AEW's Darby Allin Opens Up About Backstage Relationship With Sting

No wrestler wants to be remembered for a last match cut short by injury, but that's almost what happened to Sting at WWE Night of Champions 2015. An errant buckle bomb temporarily left the then-56-year-old without feeling, leading fans to believe they'd seen the last of him in a competitive match. But somehow, someway, AEW coaxed Sting into a final run that Tony Khan believes was the best of his career, partly thanks to an unlikely alliance with Darby Allin.

On TBS's "Meal and a Match," Allin joined hosts RJ City and Renee Paquette, choking down gas station sushi as they watched a coffin match from the August 10, 2022 episode of "AEW Dynamite." When Sting emerged from the coffin, Allin revealed more details about how their partnership began. Allin spent a portion of AEW's pandemic-addled 2020 sitting in the rafters. He admitted he should've known it would lead to Sting's arrival in AEW, but said he was oblivious to it at the time.   

"I didn't put two and two together," Allin said. "Because I think Sting's career's over. He's not doing anything in wrestling, you know? And then all of a sudden they're like, 'You know why you're sitting in the rafters, right?' I'm like, 'No, just because it looks spooky?' And then they're all like, 'Sting's coming' ... It was like so intimidating at first, to walk up to him. But then instantly he's just like, 'Dude, I love everything about you. I love your aesthetic. I love your little cinematic promos,' etc. And I was like, 'Whoa.'"

Allin said their relationship was built on trust, with the veteran Sting letting Allin take the reigns on their presentation and match direction. Reflecting on Sting's curtain call at AEW Revolution, Allin said, "You can't argue and say Sting's last match isn't one of the greatest retirement matches of all time."

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Meal and a Match" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.