Sting has revealed the reason why a dream match between him and The Undertaker never happened, despite years of speculation from fans.
In a piece by D Magazine, the Sting opened up about wanting the match against The Undertaker to be the big send-off to his career following the expiration of his contract with IMPACT Wrestling in January 2014.
Sting sent a text message to Vince McMahon and Paul Levesque, which was replied to almost immediately, but Undertaker’s WrestleMania opponent, Brock Lesnar, was already scheduled.
“I sent a text message to Vince and Paul [Levesque] that read, ‘Have you turned the page on Sting yet?’ But by the time we were talking, the match with Brock Lesnar had already been decided.”
Sting Vs. The Undertaker Seen By Fans As The One That Got Away
Rumours of a Sting vs. Undertaker match had been circulating for years. In 2011, a match between the two was rumoured for WrestleMania 27, but it ultimately never happened. Rival TNA Wrestling (now IMPACT) also capitalized by bringing back Sting with a very similar video to the early 2011 WWE promo videos setting up Undertaker’s return, which inadvertently increased fan speculation of the match.
Sting spoke about how the possibility of the match had been a driving force for him, but that it was never a genuine possibility.
“It was never going to happen. Never.”
Sting did eventually arrive in WWE for the first time at Survivor Series in late 2014, leading to him being booked against Triple H in a WCW vs. WWE clash in his WrestleMania debut the following year, which he lost.
Following a neck injury in his lone WWE main event against Seth Rollins at Night of Champions 2015, the company wouldn’t clear him, and he announced his retirement during his 2016 WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
To the surprise and delight of fans, he returned to the prominence when he showed up in AEW in late 2020, and returned to the ring the following year as a semi-regular performer. Sting last wrestled at AEW Full Gear on November 19, teaming with Darby Allin to defeat Jeff Jarrett and Jay Lethal in a no-disqualification match.
Though he is back wrestling, the match between Sting and The Undertaker is highly unlikely to ever happen, with The Undertaker now in retirement and Sting working for a rival promotion – although his contract is up for renewal so never say never.