Sting to retire soon!

[ShinChan]

TMZ is reporting WCW legend and 2016 WWE Hall of Fame inductee Sting is retiring from in-ring wrestling competition.

According to sources close to Sting, the reason for retirement is due to injuring his neck last year, with several doctors agree the risk factor for Sting to make a comeback is just too high. Sting was reportedly diagnosed with cervical spinal stenosis, which is actually the same condition that forced Edge to retire back in 2011.

TMZ says it’s believed Sting might make the official announcement at the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony in Texas next month, but either way this decision to retirement is “a done deal.”

Sting is said to be open to a non-physical role with WWE, but no formal offers have been made to him.

So Sting will most probably retire this Wrestlemania due to the neck injury. He is really a wrestling legend. First Bryan retires due to injury and now Sting might. I had even read that Tyson Kidd also might retire.

The thing that disturbs me is that Sting was really underuitilized in WWE. He wrestled only 3 matches. That loss against Triple H at Wrestlemania 31 wasn't the right decision. And then he was unlucky enough to suffer a serious injury. Best of Luck for his future though.

 

[Piss Bucket]

Under-utilised? I kind of agree with that, he had what? 3 matches in WWE and lost at least 2 of them! Eh? His match against HHH at Mania 31 was rubbish, and boo to HHH for not putting Sting over in his debut match, if they wanted to bring in the DX/NWO thing they should've made it an 8 Man Tag, Sting and the NWO versus HHH and DX.

 

[Dragonslayer]

WOW man, what a career.

Truly a legend of the business, and you really can't say a bad thing about the guy. Always a team player, and apparently just a really good guy outside the ring as well.

Personally, I would've loved to see the Sting/Taker showdown at some point, they should have pulled the trigger on that as soon as they had the chance. The WM match against Triple H was underwhelming, but aside from that... hey, if at 56 years old, the last match you have is a main event WWE World Title match and you pull of a decent enough effort, despite getting injured in the match... I'd say that's a pretty good way to out, and ending on a high note.

The injury is very unfortunate of course and I'm hoping there won't be any long-term ramifications for Sting due to that... but if you look past the injury, that's about as good a way to go out as you can wish for.

Sure, one high-profile victory and that "moment" in WWE would have been perfect for Sting, but I guess he himself had it when he walked out in that stadium for WM against Triple H... that "one last time" in the spotlight of the "big leagues". It was more than well deserved for a guy of his caliber, even if he should've gone over. WWE could and possibly should have used him more, but who knows, maybe he can even take on an on-air "general manager" or similar type of role sometime in the future, where he can still be entertaining even if he doesn't lace up the boots anymore.

All in all, I tip my hat to Sting - thanks for everything.

 

[dsotm5150]

Sting has had such an amazing career, and in his prime was as popular as anybosy else to come along before and after him. His charisma unmatched, and he encompassed the WCW era from start to finish, despite being overshadowed by the arrivals of Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Kevin Nash, and Goldberg, Sting was always the man the fans wanted to see. He was a leader in the ring, a leader in the locker room and is one of the most beloved of all time by not only the fans, but by his peers as well. Despite arriving in WWE in the twighlight of his career, he looked great, he was performing great in the ring, and had a renewed passion and excitement for wrestling we hadn't seen out of him in a long time.

My only disappointment in his career is that he didn't get to go out on his own terms, I truly feel he intended to wrestle atleast one last time and finally get his Wrestlemania win, but despite how wrong I feel he's been used in WWE, he went out headlining a WWE Heavyweight Championship match, that despite being injured he finished up,even with that roll up being called as an "audible" it was almost a throwback to how Sting won his first World Heavyweight Championship back in 1990 against Ric Flair. With a roll up. Sting finally gets his big WWE win in a few short weeks when he gets inducted into the Hall of Fame. An epilogue to an amazing career, a career he made without the help of Vince McMahon.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

He got beat with a sledgehammer and a ton of other shenanigans by the guy who is now representing WWE as their champion in a very competitive match. Lets not get carried away with the "should haves".

