One of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Sting left a lasting legacy in the business. He was extremely successful and dominant. Sting has nearly forty years of experience in the professional wrestling business. One of the biggest names in pro wrestling, Sting competed in promotions such as TNA, WWE, AEW, and WCW.

The Icon just announced his retirement from professional wrestling following his final encounter at AEW. The Icon retired as the World Tag Team Champion alongside Darby Allin, having gone unbeaten during his tenure in AEW.

Even though Sting had a lengthy and amazing career, his time in the WWE was far too short. He left the WWE following his tenure there, but he returned to the ring after joining AEW. The Immortal has talked about his departure from WWE, answering a question that many may have regarding why Sting left the organization.

The Sting on leaving WWE for AEW

In a 2016 interview with Bleacher’s Report, Sting explained why he joined AEW and left WWE. The Immortal claimed he had no desire to wrestle again after leaving the WWE. All he wanted was a movie match between himself and The Undertaker.

Despite his best efforts, he was unable to reach a consensus. Sting continued, “At that time, Tony Khan, the CEO of AEW, asked if he could work for AEW.” It took Sting some time, but eventually he quit WWE to join AEW after things there didn’t work out. The Icon said: “Returning to the ring was not my objective.

When I was with WWE, the only thing I considered doing was facing Off against Undertaker in a movie-style match. We were unable to reach a consensus.

I received a message from Tony Schiavone asking if I would like to come play and to let him know. After a year, I concluded that WWE wasn’t for me and that I didn’t want to vanish into thin air. I detest that.