Why AEW Star Sting Says 'Real Men Cry'

As Sting enters the home stretch of his legendary career, with his retirement scheduled for AEW Revolution next year, it's understandable it would be an emotional time. But that's not something the Stinger is looking to run away from. Talking with "Sports Illustrated," Sting made the case for why it takes a real man to shed some tears, especially when they're in a public setting.

"I've never mentioned this to the press, or even in the dressing room, but real men cry," Sting said. "I've been emotional, full of tears, twice in my career. The first was Panama City when Ric and I had the last WCW match on 'Nitro.' The second was last week on 'Dynamite.'" It's not a coincidence that the moments that moved Sting to tears both happened to include "Nature Boy" Ric Flair, who made his debut in AEW last week as Tony Khan's "gift" to Sting. Sting compared his moment with Flair last week to their match on the final "WCW Nitro" in 2001, indicating that, overall, last week measured up just a little bit more.

"When Ric came out and I heard his music play, it hit me," Sting said. "I had this flashback, and it made me emotional. Ric is the guy who put me on the map. We've traveled around the world together, and Ric helped make me. Now he's going to finish with me. After all the travel, all the matches, all the press slams, all the chops, and all the woos ... I experienced the same feeling on 'Dynamite' this past week with Ric that I did on that final 'Nitro.' Except this time, it was so much more positive."