Undertaker doesn't expect to ever wrestle again, but doesn't completely rule it out

Even though Sting still hasn't officially signed with WWE yet, with all the buzz surrounding him being a playable character in the WWE 2K15 video game, there's an air of inevitability that a deal will be done before the end of the year. Really, there's no rush at the moment, as WrestleMania 31 is over eight months away and the card is a long way from being finalized. Having Sting debut too soon would also risk him cooling off before the big event takes place.

One thing Sting hasn't been shy in letting people know is that his desired opponent at WM 31 is The Undertaker. The news first leaked about Sting's wishes in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter in February, and since then every time he's been asked who he wants to face in WWE the answer always remains the same, The Deadman, whether it be at a British Q&A event in mid March, or more recently to the UK's Mirror newspaper and to TMZ. Surely all the talk suggests that the match will probably happen?

However, it's likely that Sting is unaware of The Undertaker's current health status, which makes it unlikely that he'll be able to compete at next year's WrestleMania, due to a number of chronic injuries. As we reported last month, although he's back training in the gym, he himself felt it wasn't looking good for him to be fit enough to wrestle on the show.

My colleague Geno Mrosko was certainly right to note that similar stories had emerged in the run-up to every one of the past four Mania's, but the pressure to return won't be so great now the Streak has been broken and it seems that with every passing year the injuries he sustains from doing a showcase 20-30 minute match get all the more serious. Indeed, in his bout with Brock Lesnar, Taker suffered such a scary concussion that Vince McMahon felt compelled to go straight to the hospital with him and miss the rest of the milestone event.

Now, according to Dave Meltzer on a recent episode of Wrestling Observer Radio, The Undertaker is openly talking about how he may have already wrestled his last match, which would obviously preclude Sting's WrestleMania dream match from becoming a reality:

"The last we had heard, which was, I don't know what a month or two ago, it feels like a bit over a month ago, Undertaker was saying that he did not expect to ever wrestle again, but he didn't rule it out 100%, he just didn't expect it."

Obviously there's a bit of wiggle room there which means that The Undertaker vs. Sting still could happen, as he hasn't completely closed the door on having one more match, but at this moment you wouldn't bank on it occurring, unless this is just posturing to maximize his annual big payoff. However, that seems unlikely this time around, so WWE and Sting may very well have to come up with a plan B when he finally puts pen to paper.

Really, for The Undertaker's long term health that would be for the best, even though that will mean wrestling fans will miss out on seeing one of the most fantasy booked feuds of all time. In this case, it may be best to leave Pandora's box unopened, as the dream may turn out to be a nightmare, given that by the time the match takes place their combined age would be 106 and neither man would have wrestled in public for a whole year.