WWE fantasy: What if Sting came to WWE after the WCW buyout?

If Sting went to WWE after WCW was bought out.

There was a period after the WCW buy-out that made most fans believe that Sting was done. It was an odd period for professional wrestling with some of the top guys in WCW being questionable. Some joined WWE later on, and others ultimately decided not to join ever.

A scenario of what could have most likely happened with an analysis of WWE’s direction is not hard to imagine. With a comprehensive analysis of the wrestling landscape and the changes that took place, Sting jumping to WWE would have been an interesting, nostalgic, and potentially disappointing scenario.

What if Sting made the jump to WWE after WCW?

The first thing that comes to mind immediately is how uncertain the invasion angle truly was anyways. This fantasy scenario adding Sting to the mix makes it interesting to think about due to those unpredictable factors. This factor makes it easy to envision how a Sting signing to WWE would have gone down from start to finish.

A match-up of Booker T versus The Rock would have still taken place during the invasion angle, but after The Rock would have won the WCW title, his journey would become more complicated with a match-up against Sting, who would want to reclaim the glory of WCW.

This would have been better than the rematch where Shane McMahon was involved in the handicap match, which watered down the potentially memorable rivalry. A best-case scenario is a controversial finish with Shane McMahon as the special referee.

Sting would have lost the title back to The Rock after a higher-up stipulation that raises the stakes of the WCW title. Sting would eventually lose the WCW back to The Rock and phase out after a failed attempt to regain it and a rejuvenated Booker T became a five-time WCW champion without help from Shane McMahon before losing it to The Rock once more.

Sting would have drastically changed going from a man on his own to a man part of a large group. It would have made things different for fans seeing him booked as an enforcer, but WWE had a tendency to book masks and face-painted superstars a certain way, and Sting would have been no exception.

The battles Sting had with nWo were still fresh in wrestling fans’ minds, so they would have likely been full of nostalgia for his performances, but disappointed by the alignment. Sting would have found a way to make it all work in that scenario.

WWE wrote themselves in creative walls with some top former WCW talent including Diamond Dallas Page and Booker T managed to escape, but not without some hiccups in his run. That creative wall would have been hard to break.

Undertaker had a historic rivalry against Ric Flair and it got to the point Arn Anderson and David Flair were both involved in some shape or form. Sting being involved only seems right considering the rich history between the superstars for this unique rivalry.

Undertaker would interrupt a Sting versus Eddie Guerrero match on an episode of Monday Night RAW. Sting in the midst of a back and forth battle would find it interrupted by Undertaker as he presumes to be attacked by Undertaker.

Undertaker would stop the attack after he catches Ric Flair running down the ramp. Ric Flair then gets into it with Undertaker, but Sting gets up and gives an assist that ultimately helps Flair put Undertaker down for the time being.

Sting would have been added as outside support for the Undertaker and Flair match at Wrestlemania thus teasing that a rivalry between Taker and Sting was inevitable. Sting would have had a spot where Sting takes matters into his own hands and goes rogue attempting to help Flair gain a victory, but Undertaker comes out victorious.

After Wrestlemania, there was an oddball situation that consisted of nWo teaming up with Undertaker. That handicap match would turn into a six-man tag team match with Sting, Stone Cold, and Bradshaw versus Scott Hall, X-Pac, and Undertaker on Monday Night RAW 2002.

This would have been the perfect segway since Undertaker just came off a Wrestlemania match against Ric Flair and Sting having a Wrestlemania moment with Undertaker during the match. It would have been the cherry on top to have it all slowly hyped up.

Undertaker eventually gained the top prize from Triple H which was the undisputed championship. Even with so many involved from Stone Cold to Hulk Hogan himself, it seems like Sting is lost in the shuffle as the pursuit of the Undisputed title seems crowded.

Sting versus Hulk Hogan would happen on Monday Night RAW as the main event for that night with the winner facing Undertaker for the undisputed title at Judgement Day. Sting would come out victorious, but not without a hitch and a lack of unique build-up for this dream match.

This would have led to Undertaker versus Sting, but not the way most fans would have imagined it. Sting going to the basic contender on the pay-per-view Judgement Day would have been the revelation needed for Sting to ultimately leave WWE.

With the amount of time between the amount of star power that graced WWE and top contenders, it would be very similar to the build that happened with Undertaker versus Hulk Hogan. The main difference is Sting would have a lot more to offer and it would feel empty.

Undertaker would have retained and continued his reign, but it would have led to questions as to why WWE decided to take that route with Sting being a basic contender with no complexities for the Deadman vs icon first ever one on one showdown.

Keep in mind, that there’s a lot of star power involved and many moving wheels with potential contenders. The spotlight is not solely on Undertaker and Sting despite the tease that happened prior at Wrestlemania and only a few weeks after the contender match to build it up.

This would have likely been the last straw for the icon in a similar way it was the last straw for Stone Cold. Sting would have ultimately left with a volatile situation with numerous former WCW stars on their way out of the door during this time.

Did Sting make the right decision of not going to WWE? It would have changed a lot for wrestling since fans would have seen firsthand how WWE viewed Sting and it would have certainly led to some questions.

The biggest moment at Wrestlemania would have been Sting locking in the scorpion deathlock on Taker and a WCW title reign in WWE along with matches against The Rock. The integrity of what made Sting special would have certainly been compromised due to the differing vision and perspective that WWE creative has always had.

Sting would have likely had a bigger chip on his shoulder after his short and memorable WWE run. With all of this in mind, all of us can determine that Sting in fact made the right decision taking the route he took with no regrets, but it would have been a memorable trial for all the wrong reasons.