None of this is a surprise. We all kind of knew that there was no coming back from that injury. Still getting inducted in to the WWE Hall of Fame so quickly is a testament to his career (and a lack of headliners to put in). He succeeded in different organizations and roles. He will probably have some small regret of having to bow out this way and never getting his UT match but that should never deter from what he accomplished over his career.

 

[Azane]

Sting, 2-2 in WWE

He beat the Big show twice.

Such a sad use of a legend in his last years, HHH just had to put himself over.

I think most of us saw this coming though, ever since the news of his injury at the end of NoC, it was being said he would probably be retired from his neck injury.

I'll remember his Early TNA days or WCW days fondly, but the WWE run puts a sour taste in my mouth. At least he got a high card Wrestlemania Match.

 

[RacistHulkHogan]

Hell of a career. Wish he would've came to WWE sooner than he did but understand why he did not. Thanks brother for all you did for the business.

 

[nwocongo]

Sting was the main reason I watched WCW in the early 90's, I legitimately hated Ric Flair during those NWA/WCW feuds when I was a kid. As far as him being under utilized, I would agree if they had signed him 5 years earlier and didn't get their money's worth, but at that point in his career I don't know how much more they could have done with him. I wish he would have went over instead of HHH too but based on how they kept billing it as WWE vs WCW and Monday night wars revamped, and based on how most WCW guys got buried during the invasion angle, how many of us actually expected HHH to lose that match?

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Personally, I don't think he was underutilized at all. Rather, I think too many people had far too lofty expectations and, once again, allowed nostalgic memories from days gone by to blanket the reality that Sting is a man in his mid 50s who's physical capabilities inside the ring haven't exactly been the stuff that dreams are made of for quite a while now. To read some of the various responses in the Sting threads since he signed with WWE, you'd think they were expecting him to just charge out there with the same vigor and ability he had when he was 30 years old. My God, there were actually people who believe that Sting should have been WWE Champion just because they wanted the novelty of Sting having the belt and nothing more.

As for the Sting vs. Triple H match, some loved it because of all the spectacle surrounding it, some didn't care for it because Sting lost. Me, I didn't care for the match because it was obvious that Triple H was carrying Sting the entire length of the match and that all the various shenanigans from DX and the nWo on the outside was part of the plan to disguise Sting's shortcomings. I didn't expect this match to be much because I had doubts as to how Sting would hold up.

As for Taker vs. Sting, I can honestly ay I was never excited about this prospect because of doubts concerning the quality of the match. After WrestleMania XXX and up until the last several times Taker's been in the ring, there were real doubts as to his ability to go anymore when you consider that he never looked physically worse than his match with Lesnar. He was out of shape, he was having trouble moving around the ring and many of us thought that this was the last hurrah. By the time Taker showed up again in great shape and was able to go, Sting himself was the one out on the injured list due to the injuries suffered in his match with Seth Rollins.

Sting had a helluva career, a HOF career that any wrestler would love to be able to lay claim to. He came to WWE, made a few more memories, made a good deal of money, but he suffered significant injury that WWE officials are afraid he won't bounce back from at his age, and rightly so. Sting in WWE wasn't the same Sting from the early 2000s, it wasn't the same Sting who showed up in TNA and had virtual run of the place the entire time he was there. He had some juice left in the tank and delivered what he could; I don't blame Sting nor do I blame WWE for not living up to unrealistic expectations because I criticism was coming no matter what.

 

[Piss Bucket]

Quite frankly, I hate Seth Rollins anyway, but the fact that he practically ended Sting's career, makes me hate him all the more.

 

[kadroan]

I don't think he was underutilized. He debuted in one of the biggest Survivor Series main events in its history. He was in one of the WM main events. He got to compete for the WWE WHC. I could see if he was feuding with The Miz, etc.

 

[Reflection]

Really saddened to hear that Sting is calling it a day. I was hoping that he would take his time to heal and then come back someday for one last hurrah. A part of me was even holding on to the last few molecules of the Taker vs Sting rope and hoping for a miracle, but I guess fate outlives dreams most of the time.

