WCW legend Sting challenged WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins in the main-event of Sunday’s Night of Champions, and while the match was great, its finish was marred by an unexpected injury. If you missed it, Seth Rollins countered a 10-punch in the corner with a “buckle bomb,” also known as a powerbomb into the turnbuckles. Sting was visibly shaken up after the move, and collapsed mid-ring after an Irish whip. He was checked on by ringside doctors and was able to continue the match, but it ended quickly; Rollins survived a Scorpion Deathlock, then countered a second Deathlock into a rollup to win the match and retain the title.
If you were wondering if the injury was legit, that appears to be the case. Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer and a number of reputable sources are reporting that Sting’s injury was not only legitimate, but “significant,” and possibly career-threatening.
The 56-year-old Sting gave it his all in the match, going through the Spanish announce table and diving off the top rope to the outside onto Rollins, so seeing him go down at the end of the match was especially scary. After watching The Undertaker collapse after his SummerSlam main-event with Brock Lesnar, you’ve got to ask whether it’s safe to continue pushing pro wrestlers over 50 this hard without expecting severe physical repercussions.
While we don’t have a lot of details yet, we wish Sting a speedy recovery from whatever took him down, and hope the injury isn’t as significant as it seems.
