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Sting stopped wrestling in 2015 following a serious neck injury he sustained in a match against Seth Rollins. The match was for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, and it took place at the Night of Champions pay-per-view.
The Icon's injury resulted from a turnbuckle powerbomb which left the legend feeling numb. Sting ultimately declared his retirement from professional wrestling during his induction into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2016. He later came out of retirement after he signed with All Elite Wrestling in 2020.
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Sting said he placed no blame on Seth Rollins during a chat with Bill Apter on his podcast following the incident:
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"It was just a freak accident," said Sting. "I’m telling you, Seth, it is not his fault. I mean not even in the slightest percentage of anything. It was without question, it was me, and to this day I cannot figure out what the heck I was thinking. My neck whip-lashed back really bad two times in a row and the second one.... I got up to my feet and we were trying to continue the match and my legs started to feel like rubber bands and I realized I don’t have control over my legs."
" I’m afraid that if I start running the ropes right now, I’m gonna blow my knee out, break a bone, tear everything up because I didn’t have any control," Sting continued. "So I went down on all fours, and tried to figure out what the heck is going on, and, so, it wasn’t his fault." (h/t Fightful)
Who has Sting faced since joining AEW?
Sting has had three matches since he made his AEW debut. In all three bouts, he has teamed up with Darby Allin. In the first match, the duo faced Brian Cage and Ricky Starks. Next, they faced Ethan Page and Scorpio Sky. Most recently, they defeated Jeff Parker and Matt Lee.
The Stinger got physical and took bumps in the matches, with most of the impact being a few vicious powerbombs that could have affected his neck and spine. It remains to be seen whether Sting will have a one-on-one match. For now, it's just great to see The Icon doing his thing once again.
