“Bittersweet Goodbye?” Sting Gets Emotional After Final ‘2025 or Never’ Tour — Hints AEW Door Isn’t Fully Closed
Sting may be done wearing the face paint on the road, but the emotions from his final fan tour are still hitting hard. Speaking with Denise Salcedo after wrapping up the last stop of his “2025 or Never” convention tour, the wrestling icon opened up about what it really felt like to say goodbye—while admitting the reality didn’t fully sink in until others reminded him what the moment truly meant.
At first, Sting said it felt like just another appearance.
“I feel completely normal. This is just another gig for me,” he explained.
But that calm didn’t last long.
It was the people around him—especially his family and longtime friends—who made the moment impossible to ignore. Sting revealed that his daughter flooded his phone with crying emojis, reminding him this wasn’t just another date on the calendar.
“‘Dad, this is your last one ever,’” she told him.
Add in close friends showing up in person and fans treating every interaction like a final chapter, and the weight of the moment became unavoidable.
“There’s this strong undercurrent of ‘Wow, this is the end. This really is it,’” Sting said. “I don’t know how to put it into words… but it’s definitely there. Bittersweet for sure.”
While he admitted he won’t miss the nonstop travel—planes, trains, and everything in between—what he will miss are the fans. And not just the loud arena reactions.
“It’s the meet-and-greets, the one-on-ones, the story time,” Sting shared. “Hearing what fans have to say is incredible. They’re so appreciative and grateful—and so am I.”
Sting’s in-ring career officially came to a close at AEW Revolution 2023, where he and Darby Allin defeated The Young Bucks to retain the AEW World Tag Team Titles, finishing his AEW run undefeated and on his own terms.
As for whether this goodbye is truly permanent?
Sting made one thing clear: the love between him and the fans isn’t ending anytime soon.
“I just want to say thank you. I love you—all of you,” he said. “We’ve had a love affair going on for many decades now, and I’ll miss you for sure.”
And in a line that will surely spark speculation, Sting left the door cracked open just enough to keep hope alive:
“There will be little bits and pieces with AEW, I’m sure, down the road.”
The face paint may be retired—but when it comes to Sting, it sounds like this legend isn’t disappearing completely just yet.
