The Undertaker Believes Sting Controlled Smart AEW Booking
The Undertaker almost offered some rare praise for AEW as he credits Sting for how he was used during his time in the company.
Sting called time on his legendary career at AEW Revolution as he teamed with Darby Allin one final time. Sting and Allin put their AEW Tag Team Championship on the line against The Young Bucks with The Icon picking up the win for his team in front of 16,000 delighted fans in Greensboro, North Carolina.
During his three-year star in AEW, Sting remained undefeated but never had a singles match with the vast majority of his bouts seeing him team with Darby Allin in two-on-two matches. This more considered approach to booking was something The Undertaker was a fan of.
Speaking on his Six Feet Under podcast, The Undertaker revealed he was pleased with how Sting was booked during his time in AEW and thinks The Icon was probably behind his more limited role:
The smart thing that he did. He was booked judiciously. He wasn’t put in situations where he may have got exposed and not be able to keep up with the younger talent. It was probably him because you have to understand your limitations.
A lot of times, people will get caught up in the moment, ‘Let’s put Sting in the ring with such and such.’ I’m just talking about AEW. There would have been tons of singles matches for him, but he took Darby Allin; there was chemistry there, and Sting was in a big brother-type role. Father time has never lost. He’s undefeated. I’m not saying anything disparaging about Sting, it is what it is.
The Undertaker Won’t Ruin New Knees With A Tombstone
The Undertaker then touched on his own experience of having to walk away from life in the ring and thinks people pay too much money to have anyone phone in a performance:
In my heart and my mind, if I could, I would still be in the ring, but I had to come to the cold, hard facts that what my mind, eyes, and what my heart feels, my body wants no part of. It wants no part of it and it doesn’t allow me to do what I want to do.
Could I go out there on my sweat equity? Hell yeah, I could. I’m not patting myself on the back, but I don’t think there is anybody in the business that can throw a punch like I can throw a punch. I can chokeslam. I’m not messing up my brand new knees with a tombstone, but I can walk out there and smoke and mirror it, and make people feel like they saw something. That’s just not right. People pay too much money to be entertained properly.
The Undertaker has revealed he is struggling with retirement as four years after the final bout of his career he is still coming to terms with never having a match again.