This is Sting!

IT’S STILL REAL TO ME, DAMMIT!

Fans tuned in to the Wednesday, December 2 edition of AEW Dynamite for the biggest TV main event in All Elite Wrestling’s short history. They also got one of the most unexpected and coolest moments in wrestling this year.

Yeah, that’s Sting! Sting was last seen doing a brief legends run in WWE before his career was ultimately ended on a bad turnbuckle spot in a PPV main event with Seth Rollins. But for anyone who ever tuned in to watch wrestling on TNT back in the day, the last time they saw Sting was on the March 26, 2001 edition of WCW Monday Nitro. So the Icon’s sudden appearance was a special moment for a lot of old-school wrestling fans.

And it was a special moment for announcer Tony Schiavone, who called Sting’s last Nitro match back in 2001. Try and find as much pure joy in anything as Tony had in calling Sting’s big return.

Sting stopped in to chase off Team Taz and stare down everyone in the ring, including old enemy Arn Anderson, top company face Cody Rhodes, and current TNT Champion Darby Allin. And Darby (who was eight years old when Sting had his last Nitro match) looked like he wasn’t having any of this.

Sting is obviously WAAAAAAAY too old to wrestle, so don’t expect any dream matches or the like. But for the way AEW pulled this shocker off, it was one of the most memorable moments in Dynamite history. It’s part of why old fogies like me still love this fake sport.