Is Stings retirement good or bad for TNA?

[mayhem]

Sting is retiring at Bound For Glory according to Dixie Carter and the Bound For Glory poster and for me it is a big blow to TNA as he is one of the performers people would most want to see even though most would honestly admit at 50 years old Sting is past his prime in the ring.

He helped TNA get their deal with Spike and has been in TNA on and off since his return to wrestling 5 years after wcw closed.

I also think it is bad for TNA because he is likely drawing quite a high number of viewers based on his presence on Impact let alone him wrestling on the show.

However i don't think he has put over enough young talent throughout his time in TNA and buried Joe at Bound For Glory last year in a match where he got dominated. Can anyone honestly say he has passed the torch onto another wrestler in TNA whatsoever? I don't think he has.

So i'd say his departure will cause a minor slump in TNAs ratings but will also help to free up a main event spot from time to time for the younger talent. Thoughts?

 

[smalltownfan]

Sting's retirement is good for him but will be bad in the short run for TNA. When you're talking about a 50 year-old man stepping away from a career as physical as pro wrestling, it's a good thing for him physically and it's a great thing for him personally because he can now turn his attention to being a husband and father. His absence will be felt by TNA in the short run because Sting equals ratings and ticket sales. Always has, always will. Someone will need to step up to compensate for Sting's absence to help continue TNA's rise to stardom.

 

[rbishop]

Sting is retiring at Bound For Glory according to Dixie Carter and the Bound For Glory poster and for me it is a big blow to TNA as he is one of the performers people would most want to see even though most would honestly admit at 50 years old Sting is past his prime in the ring.

He helped TNA get their deal with Spike and has been in TNA on and off since his return to wrestling 5 years after wcw closed.

I also think it is bad for TNA because he is likely drawing quite a high number of viewers based on his presence on Impact let alone him wrestling on the show.

However i don't think he has put over enough young talent throughout his time in TNA and buried Joe at Bound For Glory last year in a match where he got dominated. Can anyone honestly say he has passed the torch onto another wrestler in TNA whatsoever? I don't think he has.

So i'd say his departure will cause a minor sump in TNAs ratings but will also help to free up a main event spot from time to time for the younger talent. Thoughts?

the young talent in tna and wwe is so freakin dull i cant take it. i used to watch both programs religously. but god its painful. so ya we do need the old talent

 

[TellMeWhy]

Well, I'm not too sure if it's official that he'll retire. It seems like a selling point to sell tickets for BFG. When Dixie was asked about Sting's retirement, she said it would be his last time wrestling in LA. Like really! She basically skipped the question, so I don't think she's even sure. Sting could possibly change his mind and sign again for another year. Sure, he may put his body to rest but what in the world is he going to do at home. He's going to be bored.

But if true, I think it would suck that Sting is going to retire. Imo Sting is 1 of the greatest wrestlers ever and I wish TNA had more viewers to witness his time there. TNA really didn't capitalize off Sting the way they should have.

1. They didn't advertise him to allow themselves to win back WCW's audience that stopped watching wrestling after WCW was bought out.
2.They didn't book Sting to put over enough guys.
3.They didn't travel enough outside of the Impact Zone when Sting was world champion to see if the man can draw.
4. TNA didn't once go on Monday Nights to see if a name like Sting can still compete against WWE.
5. They didn't market those Sting masks and quite possibly give Rey Mysterio's mask a run in terms of selling merchandise.
6. TNA didn't capitalize on Sting's look to see if he can still garner in little kids to watch the product but again, back to marketing.

Sting is so marketable and can offer so much. I don't see how they messed up on this. Really, it was so many missed opportunities. It's ridiculous.

 

[Toscah]

I think marketing Sting with a more dark and dreary attitude, similiar to his former crow campaign would go over well with the modern youth as they're all a bunch of emo bitches.

