It’s been almost one full year since Sting was last in a WWE ring. Of course, back at last year’s Night of Champions show, “The Icon” was badly injured in his WWE World Heavyweight Championship match with Seth Rollins. Following the match, it was revealed that Sting had suffered a neck injury during the match, and that he was lucky to have been able to walk out on his own two feet following the contest.
We later learned that Sting was suffering from a condition known as spinal stenosis , which is the same condition that ended fellow WWE Hall of Famer Edge’s in-ring career. But, even though it doesn’t seem likely that WWE will allow Sting to wrestle one more match, “The Vigilante” is still hoping to come back and wrestle The Undertaker.
In the latest episode of Legends with JBL on the WWE Network, Sting said that he hasn’t yet undergone neck surgery , because if he does, that’ll mean his pro wrestling career would be over. Of course, he did officially retire at this year’s WWE Hall of Fame ceremony, but apparently he’s not actually ready to hang it up, because he feels that he has unfinished business in WWE.
“That’s the unfinished business — I’ve always wanted to have that match [with The Undertaker], and I know that wrestling fans have always wanted to see it too.”
Sting said that he’s not getting neck surgery right now because that would probably mean that he’s done with wrestling, and he, in the words of JBL, wants to finish on his feet, with one last hurrah.
For whatever reason, WWE chairman Vince McMahon has been against booking an Undertaker vs. Sting match, despite the fact that fans have been calling for it for well over five years. Since his arrival in WWE, some of Sting’s promo segments have been bombarded with “Undertaker!” chants, which is the WWE audience’s way of letting the company know that they want to see Sting vs. Undertaker. Of course, Sting has always acknowledged the chants, but the company has not.
Sting is 57-years-old, so if he were to return for one final match, he’d have to do it soon. But, that decision isn’t up to him, it’s up to WWE, and it’s looking like they’re unwilling to risk a catastrophe by booking Sting in one more match, no matter how bad he, or the WWE fans, want to see it.
It’s unclear if WWE would even be able to book Sting vs. Undertaker in the future, because, according to various sources, Undertaker told Vince McMahon that he was done with wrestling following his match with Shane McMahon at WrestleMania 32. Of course, that could, and probably will change, as he’ll likely be a part of WrestleMania 33. But, if Undertaker doesn’t come back, then Sting probably won’t come back, because that’s the only match that “The Icon” wants at this point.
The interview with JBL revealed a few interesting things, one of which was that Sting was scheduled to wrestle Kurt Angle at WrestleMania 18 in the spring of 2002. But, Sting ultimately decided to not sign with WWE, because he didn’t trust that the company would use him correctly. Later in the interview, he admitted that his decision to not sign with WWE in the early 2000s was a mistake, because he missed out on wrestling guys like Shawn Michaels, Brock Lesnar, The Rock, and, of course, The Undertaker.
Before he was forced into retirement, Sting was scheduled to begin a program with Bray Wyatt, which would’ve led to a match between the two at WrestleMania 32 . Of course, Bray ended up not wrestling at all on the card, but he did have a pretty memorable segment with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
[Image via WWE]