AEW's Anthony Bowens Shares Throwback Photo In Sting Makeup While Paying Tribute

Sunday's AEW Revolution 2024 pay-per-view saw Sting wrestle the final match of his illustrious career. To close the curtain on his legendary run, "The Icon" successfully teamed up with his protégé Darby Allin to retain the AEW World Tag Team Championship against The Young Bucks in a Tornado Tag bout. Sting ultimately ended his in-ring career by going undefeated in Tony Khan's promotion.

Paying tribute to the WWE Hall of Famer's storied wrestling legacy, AEW's Anthony Bowens shared an image on X of himself as a child wearing Sting-inspired facepaint. He captioned the image with, "Thank you Sting. My love of this sport started with you. Your support and confidence in me has meant the world. There's a saying you should never meet your heroes, but I'm so glad you proved that to be false. You're the f*****g man. Thank you for everything. [scissor emoji] [scorpion emoji] #AEWRevolution #ForeverStinger @Sting @AEW."

Thank you Sting. My love of this sport started with you. Your support and confidence in me has meant the world.

There's a saying you should never meet your heroes, but I'm so glad you proved that to be false. You're the fucking man.

Thank you for everything. ✂️🦂... pic.twitter.com/1klkfG43fI

— Anthony Bowens (@Bowens_Official) March 4, 2024

During the final stretch of Sting's career, Bowens got the chance to step into the ring with his hero. On the January 19, 2022 "AEW Dynamite," The Acclaimed (Bowens and Max Caster) tasted defeat against Sting and Allin in tag team action. Months later, Bowens admitted he cried in front of Sting in the locker room after that bout. The former AEW World Tag Team Champion noted how pleased Sting was with their match, and said it meant a great deal to him to receive approval and acceptance from the veterans, especially from someone like the WCW franchise.