Even though I didn't watch Sting in WCW, I consider myself lucky to have been able to follow his TNA career from Day 1 till 2012 or so, with minor breaks, as well as his brief stint with the WWE. It was good while it lasted. I hope he appears in the RAW after Mania ala Warrior, but that's probably unlikely since he never made big bucks for the WWE during his prime. It's another end of an era. Farewell, Stinger. I just wish he could retire of his own accord.

 

[dsotm5150]

Really saddened to hear that Sting is calling it a day. I was hoping that he would take his time to heal and then come back someday for one last hurrah. A part of me was even holding on to the last few molecules of the Taker vs Sting rope and hoping for a miracle, but I guess fate outlives dreams most of the time.

Even though I didn't watch Sting in WCW, I consider myself lucky to have been able to follow his TNA career from Day 1 till 2012 or so, with minor breaks, as well as his brief stint with the WWE. It was good while it lasted. I hope he appears in the RAW after Mania ala Warrior, but that's probably unlikely since he never made big bucks for the WWE during his prime. It's another end of an era. Farewell, Stinger. I just wish he could retire of his own accord.

I'd be surprised if he didn't announce his retirement on RAW, its a historic moment, WWE would want that as a ratings boost and not wasted.

 

[BestSportsEntertainer]

Sting was very underused in WWE.

He debuted at Survivor Series 2014 and forced Triple H out of power... for less than two months.

He then lost to Triple H at WrestleMania 31 because WCW lost in the Monday Night War that happened FIFTEEN years ago.

Then he lost to Seth Rollins AFTER Rollins lost to Cena. In that match he was injured and that's the end of his career.

No dream matches with Undertaker or Bray Wyatt. Just a bunch of poor booking decisions and what if's.

 

[Sai the Uganda Guy]

Sting maybe could've been used a bit better, but ultimately, due to his age, there wouldn't have been much for him. I mean, what else were we expecting? Sting as WWE World Heavyweight Champion? That's just absurd.
I enjoyed the match with HHH, I felt like a kid again when DX and nWo got involved. Would I have preferred Stinger to have won? Absolutely, but that overall didn't kill the match for me.
I found the match with Rollins to be a stupid idea, made even stupider by giving a 50+ year-old man a buckle bomb, but that's really my only complaint.
Sting had a great career outside of WWE, I tip my beanie to him for the entertainment through the years.

 

[Vanilla Midget]

Underutilized is probably the wrong word. Everyone put the weight of all they see as being flawed with WWE on Sting's shoulders. WWE did us no favours by having him debut and interfere in such a landscape changing match. A lot of people say underutilize, or misutilize, when what they're really trying to say is Sting's run didn't live up to their expectations.

It was lame to have Sting lose to Triple H at WrestleMania. Helmsley didn't need the win, and WrestleMania would have made more sense for a feel good moment. Of course hindsight is 20/20, and it was booked under the assumption Sting would appear again at Mania.

The match with Triple H was good. Sting looked great for a 55 year old man. We haven't seen too many men perform at that age (only Flair, Vince, and Terry Funk come to mind for me). That in of itself should be considered amazing.

The match with Rollins was also quite good, save for the ending, which was obviously improvised due to the injury. Sting made a lot of sense as a challenger for Rollins, he came with certain can't lose quality that few on the roster could have come with at that time. Of course, Sting lost.

People wanted a nostalgia run. They wanted Sting winning world titles, they wanted a tortured soul hanging out in the rafters, they wanted their ideal version of Sting. What they got was Steve Borden, the human being known as Sting. Human beings eventually break down, and time too caught up with the man called Sting.

A nostalgia run with the title would have been just that, nostalgia. It would have broken up Rollins' run (which inevitably came to an end due to injury) and it likely would have been short. Neck injury or not, Sting likely wasn't going to be defending his title on the regular. You don't want to use the top prize in the business as a trophy of recognition for a job well done, and a career well lived. That's what the hall of fame is for.

