Undertaker addresses ‘no-brainer’ Sting WWE dream match never happening
The Undertaker and Vince McMahon never had an in-depth conversation about why McMahon decided against booking Undertaker vs. Sting for WWE WrestleMania 31.
It seemed liked the pieces were finally in place for an Undertaker vs. Sting dream match in 2015. But instead of booking the WWE and WCW icons against each other, McMahon went with Undertaker vs. Bray Wyatt and Sting vs. Triple H for WrestleMania 31. That loss to Triple H ended up being the only WrestleMania Sting ever competed at, leaving Undertaker vs. Sting to forever be a “What if?” despite both performers wanting the match to happen.
On a new Q&A edition of his Six Feet Under podcast, Undertaker addressed the topic again and said he doesn’t really have a good answer for why it didn’t happen. For whatever reason, McMahon didn’t want the match.
“Obviously, the people had already been clamoring for that match for a long time, and it seems like a no-brainer. Like, why on earth would you not do that? But for whatever reason, Vince did not see it, didn’t like it, didn’t want it,” Undertaker said. “And I was like, man, this is a home run. This is an easy main event for a pay-per-view.
“But I don’t really have an answer. I never really had an in-depth conversation with Vince about why he didn’t want to do it. My goodness, a Sting vs. Undertaker? I mean, again, he obviously knows more about business than I do, but that one just seems like a home run that was just — they decided to walk the guy instead of pitch to him? I don’t know. I don’t know what happened there. I mean, I don’t have any regrets. It wasn’t my decision. But, my goodness, I would have loved to have been able to have that match. I guess it just wasn’t meant to be.”
Undertaker said he knows this is a topic that wrestling fans will talk about for the rest of time. Even in the moment, he and Sting were puzzled why they didn’t face each other.
“I remember running into Sting, I think it was after the WrestleMania that we didn’t work,” Undertaker said. I remember us being, we were on the same plane together talking. I was like, ‘I don’t know.’ Like, ‘This is beyond me. I don’t know. I don’t know why. ‘ But it is what it is, man, I guess. Yeah, I think Sting, that’s probably got to be the biggest miss of a WrestleMania. Those two characters, that would have done some incredible business.”
Undertaker and Sting’s retirements —
Undertaker and Sting’s respective retirements happened in 2020 and 2024, with Undertaker closing out his career at WrestleMania 36 and Sting retiring after a final run with AEW. Undertaker is now a key voice behind the scenes in booking Lucha Libre AAA.
In his post-wrestling life, Sting is less involved but still does make some AEW appearances and appear at conventions. His sons Steven and Garrett are both now breaking into the business.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.