Sting Injury a Sign WWE Should Be More Cautious with Older Superstars

The image of Sting stumbling out of the corner on wobbly legs and collapsing on the mat should give WWE pause.

Near the climax of the Night of Champions main event, fans saw an injury bring a 56-year-old man to the canvas in an unsettling sight. Seth Rollins powerbombed Sting into the corner, and the face-painted icon tumbled over, failing to hold himself up with the ring ropes.

Pro wrestling is inherently dangerous for all performers, but the fact that Sting left this bout hobbled at his age should shock no one.

What looked to be a part of the storyline that night turned out to be a real result of the violent action inside the ring. TMZ reported the day after: "Sting is recovering at home Monday, after sustaining a serious neck injury...so serious doctors are not able to give a long-term prognosis."

Sting's manager, Steve Martinez, offered some better news. He posted on the wrestler's official Facebook page, writing, "We are optimistic he will have a speedy recovery and return to full health soon."

That's a welcome update, but WWE still has to be unnerved about what happened and how much worse it could have been.

WWE certainly didn't give Sting the wrestling equivalent of a pitch count. His collision with Rollins was hard-hitting, full-throttle at times and involved Rollins pushing Sting through the Spanish announce table.

Credit: WWE.com

Regardless of what kind of shape Sting is in, to have a wrestler in his 50s take that bump is playing with fire.

Pro wrestling's scripted nature allows for performers to compete well past the age when other athletes retire. The way the match is laid out can protect them. Shorter ring time and less big spots help reduce the chance of injury.

In short, it's smarter to book older guys differently.

When Ric Flair took on Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania XXIV he was 59 years old. It was the younger Michaels who took the painful journey through a table. The bout featured a lot of work on the mat rather than opting for high-risk moves.

The Nature Boy dished out much of the punishment that night.

Of course, Flair could have been hurt at any point during the action, but the match didn't have him up the level of danger the way Sting did on Sunday night. The Stinger leaped from the top rope out onto Rollins on the floor. Elsewhere in the match, his head cracked against the announce table, just missing the edge of a TV monitor.

Credit: WWE.com

Sting clearly wanted to give it his all here. He did well to prove he could still hang, that WWE was right to put him in that top spot.

Still, one has to wonder if forcing a guy his age to tone down the action isn't the smartest route. On the other hand, The Honky Tonk Man believes there should be a cutoff point for when wrestlers can still compete:

"

If the Sting injury is legit, WWE should realize in ring performance for the over 50 gang is "No Country For Old Men" myself included!

— Honky Tonk Man® (@OfficialHTM) September 21, 2015"

It's hard to imagine WWE taking that stance with money still left to be made with Undertaker (50 years old) and Kane (48) potentially wrestling for several more years and with how thrilled the company would be if two fellow 50-year-olds in Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels were to come back for one more match.

As scary as the Sting situation is, WWE witnessed something worse just three years ago.

Jerry Lawler suffered a heart attack on live TV shortly after competing in a tag team match. As WWE reported on its website, Lawler collapsed at ringside, and the medical staff soon rushed him to a cardiac unit in Montreal.

Lawler recovered, thankfully. But should a man in his 60s have been competing in the first place?

The Honky Tonk Man's suggestion isn't going to happen, but not allowing full-fledged senior citizens to wrestle is a no-brainer. And when it's time to showcase a wrestler who doesn't compete for most of the year, who is more susceptible to getting hurt, WWE needs to pull back the reins on the violence.

That doesn't appear to be the case at next month's pay-per-view, though. Not only is Undertaker set to take on one of the most ferocious strikers in the company in Brock Lesnar, but he will do so inside the Hell in a Cell. 

Creativity will be key to producing that, as will letting Lesnar be the one who suffers the match's most dangerous moments.