When Sting signed with AEW in December, it was quickly confirmed that he would return to the ring at some point with the possibility of cinematic matches being discussed.
At AEW Revolution, Sting had his first official match since 2015 when he teamed with Darby Allin to battle Ricky Starks & Brian Cage in a cinematic street fight.
Speaking to The Doctor Chris Mueller of Bleacher Report, Sting revealed that a ring was sent to his house to knock off any ring rust after five-plus years of being retired.
"After five-and-a-half years of not being in a ring, there was some rust on me, for sure, especially with guys in the ring like Darby, Ricky Starks and Brian Cage. These guys are incredible. Tony Khan asked me if I wanted a ring sent to my house and thankfully, I have a barn that is insulated with climate control. We put the ring in there, and I had to get used to running the ropes again, and it was an eye-opener for me. It was a challenge. I didn't recover as quick as I used to. It was grueling. I had a lot of work to get my cardio ready to go and get into good physical condition. It was tougher than it's ever been but I got there," he said.
Sting has been tied to Allin before he made his official debut on AEW television and when discussing how the match was put together, praised Darby for taking the reigns and putting his creativity into it.
"There were times I felt like I am along for the ride, but it's hard for me not to plug myself in creatively on certain aspects. I would speak up and have my own ideas, but I have to tell you: Darby is probably the most creative I have seen. He has a mind for the wrestling business and cinematography. I think he is going to be one of those guys that a lot of people are going to end up working for someday. He is multi-talented. It was really cool working with Darby," he said.
When discussing the filming of the match and how much it took out of him, he said, "The cinematic was fun. I would like to do more of those for sure, but I came out of it in shambles. It took its toll on me. It was two nights of filming and that was pretty tough. It can be taxing on the body especially at my age. It was 12 hours instead of being in the ring for 30-40 minutes. I love filming. I have done movies and TV, and I always have fun with that stuff. The tough part was all of the hours and the recovery time."
Sting has been a weekly fixture on AEW television since his debut in December. It is unknown when he will step in the ring again.
Fightful will have live coverage of AEW Dynamite beginning at 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday.
