What’s the story?
WWE Hall of Famer Sting has yet to have surgery to deal with the injuries he sustained in 2015 at Night of Champions during his WWE title match against Seth Rollins.
Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter speculated that while he will need to have the surgery at some point in his life, he has opted not to go through with it because it will affect his day-to-day life and will render him unable to wrestle again.
In case you didn’t know....
After finally coming to the WWE in 2014, Sting only managed to wrestle four matches for the company; out of which, only two were pay-per-view bouts. His first pay-per-view was his debut at WrestleMania 31 in a losing effort against Triple H. The last match of his career would take place at Night of Champions 2015 when he lost to Seth Rollins in a WWE World Heavyweight Championship match.
As a result of two turnbuckle powerbombs from Rollins, Sting’s career would come to an end as he would suffer severe neck injuries. He went on Ric Flair’s podcast to discuss his injury and said the following:
“I’ve got two spots in my neck that are troublesome, it’s called cervical spinal stenosis. So I have two areas in my neck where the spinal canal — which holds the spinal cord — [is] kind of choked off at two different locations.”
The heart of the matter
According to WebMD, cervical spinal stenosis is the narrowing of the spinal canal in the neck that squeezes and compresses nerves; resulting in pain, numbness, and weakness in the neck, arms, and legs. Mild cases of cervical spinal stenosis can be treated with physical therapy, exercise, and medication, but the more severe cases require surgery.
Meltzer noted that Sting’s injuries weren’t severe enough to require immediate surgery, indicating that as of yet, Sting’s injuries haven’t become problematic for him.
What’s next?
Sting retired and entered the WWE Hall of Fame last year and is currently signed to a legend’s deal. The probability of him wrestling again is slim as he announced his retirement at the ceremony last year, but he’s been frequently mentioning his desire to face the Undertaker coupled with his reluctance to undergo surgery.
This indicates a possible return to the ring for one last match.
Author’s take
Sting’s retirement and Hall of Fame induction confirmed that his wrestling days are over. Many fans wanted to see Sting wrestle several WWE Superstars like Randy Orton and The Undertaker, but those will never come to pass now.
Hopefully, we see Sting later down the line…even if it’s just for a TV appearance.
