Sting: One Reason I Left WWE Is Because I Knew A Match Against Undertaker Wasn’t Going To Happen

All Sting wanted was one last ride against The Undertaker. 

Sting officially joined AEW in December 2020 and wasted little time getting back in on the action. He competed in a cinematic match at AEW Revolution and will make his live action in-ring return at AEW Double or Nothing. 

Though Sting hadn’t wrestled since 2015 and was under WWE contract, he wasn’t used often after his WWE Hall of Fame induction in 2016. A cinematic match with The Undertaker may have been able to keep him around. 

“I wanted that to happen,” said Sting in an interview with Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated. “I was very clear publicly, and I was very clear with WWE, as well. I wanted my last hurrah against Taker. For whatever reason, it just never materialized. To this day, I don’t know why. Maybe Taker never wanted to work with me. I have no idea. I mean, I’ve had good conversations with Taker and we’ve always got along. I don’t know why the match never happened, but it should have happened. Because it wasn’t going to happen, and I knew it, and that wasn’t the only reason why I left WWE, but it’s one of the reasons why I left. I wanted that one last match.”

WWE teased a potential Sting vs. Undertaker match many times on social media over the years, but it never came to fruition and Undertaker has said his WrestleMania 36 Boneyard match against AJ Styles will be the final match of his career. 

When discussing his role in AEW, Sting said, “When I started in AEW, I remember getting asked if I planned on being a mentor or teaching. And of course I do, but after five or six years of not being involved on a heavy level, wrestling can pass you by. The wrestling industry has changed a lot. Most of the guys, these young guys, they’re teaching me. I’m learning a lot about the wrestling business, how it has evolved, and how the way to tell a story has evolved. Even the moves, everything is completely different. I really appreciate it for what it is now, and I’m still trying to figure out how to plug myself in, taking the old school and mixing it with the new school. So far, it’s been a good balance. Even though I was retired, I didn’t want to disappear,” said Sting. “And it was the way in which I departed WWE. I’d rather go out making some sort of statement. I just love to entertain and I love to learn, and I’m learning a lot from these young guys. I wish I could have ran up and down the road with some of these guys 20 years ago, especially Darby Allin. He is just so talented.”

Sting is set to team with Darby Allin in a bout against Ethan Page & Scorpio Sky at AEW Double or Nothing. 

You can read about Sting’s influence on Allin by clicking here. 

Figthful will have live coverage of AEW Double or Nothing beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET.