2026 is the year of wrestling retirements. NJPW President Hiroshi Tanahashi kicked off the new year with his in-ring retirement, then came WWE star AJ Styles and now Extreme Championship Wrestling legend The Sandman.
Sandman’s career began in the early ‘90s where he very quickly became a face of ECW. He’s most known for his “Enter Sandman” entrance and Singapore cane (rattan stick) — his signature weapon of choice. Sandman remained with ECW until they closed doors in 2001.
At the same time, he was appearing in WCW, a promotion on the rise as a direct competitor of WWE. He was later part of the ECW revival that WWE created and had various WWE appearances throughout the early 2000s. Despite being over 60 years old, he’s wrestled at least one match a year, the most recent taking place in October.
This is the 10th iteration of Joey Janela’s Spring Break which is part of GCW’s Collective weekend every WrestleMania. Sandman made a run-in during Sabu’s unforgettable retirement match against Janela last year, and he’ll give his final bow at the same event.
The Sandman’s final match
There’s no indication of who Sandman’s final opponent will be — Janela or otherwise — but an announcement will likely come very soon. It’s one of the most anticipated events every Mania weekend, and tickets are already moving fast. As of this writing, GCW has sold out seven rows of platinum seats just on the Sandman retirement match announcement alone. Other shows happening during The Collective weekend are Effy’s Big Gay Brunch 10, Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport 13, Progress Wrestling, Defy Wrestling, and Tokyo Joshi-Pro Wrestling, to name a few.
The Collective weekend shows are taking place at The Horseshoe Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada on Friday, April 17. It will stream live on TrillerTV+.
Stay tuned for more announcements as they come.
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