Pro-wrestling isn't other pro-sports where you try to go out on top and retire as champion. In wrestling, the show must go on, so you go out on your back. That's what Sting is doing, and it's too bad it isn't on his terms. Sting's HOF induction is well deserved regardless of how his WWE run is perceived and regardless of what people's opinion is of WWE's hall of fame.

Popularity contest or not, let Sting have his night. WWE is WCW, they bought, they absorbed it, they own the back catalogues of footage. Sting's HOF induction is based on his entire career, not just his WWE run. Carlos Colon (father of Carlito and Primo) also had a similarly lack lustre WWE run, but got the HOF nod nonetheless based on his contributions to wrestling as a whole.

Sting's career is legendary. He agreed to the buckle bombs and the table spots because he genuinely thought he could take them. There's no point in hating on Sting, he's one of the classiest guys in the business that always did what was asked of him. He worked hard, he did everything on his terms, including that last match when his body said no.

Learn to separate your opinions from fact. Displeasure with Sting's WWE run is an opinion, hall of fame spot deserved and legendary career, fact.

 

[TellMeWhy]

Personally, I don't think he was underutilized at all. Rather, I think too many people had far too lofty expectations and, once again, allowed nostalgic memories from days gone by to blanket the reality that Sting is a man in his mid 50s who's physical capabilities inside the ring haven't exactly been the stuff that dreams are made of for quite a while now. To read some of the various responses in the Sting threads since he signed with WWE, you'd think they were expecting him to just charge out there with the same vigor and ability he had when he was 30 years old. My God, there were actually people who believe that Sting should have been WWE Champion just because they wanted the novelty of Sting having the belt and nothing more.

As for the Sting vs. Triple H match, some loved it because of all the spectacle surrounding it, some didn't care for it because Sting lost. Me, I didn't care for the match because it was obvious that Triple H was carrying Sting the entire length of the match and that all the various shenanigans from DX and the nWo on the outside was part of the plan to disguise Sting's shortcomings. I didn't expect this match to be much because I had doubts as to how Sting would hold up.

As for Taker vs. Sting, I can honestly ay I was never excited about this prospect because of doubts concerning the quality of the match. After WrestleMania XXX and up until the last several times Taker's been in the ring, there were real doubts as to his ability to go anymore when you consider that he never looked physically worse than his match with Lesnar. He was out of shape, he was having trouble moving around the ring and many of us thought that this was the last hurrah. By the time Taker showed up again in great shape and was able to go, Sting himself was the one out on the injured list due to the injuries suffered in his match with Seth Rollins.

Sting had a helluva career, a HOF career that any wrestler would love to be able to lay claim to. He came to WWE, made a few more memories, made a good deal of money, but he suffered significant injury that WWE officials are afraid he won't bounce back from at his age, and rightly so. Sting in WWE wasn't the same Sting from the early 2000s, it wasn't the same Sting who showed up in TNA and had virtual run of the place the entire time he was there. He had some juice left in the tank and delivered what he could; I don't blame Sting nor do I blame WWE for not living up to unrealistic expectations because I criticism was coming no matter what.

Of course, an ultimate WWE mark in disguise as yourself wouldn't think that. You always find a way to defend WWE and try to take blame or defect heat from them. You got the nerve to say he's 50 as if Sting didn't spend some of his 50s in TNA and was used as 1 of their big attractions. Just stop it. They dropped the ball.

I don't think he was underutilized. He debuted in one of the biggest Survivor Series main events in its history. He was in one of the WM main events. He got to compete for the WWE WHC. I could see if he was feuding with The Miz, etc.

The guy was misused/ The guy lost his first match on the big stage and lost a match to an opponent who was already tired and beat up minutes prior. Yeah some good run.

 

[TellMeWhy]

A nostalgia run with the title would have been just that, nostalgia. It would have broken up Rollins' run (which inevitably came to an end due to injury) and it likely would have been short. Neck injury or not, Sting likely wasn't going to be defending his title on the regular. You don't want to use the top prize in the business as a trophy of recognition for a job well done, and a career well lived. That's what the hall of fame is for.

