In a recent interview with Wrestling Travel, Sting states the only way he would come out of retirement is to wrestle The Undertaker.

I mean, everyone knows who it would be. Taker, he’s the only guy I’d come out of retirement for now. No one else. We could just never get it together to make it happen.”

Sting from an interview with Wrestling Travel

This has been the “dream match” that wrestling fans have been clamoring to see for the better half of twenty years. While it would have been fantastic to see these two go head to head in the earlier part of the 2000’s, seeing this match today could be a complete disaster.

Sting vs. Undertaker: Too Little Too Late

Undertaker's hat and jacket left in the ring after WrestleMania match
“LOL JK” – Undertaker, probably.

For me personally, I don’t understand everyone’s obsession with seeing The Undertaker continue to wrestle. We all watched his match against Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 33, right? It was a horrible match, in which Undertaker looked embarrassingly bad throughout. Roman had to carry him through that match. Even after leaving his signature jacket and hat in the ring, which basically signaled his retirement: HE WRESTLED FIVE TIMES AFTER THAT. Last year’s Mania win over John Cena was under three minutes. The other four matches have been tag team or multi-man matches. So he hasn’t had a legitimate one on one match in over three years.

Sting, on the other hand, had his chance at this match in WWE a couple of times earlier in his career. He ultimately decided to stay in WCW, and later sign with TNA. In 2011, WWE came calling again.

Very, Very Close For Sting

Sting in a WWE ring
The Franchise of WCW in a WWE ring.


Yes, I was contacted by WWE people. The vignettes I can honestly tell you that I do not understand that one even now, unless it was some kind of deal where they were just trying to test the waters, I really don’t know, because so many people were saying, “I hope it’s Sting, I hope it’s Sting.” I thought, “Gosh, I wonder if they’re going to shoot themselves in the foot there by making this choice, because if things do not work out, why did they do it to begin with?” I had all kinds of things going through my head. But, yeah, I was very, very close to going up there, and I believe there probably would have been something with Undertaker. That was the word at least.

An Interview Sting conducted in 2011 with the Baltimore Sun

Obviously, this never happened. Although people still talk about the infamous “2.21.11” vignette mentioned above to this day.

Sting’s WWE Run

Sting states in the Wrestling Travel interview that he started talking to WWE again “he (Undertaker) was booked with Brock”. That would possibly put the timeline of Sting opening talks with WWE around early 2014. Sting didn’t make his WWE debut until Survivor Series of that same year. They also had their chance to do this match at WrestleMania 31. However Undertaker fought Bray Wyatt, and Sting fought Triple H. Sting unfortunately didn’t get the WWE run we all hoped he would, but he ended it on a WWE Championship match against Seth Rollins. That’s a hell of a match to go out on.

The Time Has Passed

Undertaker and Sting at the airport
Undertaker and Sting discussing what could have been.

I believe we, as a community, need to face the facts here: Sting is 60, and The Undertaker is 53. We will not get the “dream match” that most of us are hoping for. Both are very much past their primes, and we should just remember their careers fondly. We should all just cut our losses, and come to terms with the fact that it will never be the match we wanted it to be.