Who would you put Sting against for his last match?
dirt.
Failing that: the booking was obvious. You don't just deadpan announce his retirement with nothing there. Shoulda been 'I'm putting this as the deadline. But I want to go out as high as I can. Darby and I are going for those tag titles, because I want to retire alongside this man at the top of the division'. And you build them getting tag wins and throw all these 8-mans in the bushes. So come Revolution, it's Starks and Bill vs Darby and Sting.
Starks and Bill retain.
You give that 'I retired Sting' to Starks. Someone young enough to get miles out of it, but also invested in the business enough to get some depth from it.
This leads you to a Starks/Darby program down the line with stakes as Darby looks to avenge his mentor and get Starks to stop crowing about his accomplishment.
Instead, it's been a bunch of nonsense throwaway multi-man matches leading to... a match with the Bucks that Darby will need to carry and mostly spend his time selling nonsense 'newly heel' Young Bucks offense? It benefits no one
except the EVPs.