Sting Recalls Feeling Like WWE Wanted Him To Retire

When Sting got into the professional wrestling business, he promised himself that he would never be one of the guys that refused to retire. But three decades into his storied career, "The Icon" has had trouble giving it all up.

In a recent D Magazine feature about Sting's career, the longtime WCW star revealed that he felt pressure from WWE to retire in 2016, although he admits he wasn't "forced" and "nobody made me do it."

Sting, aka Steven Borden, told D Magazine that he began realizing what WWE wanted him to do when he was first approached by Paul "Triple H" Levesque, who informed him the company wanted to induct him into its Hall of Fame in April 2016. Then, WWE Chairman Vince McMahon began insinuating Sting might retire soon and if he did, they wanted it to happen in WWE.

"I just felt like everything was...pointing toward, 'You just need to retire. Just get it over with.' ... I finally relented and said, 'Alright. Let's just do it,' " Borden recalled. Sting grimaced through much of his retirement speech, D Magazine noted, pointing out the wrestler's reluctance to step away from the business he broke into during the late 1980s and ultimately took over in the 1990s.

But that wasn't the end of the legend's story. After Sting joined WWE in 2014 for what seemed to be his final run, he made a raucous return in 2020 -– this time for AEW. However, the legendary wrestler's contract will expire this year, and that's when he'll hang up his boots.