Sting might have retired from in-ring action when it came to WWE in 2016 after suffering the injury, but he would return to wrestling after he debuted for All Elite Wrestling in December 2020. Sting made the jump to Tony Khan’s company and would return to the ring at Revolution in 2021 in a tag team match alongside Darby Allin against Team Taz. If Sting hadn’t gotten injured in the title match against Rollins in 2015, would he have ever joined the competition?

While it’s possible Sting could have stuck around WWE and had what would likely have been a mediocre run — if his win/loss record in his short time in the company is any indication — it seems fairly likely he’d have left when his contract expired in early 2020. WWE may have given Sting a grand retirement match of his choosing and allowed him to stick around in a mentorship role for younger talent, but “The Icon” doesn’t reside in Florida, so training recruits at the WWE Performance Center on a regular basis might not have been possible. Sting also never had a close relationship with Vince McMahon, being one of the few major WCW stars who never jumped to WWE, and was always hesitant of working with the former chairman.

That having been said, there’s obviously a chance that had Sting stayed healthy, received the dream match at WrestleMania against Undertaker, and gotten a retirement match for the ages, he could have decided to stay retired, or at least stay in WWE. If so, fans of Sting’s last run in AEW and victorious actual retirement match at Revolution 2024 may have Rollins and the Night of Champions injury to thank.