On a recent edition of his “Hall of Fame” podcast, WWE Hall of Famer Booker T discussed Sting and Darby Allin winning the AEW World Tag Team Championships, Allin’s rise as a singles star, and more.
You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:
On Sting & Allin winning the AEW World Tag Team Titles: “Sting, you know, he’s having a hell of a swan song. I must say that. Literally, because he jumped out something last night. Swan song, you know what I mean? And I thought he was gonna kill himself. The thing is, when I was watching it he was — you know, they were fighting in the stands. Boom, he just hit whoever he was working with… I don’t keep up with a whole lot of AEW, I must say. But I knew this match was going down, so I said, ‘I must see Sting go for the Tag Team Championships.’ I remember when Darby Allin had proposed Sting and him going for the Tag Team Championships. I thought that was pretty cool. But when I was watching — I think Sting nailed Ricky Starks, and then Ricky Starks went down. And Sting just kept walking up, and I got ‘Ohhh, somethings finna happen.’ And he just disappeared, and then reappeared on the ledge there and I go, ‘Oh, Sting’s finna do it, he’s gonna do it.’ And Bam, man!
“I don’t know, man. I gotta give him credit. I gotta give him a lot of credit for going out the way he’s going out. After the doctor said, ‘You’ll never do this again.’ I don’t know how Sting’s gonna be feeling after this run is over. But definitely, I must say, this is like a Higher Power thing. You know, God has definitely been on his side in this last run. God has really been on his side, you know what I mean? They always talk about the power of prayer. And I must say, in this situation right here, that’s the only thing I can attribute it to, Sting’s last run, is God is literally on his side and guides him through this thing. That’s it. And I’m not just saying that for any other reason other than that [there] is no reason a guy that’s 63 years old, 64 years old, should possibly be jumping off something like that and then standing back up. And not have just done it one time, he’s done it several times, going into the tables. God has been with Sting throughout this whole run.”
On Sting’s big dive in the match: “I’m gonna tell you right now, it was gnarly, bro [Sting hitting his hip on the dive’ That’s why I say, for him to take that and get up. I was like, ‘Mam!’ Because one thing about gravity, you know, it pulls that way, just naturally. But as you get older, it pulls a lot harder. It really does. It’s just like — say for instance, when you see one of these young guys do that same jump off that ledge, they’re gonna get some air. You know, when you’re older, you just want to — you just want to get off it and let gravity do the rest. You don’t want to try to add anything to it.
“And I tell you, for me as a wrestler. When I got older like 45, the landings from that dropkick off the top rope was a whole lot stiffer than they were at 35 and 25. And I was like, ‘Man, let me throw this move out,’ you know. Because I just knew, it hurt me when I did it. So for me, when I see Sting at his age still going out there and doing stuff like that, I give him a lot of credit for going out there and finishing this thing the way he’s doing. And his legacy gonna be well intact after he finishes this thing. No matter what, Sting’s legacy is gonna be one of those guys that did it his way, he did everything.“
On the rise of Darby Allin: “Man, I give that kid Darby Allen a lot of credit as well. Because he could have been like a real sourpuss about Sting coming in and you know, taking his shine away from him. Now Sting’s the mascot. But for him to fall in line and say ‘Man, Sting’s a legend. And Sting is a true legend to this game, and for me to be able to soak up a little bit of that knowledge?’ You know, it’s one thing to — but to be able to be partners with him? Can you imagine that?
“I can only imagine how that kid really really felt, because it seemed like he bought in from day one. And that right there was really the key to, like you say, Sting really having this last run and doing this last run properly. Because of a lot of weight, you know, a lot of lifting did go to the kid, but Sting did his part as well. Sting did his part as well. And together, they definitely created a — I don’t know, this two different forces coming from two different planets-like type things. I mean, like from two totally different eras… that’s what those guys seemed like they pulled it off. And I’m sure Darby Allin is going to look back on this as being one of the highlights of his career.”