 

[shafe_41]

Sting retiring is good for TNA. Other than the name "Sting" itself, does anybody really pay money for a TNA event (mainly PPVs) solely because Sting is on the card? No. Is Sting past his in-ring prime? Yes. Does Sting have anything left to prove? No. Is Sting really needed to put over young talent? No. That's going to be Angle's job.

Look, Sting is a great talent. He was always a great talent. But being 50, and with nothing left to prove to anybody, what good is Sting really other than someone to put over young talent and suck up TNA's money? I'm not saying he's worthless because he's far from it. But you have Kurt Angle to put over young talent. You have Booker T to put over young talent. Hell... you even have Kevin Nash and Scotty to put over young talent. Sting leaving TNA will just make TNA put more focus on the guys they need to be developing that are the future of the company instead of all these 40+ stars. The WWE is the same way but they're getting much better at it recently. TNA is slowly treading behind again. Sting leaving means you're saving that money, and distributing it elsewhere...which is good. Use that money to promote yourself, build AJ Styles back to the effing over the top superstar that he is, build Samoa Joe, build Matt Morgan, and even though everybody likes to call them WWE-jects, try to buy some talent from the WWE. Bring in Umaga, bring in Kennedy, bring in Brian Kendrick... who cares? Especially Kennedy. As much as a lot of people in the IWC hate to admit it, Kennedy has a following. Albeit not a massive following... but he's got one and that's undeniable. Vince has shown he's not taking shit from people and isn't afraid to let a top mid-card star go. He's done it twice this year. If this Mysterio thing goes sour like it really seems like it could snowball downhill pretty hard, TNA should do what it takes to accquire him. So this $1 million a year that Sting is getting for doing very little other than carrying the name "Sting" around the company could be so much more well-spent. Hell, make a 1-hr. show totally devoted to your X-Division because that's what sets you apart from the "E" in terms of fast paced high flying amazing matches. I don't know about you but I'd rather watch the X-Division of TNA than HHH, Cena, Orton, and Batista going at each other all the time. Take that money you'll save from Sting and promote what sets your talent. Nobody cares that you're "the other guy" or that you have a 6-sided ring.

PROMOTE AND BUILD YOUR TALENT WITH THE MONEY YOU WILL SAVE FROM WATCHING A 50 YR. OLD CHARICATURE OF HIMSELF PERFORM VERY AVERAGE MATCHES.

 

[Badstreet]

I've been a huge Sting fan since his days in the UWF, so it pains me to say this. His retiring is a good thing. He doesn't have it in the ring anymore and I really don't think his departure will hurt things.

I do agree with what others have said about him not putting over as many of the younger talent as he could have. However, I think AJ going over him cleanly at BFG (which I hope is what happens) goes a long way in getting rid of that bitter taste. It's time for AJ to become established as the top face of TNA. The biggest legacy that Sting could leave to TNA is helping to cement that.

 

[TellMeWhy]

Sting retiring is good for TNA. Other than the name "Sting" itself, does anybody really pay money for a TNA event (mainly PPVs) solely because Sting is on the card? No. Is Sting past his in-ring prime? Yes. Does Sting have anything left to prove? No. Is Sting really needed to put over young talent? No. That's going to be Angle's job.

