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The retirement match Sting wrestled last spring at AEW Double or Nothing seems to be the relatively rare case of a pro wrestling retirement that actually sticks. The Icon teased an appearance at All Out Texas. But even though his “Now or Never” convention & signing tour — his last in full face paint and gear before he hangs those up at the end of 2025 — took him to Arlington that weekend, he take didn’t end up showing up on the PPV.
Stinger didn’t have any dates booked for Philadelphia this week, but he did show up as AEW wrapped up their residency in the 2300 Arena.
Sting doesn’t have history in the former ECW Arena, but he had close ties to someone who did — the late “Hot Stuff” Eddie Gilbert.
Tony Khan paid tribute to Gilbert last night (Sept. 11). In a segment that happened after the last match and presumably won’t air on TNT or HBO Max, Khan brought out Eddie’s brother Doug, Tommy Rich, and Jeff Jarrett. He also introduced Sting, who was in full gear to explain how his big breaks in wrestling all went back to Eddie Gilbert (they worked together often in Bill Watt’s Mid-South/UWF when Sting was early in his career, with Gilbert often credited with recognizing Sting’s potential, especially as a babyface). The Icon and the other speakers also reminded fans that Eddie Gilbert was booking Eastern Championship Wrestling when Tod Gordon fired him and replaced him with Gilbert’s young protege, Paul Heyman. So essentially, the ECW most of us think of (Extreme Championship Wrestling) wouldn’t exist without Gilbert.
We may never get an official version of it, but it sounds like a wonderful tribute:
And it looks like Stinger closed it with a “Hot Stuff” chant for his friend and mentor.
When it doesn’t suck, pro wrestling is pretty dang cool.
Homepage image courtesy of JJWilliams and Sting’s Instagram.
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