Massive speculation on when Sting's AEW contract expires
Sting has been one of the most exciting signings in AEW history since arriving in December 2020. However, there is now some speculation about when his contract with All Elite Wrestling will expire.
The WWE Hall of Famer made his shocking AEW debut during the 2020 Winter is Coming edition of Dynamite. Upon his arrival, he sided with Cody Rhodes and Darby Allin, the latter of which he became a mentor.
Despite retiring from in-ring action during his time in WWE, Sting decided to take the risk and try his hand at wrestling once again. He initially competed in a Street Fight against Team Taz at the 2021 Revolution pay-per-view.
Since then, The Icon has been a true attraction for AEW, but that might not be for much longer. On the Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer suggested that Sting's contract with All Elite Wrestling could expire before the end of 2023.
“He’s been talking retirement a lot lately. I think him and Tony [Khan] have kind of figured out whatever it is, the way they’re going out, I don’t know exactly when but it will be—he said when his contract expires, so I’m going to guess if he signed—he came in around December I think, it was November or December a couple of years ago, so it’s probably towards the end of this year." [0:12 - 0:34]
If you would told us in 2020 that @Sting would be wrestling the following year, we would’ve called you a liar. Yet, here we are. 🦂
AEW Revolution March 7th, 2021: Darby Allin and Sting vs. Team Taz in a Street Fight. #AShow2021
https://t.co/wPvmexIO5Z
Dave Meltzer did acknowledge that the WWE Hall of Famer has said this in the past, especially during his time in TNA Wrestling. However, in Meltzer's eyes, Sting might be serious about hanging up his boots this time.
"He made it clear this was his last contract, but then again he said that before too. I mean every year he was in TNA he would say this is his last contract, but he’s kind of been joking about he always wanted to be one of those guys who didn’t stay on that long, and then he goes like ‘I stayed longer than anybody.'” [0:35 - 1:00]
Sting recently celebrated the retirement of one of his greatest rivals
AEW fans were left in shock at the Grand Slam edition of Rampage in September 2022 when The Great Muta made his debut for the company. The Japanese legend came to Sting and Darby Allin's rescue during their No-Disqualification Match with Brody King and Buddy Matthews.
Despite being rivals in companies like WCW, NJPW, and NWA in the '80s and '90s, the two legends were once again on the same page. This eventually planted the seeds for what would end up being The Great Muta's final match.
2) Sting competed with Darby Allin and The Great Muta hours ago in a six-man-tag for Muta's final swan song as that iconic character.
As for Sting, he has stated that this would likely be his final trip to Japan but insisted that Darby join him for this moment.
#byebyeMUTA https://t.co/ilaxnDTWUQ
At the recent Great Muta Final Bye-Bye show for Pro Wrestling NOAH, The Great Muta wrestled the final match of his career with Sting and Darby Allin by his side in a six-man tag team match.
They would go on to defeat the all-star team of former WWE Superstar Hakushi, Pro Wrestling NOAH legend Naomichi Marifuji and former IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion AKIRA in what was the show's main event.
Did you watch The Great Muta's final match? Let us know in the comments section down below!
Please credit the Wrestling Observer Radio and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling when using quotes from this article.