What If? – Sting Went To WWE In His Prime

TheChairshot.com asks the question…What If? Rob Bonnette discusses what if the Sting signed with the WWE in his prime!

Sting is one of the biggest What Ifs in WWE history. What if he’d come there instead of the Ultimate Warrior? But more importantly, what would a prime Sting run look like had he made the leap sooner? Sting’s prime years (1991 to 1996-ish) existed at a time when WWE was looking for a successor to Hulk Hogan and was cycling through Bret Hart, Diesel, and Shawn Michaels, as well as giving a look to Lex Luger. And Sting was still active while Stone Cold Steve Austin had emerged as the top dog and was being flanked by The Rock, Undertaker and others. Those are two entirely different situations for two entirely different characters.  So what I did here was take a look at both of them.

The Sting that was the foundation of WCW from 1991 to 1994 would have found a WWE that was ripe for the taking. Hulk-a-Mania was getting long in the tooth in 1991, and the Hulkster would be gone entirely come Spring of 1993. So let’s say that Sting happens to arrive some time that year after Hogan leaves. He would have found a WWE being championed by Yokozuna, whose challengers were Bret, the Undertaker and his old frenemy Lex Luger. Assuming Vince didn’t change anything about his character, which is a big assumption (I know), then it’s very easy to picture a world where he ascends to the top. Sting’s energy and likeability were a big advantage over Bret and Luger, and he always got along in the locker room unlike Shawn Michaels. I think the road would have been pretty clear for him.

As for what to do with him, just look at the possibilities. He could run it back with Lex after a convenient Lex heel turn. His potential matches with Bret and Shawn would have been bangers. He could have done for Diesel what he did for Vader, possibly running it back with Vader and Mick Foley based on their feuds in the mid 90s. And then, of course, there’s the Undertaker. Sting could have easily ruled the roost until Austin caught fire, and then both feuded against and teamed with him. Sting could have arrived in 93, win the 94 Rumble, and beat Yokozuna for the title at WrestleMania X. Bret and Luger would’ve gotten jealous, and one or both of them would’ve turned and feuded with Sting the rest of the year. At Mania XI, here comes Diesel who could’ve won the title there, and lost it back to Sting later on in the year. The first two years would be really easy to book.

Where it gets tricky is once Austin begins to ascend in 1996-97. Assuming everything else stays the same, there’s nothing that was going to stop Austin from becoming what he would. The face painted, surfer Sting gimmick probably would not have held up as well compared to Austin’s antihero persona, which would forced him to change it up to something a little grayer and so cookie cutter……kind of like what he ended up doing in real life! The other possibility is that Sting doesn’t dig the direction things are going in, and returns to WCW with a new persona suited for fighting the triumphant NWO…..just he like did in real life!

The conclusion?  All roads to Crow Sting fighting the NWO in the long run.