Steven Borden has opened up about finding his way into professional wrestling, revealing that his father Sting initially hoped he would take a different path.

Speaking with Renee Paquette, the AEW newcomer explained that wrestling was not always an obvious career choice, despite growing up as the son of one of its biggest stars. Instead, Borden pursued football and became increasingly disconnected from the business.

“For my whole life, it was something that I was pushed away from. And not in a bad way. I think my dad wanted something different for me. And so I played football, and at some point, I feel like I was so removed from it that I almost didn’t even know what wrestling really was,” he said.

His outlook began to change when he became involved in the build-up to Sting’s retirement match at AEW Revolution in 2024. Sharing that experience with his father gave Borden a new appreciation for wrestling and everything surrounding it.

“This is his whole career. And I’ve been so removed from it for my whole life,” he said. “And being involved, we were at the Phoenix show. We got involved a little bit leading into Revolution. And then being there at Revolution, I started to see what this business actually was, and see also some of the different sides of it that I hadn’t understood as a kid.”

Watching Sting bring his decades-long career to a close also prompted Borden to think about his own future. He realised that his growing interest in wrestling was something he wanted to explore.

“I think just realizing, like watching my dad, realizing this guy’s been in the business for decades,” he continued. “And those same decades are gonna fly by for me. If there’s something that is pulling me into it, I think I need to stop running from that, and I probably did run from it for a long time.”

Borden now has a significant opportunity ahead at AEW All Out on Saturday, September 26. He will team with Darby Allin against Kyle Fletcher and Kevin Knight, with a shot at the AEW World Tag Team Championship at stake.