Look, Sting is a great talent. He was always a great talent. But being 50, and with nothing left to prove to anybody, what good is Sting really other than someone to put over young talent and suck up TNA's money? I'm not saying he's worthless because he's far from it. But you have Kurt Angle to put over young talent. You have Booker T to put over young talent. Hell... you even have Kevin Nash and Scotty to put over young talent. Sting leaving TNA will just make TNA put more focus on the guys they need to be developing that are the future of the company instead of all these 40+ stars. The WWE is the same way but they're getting much better at it recently. TNA is slowly treading behind again. Sting leaving means you're saving that money, and distributing it elsewhere...which is good. Use that money to promote yourself, build AJ Styles back to the effing over the top superstar that he is, build Samoa Joe, build Matt Morgan, and even though everybody likes to call them WWE-jects, try to buy some talent from the WWE. Bring in Umaga, bring in Kennedy, bring in Brian Kendrick... who cares? Especially Kennedy. As much as a lot of people in the IWC hate to admit it, Kennedy has a following. Albeit not a massive following... but he's got one and that's undeniable. Vince has shown he's not taking shit from people and isn't afraid to let a top mid-card star go. He's done it twice this year. If this Mysterio thing goes sour like it really seems like it could snowball downhill pretty hard, TNA should do what it takes to accquire him. So this $1 million a year that Sting is getting for doing very little other than carrying the name "Sting" around the company could be so much more well-spent. Hell, make a 1-hr. show totally devoted to your X-Division because that's what sets you apart from the "E" in terms of fast paced high flying amazing matches. I don't know about you but I'd rather watch the X-Division of TNA than HHH, Cena, Orton, and Batista going at each other all the time. Take that money you'll save from Sting and promote what sets your talent. Nobody cares that you're "the other guy" or that you have a 6-sided ring.

PROMOTE AND BUILD YOUR TALENT WITH THE MONEY YOU WILL SAVE FROM WATCHING A 50 YR. OLD CHARICATURE OF HIMSELF PERFORM VERY AVERAGE MATCHES.

First of all, Sting can still go in the ring. The only problem with Sting matches is the problem that almost every TNA match has which is time. He's not booked properly and never gets time to showcase what he has.

And 2nd of all, Sting isn't being paid a million dollars a year. He only makes 600,000 a year and SpikeTV pays half of that salary.

 

[whoopwhoop12]

Maybe not a significant amount, but I do feel that those that know and follow Stings career to this day, will put more people on Sting before he is "officially" done with wrestling to see the climax of his career come at BFG, which will draw ratings and have people view in with Pay Per View buys. I feel TNA might benefit from the shorter end of the stick from Sting retiring, leading up to his match at BFG, but from there what happens?

We all knew Ric Flair would retire at some point and Ric Flair has had no gas left in the tank since he returned to the WWE, especially when he was linked as a member of Evolution. It was only a matter of time till Ric finally realized that he can no longer do it anymore. But Ric ended his career facing off against HBK who he respected and knew for a long time. You knew HBK wasn't going to retire just yet when Ric would leave. Sting, on the other hand, regardless if he is passed his prime or not, Sting can still perform to a great level for who he is and what age he is at now. Sting is very symbolic, iconic and revolutionary when it comes to his persona, attitude and to his wrestling ability. AJ Styles vs. Sting @ BFG is a toss up...this can go really great or this can be a turn of the worst in regards to the "passing of the torch" angle they put on this storyline. I personally don't think a "passing of the torch" trial is a great idea in the case of TNA finding a new and better "face of the company" but I guess when you got nothing to lose...try what you can.

If he does in fact wrestle his "final" match at TNA's Bound For Glory, who is worthy enough to carry the emptiness that Sting left behind? Now, you see a bunch of tremendous talent when it comes to TNA, a lot of young guys who have the ability to be great wrestlers for years to come time down the line, but as a figurehead of TNA?...It's a hard void to fill since you're trying to fill in Sting's shoes.

When this encounter occurs...AJ needs to get his promo game up big time. We all know how "phenomenal" AJ is in the ring, but sometimes his in-ring and backstage promos are not as keen or as catchy when you watch or listen to them. Decent, but nothing exciting. I just feel like whoever is going to receive that torch after Sting leaves, needs to be well rounded overall, otherwise TNA's ratings are gonna sink and the loss of Sting will be very costly and very empty to TNA's current product later on. Sting is an icon based off of his name and image, AJ is getting his name more out there based off of him being such a "phenomenal" wrestler, but he needs to stand out more. Not saying AJ will never stand out, but if he is going to do it right and be a bigger, brander face to TNA's product, he needs to be ready to make history. Otherwise TNA will be left with a huge void and most people will forget about watching the product later on after Sting is gone.

