– Sting recently spoke with The Baltimore Sun. Here are some highlights:
Do you have any more film projects in the works?
It’s so tough [because of the wrestling schedule]. I’ve had to pass on a couple other projects with some really good people, but I’m looking forward to doing some more. But, yes, I know that I will have time coming up here and I’d like to do a whole bunch more.
There is a lot of adult content on Impact Wrestling. As a man of faith, is it a concern for you to be on that type of show?
Absolutely. There’s no question about it. This is something that many Christians will use as their ace in the hole, and I’ll use it, but I’m not going to use it in a real loose way, and that is that Jesus Christ himself went in amongst the sinners – the murderers, the adulterers, the idolaters, the drunkards, and so on and so forth. And he didn’t come to judge them, he came to save them, be a doctor to them. I’m not putting myself on that level obviously, but at the same time, we are in the world, we are not of the world, if we are believers. I’m not going to put myself in a shell – it’s just not going to work that way. You have to get out there somehow or another and try to be a light or be the salt of the earth, and that’s all I’ve tried to do. As far as the content goes, I will only involve myself in situations that will not jeopardize my walk or my witness. You won’t hear vulgar things coming out of my mouth or sexual innuendos and all that kind of stuff.
In your current story line with Hulk Hogan, it almost seems as if there are some religious overtones as far as you trying to save the Hulk Hogan character and get him back on the right path. Is that the case or am I reading too much into it?
You know, there’s probably a thread of that in there for sure. Most of my story lines do have some sort of a redemptive quality to them. Vince Russo is writing a lot of this stuff, and many people may not know this, but he also is a believer. He writes with that kind of flair. The other thing, too, is I really believe that because of the nostalgia of Hulk Hogan – you know, he made an appearance on “American Idol” and got a huge, gigantic reaction – wrestling fans all over the place would love to see the story line for real. I think they want to see him come back and just be Hulk. I’d like to see it.
What was your reaction when WWE began airing the mysterious vignettes early this year that turned out to be for The Undertaker’s return, but initially had a lot of wrestling fans believing that the videos signaled that you were coming to WWE for to face The Undertaker at WrestleMania? And the second part of my question is: Did WWE contact you to come in and do something at that point?
I’ll answer the second part first. Yes, I was contacted by WWE people. The vignettes I can honestly tell you that I do not understand that one even now, unless it was some kind of deal where they were just trying to test the waters, I really don’t know, because so many people were saying, “I hope it’s Sting, I hope it’s Sting.” I thought, “Gosh, I wonder if they’re going to shoot themselves in the foot there by making this choice, because if things do not work out, why did they do it to begin with?” I had all kinds of things going through my head. But, yeah, I was very, very close to going up there, and I believe there probably would have been something with Undertaker. That was the word at least.
What are your thoughts on what went down the night you faced Jeff Hardy at the Victory Road pay-per-view?
I want to be careful with my words here because I really like Jeff Hardy. I’m hoping he can come back because that guy is so talented, but he has personal issues in his life and it just became too much for him, too overwhelming, and he just couldn’t cope and didn’t know how to handle it. So he made some bad choices and he’s having to deal with those choices and the consequences now. I hear he’s doing much, much better. Last I heard, he was riding his bike 10 miles a day and just getting in great shape and his life was getting in some kind of order.
You’ve said in the past that you intended to retire several times, but every year when your contract comes up in TNA, you get talked into staying for another year. At this point, how much longer do you plan to continue wrestling?
You know, you’re right. I think I’ve said every year for at least the last four years that this will be my last year. And I’m speaking the same way again now. I think I’ve smartened up a little bit. When I know it’s done, I’ll know it’s done. I’m going to go as long as I can, but, honestly, whether I want to or not, I cannot see going too much farther.
