred to this as "the start of this amazing ride" with the former WCW World Heavyweight Champion.

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A look at Sting and Darby Allin in AEW

Sting will retire at AEW Revolution on March 3 as he and Darby Allin defend the World Tag Team Championship against The Young Bucks. The bout will be held under Texas Tornado rules.

The Stinger made his AEW in-ring debut at Revolution 2021 as he and Allin defeated Ricky Starks and Brian Cage in a Street Fight. The cinematic-style match was filmed earlier in Atlanta.

Since Revolution 2021, Sting and Allin have worked 24 tag team or multi-man matches together, and they have won every single time. The 64-year-old Sting has not wrestled any other matches since joining the company.

The last match Sting and Allin wrestled was their first title win. They captured the AEW World Tag Team Championship from Starks and Big Bill on February 7 in the Dynamite main event. Their next match will come at Revolution, and this will be the last for The Vigilante.

What do you think of Sting's overall AEW run? How would you book the retirement match at Revolution? Sound off in the comments below!