Personally I think Sting should wrestle his final match @ WM. Have a 1 match contract at the "grandest stage of them all" and either face Undertaker or HBK. If Sting hangs up his boots for good, then his legacy will be submerged in being the biggest and most popular wrestler of all time who has never worked with the WWE. That is not an easy thing to say...

But then again...who knows whats gonna happen.
Never say never in this business.

 

[ssvegita77]

I think that Sting retiring is bad for both Sting and TNA. It's bad for TNA because even at 50 Sting is still a draw. When I remember that TNA is on, I enjoy watching Sting. I do see the upside that's been mentioned in regards to freeing up money. I'm sure not paying Sting can open up a pretty hefty part of the budget to pay/promote more talent.

I'm sad as a Sting fan. I'm sad that if this is really it and he's hanging it up, that its not going to be given the attention it deserves because nobody really cares about TNA. I like TNA, I think they have alot of talent and hope they can continue to gain momentum, but its way too small a stage for one of the all time greats to retire. It will be virtually meaningless.

It sucks that he won't finish his career in the WWE. Vince is smart enough to put Sting over pretty well in order to cash in on the twilight of his career. A two year deal would be sufficient time to get what Vince would want out of Sting and give him a proper Wrestlemania send off. I doubt that this would happen, but I'm still crossing my fingers.

 

[Pedro08]

As a long-time fan, it'll be sad if he does retire, because he can still go in the ring. If does does retire, it'd be nice to see him stick around as maybe a GM or manager to help the younger talent get over.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Sting is still pretty good in the ring but, to be quite honest, I don't really get that much of a thrill seeing him in the ring anymore. If, and I do mean IF, Sting intends to retire at BFG, I think it'll ultimately wind up being a good thing. There's really nothing else for him to do in TNA, and the way the company has been using him the past few months just makes me think that now might be the time.

For me, the world title situation in TNA is in danger of becoming stale, Sting doesn't bring anything to the picture that I ultimately care to see. At age 50, it could be that it's all starting to catch up to him. While he's in great shape overall considering everything, the fact that he's started appearing wearing a shirt over his wrestling gear makes me think that he's ultimately starting to lose muscle tone. Not that it really matters to me if he's losing tone if he can still go in the ring, but I just think TNA will be just fine when he calls it a day.

 

[Miko]

The only person on the TNA roster that is better than Sting right now in my opinion in AJ Styles, and even then not by much, plus Sting's way more of a draw than AJ.

I'll be gutted if he retires, but then again he's pushing 50 or he is 50 or something and it's selfish of someone like myself to want him to continue wrestling beyond an age where he's not great anymore, or not comfortable in the ring. I mean just look at Flair. I am inclined to agree that it's possible TNA missed a big chance to advertise Sting and make a lot of money out of the man, it appears as though they are fans of the more spotty but apparent technical brilliance of Kurt Angle?

Yeah, be a shame when he goes, I am not sure how much it'll hit the company but it'll be sad to see the man gone.

 

[samboisdead]

I kinda have this conspiracy theory that Sting doesnt really want to retire but TNA is pushing him to do it just so they can get some cheap ratings. I mean look he makes pretty good money, he doesnt have to travel but once a month for a ppv as he lives in Orlando, and he doesnt do much in the ring anymore so their cant be any real fear of injury. And it isnt that Sting doesnt have it in the ring anymore I truly think he just puts it in neutral because he doesnt have to do much to get over plus the crowd to get him up really isnt their in TNA. I mean why give it your all when you no barely anyone is watching? And really with the phenomanal shape Sting is in 50 isnt all that old. Wrestling is hard on your body but Sting has wrestled more of the old school southern style wrestling through the years. In all honesty Shawn Micheals at 44 body is probably alot older physically than Stings. Most of the WWE main eventers are 40 to 45 years of age. Terry funk did moonsaults way into his 50s, we all no Flair could still go if he really wanted to he did a ladder match in his 60s. Anyway I think this could end up being a great thing for us the fans, because if i am right and he doesnt want to go he may just finally take that one year run with Vince just to pay them back.

