Sting (aka Steve Borden) made the surprise jump from the WWE to AEW recently. It was a move no one saw coming although there were murmurs that it was in the works. That all got confirmed when Sting appeared on the Dec. 3 edition of Dynamite.
The move by the 61-year-old was quite obvious- he was not happy with WWE. Compared to other wrestlers who are way past their prime, Sting was not getting his fair share of exposure. But the reason behind that is perhaps because the promotion was taking a cautious approach on the former WCW champion.
Most know that Sting’s last official match in the WWE did not end well. This was way back in 2015 when he faced Seth Rollins for the title at WWE Night of Champions. The Stinger suffered a legit neck injury after being powerbombed to a turnbuckle.
Great the see The Stinger back on @TNTdrama 30 something years of memories...Lookin forward to more! DDP@AEW @AEWonTNT @Sting pic.twitter.com/Bbzncrbvy0 — Diamond Dallas Page (@RealDDP) December 3, 2020
Borden never underwent surgery for that injury and alleged he was fine and normal. He reasoned that he felt none of the side effects associated with cervical spinal stenosis and appeared good to go. With the risk of getting more serious damage, the WWE was not willing to take the risk.
Though it has been five-years already, there is no official medical update on whether Sting is cleared to wrestle once more. Aside from that, there is his age to consider. At 61, the healing process is expected to be different.
Aside from not getting the proper amount of exposure in the WWE, a potential match with the Undertaker was also thumbed down. It reportedly did not appeal to WWE CEO Vince McMahon even if fans wanted to see it, Ringside News reported. Ironically, The Undertaker also retired at WWE Survivor Series, not long after Sting emerged at AEW.
The WWE announced in May that the Stinger was no longer under contract with the WWE. This was followed by the pullout of Sting merchandise and then his bio page from the WWE website. These were the ones that spurred belief that the wrestling champion was likely heading somewhere.
With his health in question, it will be interesting if Sting does wrestle again. The best to expect is a tag team match. A singles match for the Borden may be disastrous, calling to mind what happened to him against Rollins in 2015.
If not as a regular wrestler, he could be an enforcer or even a manager for one of the AEW stars. There are options but seeing the native of Omaha, Nebraska back in a physical competition just carries too many risks.
