Previously described by WWE as the greatest wrestler never to have performed for that promotion, Sting finally joined the company in 2014, making his first appearance at Survivor Series and having his debut match at WrestleMania 31 the following year. His last match in WWE came at Night of Champions in September 2015, which also marked his sole WWE pay-per-view main event and WWE World Heavyweight Championship contest for the organization. Sting headlined the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2016 on April 2, where he announced his retirement. His induction rendered him the second performer to be inducted while still an active WWE wrestler, after Ric Flair. In late 2020, Sting signed with AEW, coming out of retirement and had his first match in over five years at the promotion's Revolution pay-per-view on March 7, 2021, a tag team cinematic Street Fight that he and Darby Allin won.