Sting maybe could've been used a bit better, but ultimately, due to his age, there wouldn't have been much for him. I mean, what else were we expecting? Sting as WWE World Heavyweight Champion? That's just absurd.
I enjoyed the match with HHH, I felt like a kid again when DX and nWo got involved. Would I have preferred Stinger to have won? Absolutely, but that overall didn't kill the match for me.
I found the match with Rollins to be a stupid idea, made even stupider by giving a 50+ year-old man a buckle bomb, but that's really my only complaint.
Sting had a great career outside of WWE, I tip my beanie to him for the entertainment through the years.

What do you call HHH's current run? What do you call the Rock's last run with the WWE title. Brock Lesnar had the WWE title and barely defended it but somehow it's a crime to make Sting champ? After Sting lost his debut match in WWE, they should have made it up and gave him the WWE title for even a night if not a few minutes and let him lose it to a MITB competitor. Fans would have been happy, it would have gotten people to talk. old fans could have started watching again to see Sting, the main event picture would have been shaken up a bit, and WWE would've probably gained in viewership. Everybody wins. The name of the game is called entertainment. Sting winning the title would have been a feel good moment especially after the crap with HHH going over him on his first match.

Instead they let Rollins beat him right after having a grueling match with John Cena making Sting look even more weak. Stop it. The man was buried and given a reckless opponent that ended his run. You WWE fans need to stop defending their crap and call a spade a spade

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Of course, an ultimate WWE mark in disguise as yourself wouldn't think that. You always find a way to defend WWE and try to take blame or defect heat from them. You got the nerve to say he's 50 as if Sting didn't spend some of his 50s in TNA and was used as 1 of their big attractions. Just stop it. They dropped the ball.

Calling Sting one of TNA's biggest attractions when he and other mega stars like Hogan, Hall, Nash, Steiner, Booker T, etc. didn't deliver what officials were hoping for, not even remotely close, isn't much of a compliment. One of the reasons, not the only of course but one of them, was that they were hoping his name would draw ratings and hoping that nostalgia would deliver lead to TNA making much older veterans the centerpieces of their company rather than really use them to generate and help put over younger talent. WWE is packed with flaws, but they were smart enough to know and recognize that there wasn't all that much they were going to be able to get out of Sting and at least they used it to put Rollins over.

And yes, I did "dare", as you put it, to mention Sting was well into his 50s by the time he worked a WWE match and it was obvious that he couldn't hang with someone like Rollins with Rollins going full out. Sting was in his 50s while he was in TNA and the last several times he wrestled in matches for TNA, it was obvious that time was catching up to him. You could see in his match with Triple H that time had caught up to him as he wasn't remotely as athletic or as fast as he was 10 years ago.

No ball was dropped, I'm sorry that Sting no longer remotely being in his physical prime didn't live up to whatever unrealistic expectations were fluttering around inside your head. The difference in the nostalgia runs between Sting and Triple H is that Triple H can still very much go in the ring, he's proven that, while Sting simply couldn't. If you honestly thought that the right call was for Seth Rollins to lose the WWE Championship to a man almost 30 years his senior was a good idea, then you're a bigger fool than I originally pegged you for. You wanted to see Sting win the title simply because you thought it would look cool, it'd give you some sort of nostalgic rush. Guys like Rollins are the future of the company, Sting isn't and aging stars putting over younger, up & coming talent, believe it or not, used to be pretty common in wrestling once upon a time.

 

[dsotm5150]

WWE has actually given Sting more respect over the last 15 years since WCW closed than any other talent that spent time there has gotten. They've always spoken highly of him in interviews and videos related to WCW. He had an amazing debut, absolutely blew the roof off the Scottstrade Arena at Survivor Series. Sting wasn't brought in to be the face of WWE, or major full time player. I'm a huge Sting fan, I've watched him wrestle for 25 years and I'll be the first to admit he wasn't in his prime at Wrestlemania, but I still enjoyed it. I think he looked better at Night of Champions up until the bucklebomb. I've enjoyed his career immensely and would have loved to see him get a win at Wrestlemania, but even Sting himself has said it wasn't his job in the WWE to be the top dog, he was there to have fun and put over the talent.

