If Sting goes to WWE, he shouldn’t be Raw General Manager. He shouldn’t be a sacrificial lamb for Undertaker at WrestleMania.
Those are clichéd, meaningless roles. Used in that vein, Sting won’t move the needle. He probably won’t move it no matter what.
But here’s an idea that’s worth a try.
Utilize Sting as the ghost of WCW past. Ted Turner’s last ninja. Invoke WCW’s brand name. You kept the “A” team out. But now I’m here. Better late than never.
Vince McMahon really blew it when he bought, folded and embarrassed WCW. The repercussions initiated a slide that still resonates, that has fake wrestling at low tide. Many of you nimrods are WWE die-hards and worship “the family,” rubber-stamping whatever they do no matter how stupid.
But fake wrestling isn’t what it was when there were two viable companies. Not even close. Less people watch wrestling than used to watch wrestling. Many less. Lots of WCW fans stopped watching wrestling when Nitro went off the air. More WCW fans stopped watching when McMahon went on the cheap and the “B” team invaded WWE. Still more WCW fans stopped watching when McMahon embarrassed the brand name and made WCW seem insignificant.
Most of those fans still don’t watch today.
McMahon certainly didn’t do what’s best for business. He had to whip out his manhood and show that he won. It cost him untold millions and made his product less interesting on a multitude of levels.
Many say they don’t “blame” McMahon for not taking on the bloated contracts of performers like Goldberg and Sting when he bought WCW. AOL/Time-Warner instead paid those wrestlers for doing nothing.
But why couldn’t McMahon have negotiated a deal where AOL/Time-Warner paid Goldberg, Sting, etc., but farmed out their services to WWE? Deals like that get made in real sports all the time. I bet McMahon didn’t even investigate. Make that deal, you have a real invasion. You have real dream matches.
But you don’t have the fun of devaluing WCW’s brand name. Ego, ego, ego.
If you want to make the best use of Sting, make it clear that he’s the “WCW guy.” It might be too late, even way too late. But try to get WCW fans interested again. Sting has come to right past wrongs. To prove WCW was better all along.
This angle would have worked a lot better 10 years ago. Sting no longer looks the part in terms of physique. But it’s better than the clichéd drivel WWE no doubt has in mind for Sting. McMahon, however, has zero intention of invoking WCW in any way that’s meaningful. Cliched drivel is the name of WWE’s game.
So make Sting the Raw General Manager. That way he can kowtow to Triple H and Chyna Jr, because that’s what’s best for business.
Except it’s not.
Creatively, McMahon stopped doing what’s best for business long ago. He manufactures the occasional big financial windfall by recycling The Rock. The WWE Network and the new TV deal will make McMahon flush via new/bigger revenue streams, even more so when he doesn’t cut in the boys. Right, Phil?
But WWE is no longer a creative force. That notion died on March 26, 2001. The death rattle entertained occasionally. But no more.
Worse yet, Hardbody Harrison never got to be "Stang."
Follow Mark on Twitter: @MarkMaddenX