 

[Navi]

I voted yes, but not for the reasons that some others did. When Sting debuted in the WWE he was already almost 50 years old, and had a career behind him that almost every WWE Superstar under the age of 35 wished they had.

He was brought in as a foil against the Authority and that worked quite well. Like someone else on the thread said, he wasn't brought in to be the new face of the WWE, or even the saviour, he filled a role of avenger.

I have no idea what they had in mind for him going forward, but it's clear his injury was the end for him. We never got to see a match between him and the Undertaker, and maybe considering their combined ages, it's actually a good thing. Sting's time in the WWE might not have been his best work, and he was clearly a part time player, I'm sure he had some creative control in what matches he did or didn't do.

His run might not have lived up to what others expected it would, and that's mainly because it was cut short. But I give the guy major credit for stepping into the ring against much younger and much more athletic opponents. It's a shame to see him go out the way he did, but he had an amazing career in the world of sports entertainment, and for one brief moment we finally go to see Sting step into a WWE ring. That is something some of us never thought we would see, and I'm glad I did.

Hopefully he'll still be around as I can't see him just fading away.

 

[Navi]

I'm more than a little confused here. The main page is now reporting that Sting might not be retired.

Apparently TMZ reported that Sting was going to retire due to the injury he received in the match with Rollins, and that he could no longer wrestle, or something to that effect.

Now apparently they got an interview with him and Sting is saying he isn't retired, there is no problem with his neck and there is a lot of stories out there. Now I've had a look and our main page is the only ones right now reporting on this, The fans in the comments section as as predicted abuzz with the news and let the fantasy booking begin.

So what the hell is really going on, is he finished or not?

 

[Dragonslayer]

I'm more than a little confused here. The main page is now reporting that Sting might not be retired.

Apparently TMZ reported that Sting was going to retire due to the injury he received in the match with Rollins, and that he could no longer wrestle, or something to that effect.

Now apparently they got an interview with him and Sting is saying he isn't retired, there is no problem with his neck and there is a lot of stories out there. Now I've had a look and our main page is the only ones right now reporting on this, The fans in the comments section as as predicted abuzz with the news and let the fantasy booking begin.

So what the hell is really going on, is he finished or not?

Well realistically speaking, even if his neck is not damaged to the extent that e.g. Edge's was when he was forced to retire, it doesn't change the fact that Sting is 56 years old and naturally beyond his prime.

So even if he is healthier than the initial report stated, and might not need to retire straight away, I think that his time in the business will still be quite limited. And even if he was healthy enough to return, I don't really see it happening in WWE anymore. The one match people would love to see I think would still be Taker vs Sting, and with both men up in age now, I don't think WWE will want to take that risk of serious injury anymore, after the health scare for Sting during his match with Seth Rollins.

If Sting can "go" for one more match, and they can and want to pull the trigger on Taker/Sting after all, that's probably the one and only match I would still like to see Sting perform in.

But if he is done after all, there's no shame in that I'd say.

 

[aaronmb]

Personally, I think it would be awesome if during his HOF induction, while people are shouting "one more match", he could maybe tease something like, "orlando?", "wrestlemania 33?". If that happened, people would no doubt be shouting "undertaker". Would definitely be better than any of his other matches in wwe.

 

[OYDK]

Damn, I would have rather he just not have said anything. I had closure. I was cool with Sting retiring. Now... why would he say that if he wasn't adamant on wrestling one more time? I really think he wants that Taker match. He's apparently wanted it for a while and it's the only reason I can see him speaking out. I don't THINK WWE ever acknowledged his retirement but I could be wrong.

Yes I get it he's 56, but I don't care. If wrestling means he can go out like he deserves to, than I want to see him at Mania 33 no matter his age or what he looks like. Of course though, if it means risking death or paralysis, he should probably just stay out of the ring...