 

[WCCWfan]

1. They didn't advertise him to allow themselves to win back WCW's audience that stopped watching wrestling after WCW was bought out.
2.They didn't book Sting to put over enough guys.
3.They didn't travel enough outside of the Impact Zone when Sting was world champion to see if the man can draw.
4. TNA didn't once go on Monday Nights to see if a name like Sting can still compete against WWE.
5. They didn't market those Sting masks and quite possibly give Rey Mysterio's mask a run in terms of selling merchandise.
6. TNA didn't capitalize on Sting's look to see if he can still garner in little kids to watch the product but again, back to marketing.

There's problems to the questions and statements here, folks.
1.They couldn't advertise him until his old WCW contract expired. They did what they could to promote right off the bat.
2.Who was worth being put over that wasn't in another angle/feud? Was he to put over Rock 'n Rave infection?
3.His contract was relaxed so he didn't do house shows. That's Steve Borden's choice. He was there to main event while balancing family life.
4. Would you really put Arena Football up against the NFL if they signed Jerome Bettis? That's suicide. You don't bank a company on one person's ability to draw (sorry, Kurt, goes for you too).
5.Do they NEED to market masks of an icon to boost his popularity? They hold zero relevance to Sting's popularity.
6.Maybe they did go for his look to bring in younger viewers and it didn't work.

We're talking about a veteran in a newer company. Half the viewers are looking for fresh talent, the other are enjoying seeing their faves that aren't working for Vince. Borden didn't want a full time schedule. I think TNA got a good amount of help from having Sting there, but he was the WCW company man back in the day, and now he's not trying to carry a company on his shoulders. TNA needs to push their company man, be it Joe, Styles, Abyss, Morgan, or whoever.

 

[CuddleBuns84]

I hope the WWE brings him in, and gives him a GM spot on raw. I would love to see that, it would create huge ratings help the WWE. See TNA is a rough place for stars. Small network, small crowds. It's a bummer to see the Original WCW great, pretty much the greatest superstar to ever come from WCW finally retire. He was fun to watch, and had great matches. TNA didn't marketed him that well as stated in the other interviews. Then again, TNA has only market a few things correctly, and sting wasn't one of them. We would all love to see a Sting run in the WWE. Just once. That would be just amazing.

 

[Louie Music]

No matter who retires, TNA will continue to make the same ol' boring pushes as tey have been for the past 5 years or so: Keep pushing Samoa Joe and AJ Styles and hope thatmaybe someday the general audience will be misled to believe tht those 2 guys are the future of TNA and the future of wrestling in general.

The only reason I started watching TNA was when they brought in Sting and he's still at the top of my list when I watch TNA.

Someone else said earlier that alot of the new guys are dull and that's why we need the older guys to stick around. Well, I totally agree. I'm hoping Matt Morgan and the Beer Money guys as well as Creed get the big push they deserve as of late, but let's fae it, TNA keeps pushing the wrong guys over and over, namely AJ and Joe.

I'll admit I wont watch TNA as much after Sting leaves unless that cmpany starts to rethink some things.

 

[TellMeWhy]

There's problems to the questions and statements here, folks.
1.They couldn't advertise him until his old WCW contract expired. They did what they could to promote right off the bat.
2.Who was worth being put over that wasn't in another angle/feud? Was he to put over Rock 'n Rave infection?
3.His contract was relaxed so he didn't do house shows. That's Steve Borden's choice. He was there to main event while balancing family life.
4. Would you really put Arena Football up against the NFL if they signed Jerome Bettis? That's suicide. You don't bank a company on one person's ability to draw (sorry, Kurt, goes for you too).
5.Do they NEED to market masks of an icon to boost his popularity? They hold zero relevance to Sting's popularity.
6.Maybe they did go for his look to bring in younger viewers and it didn't work.

We're talking about a veteran in a newer company. Half the viewers are looking for fresh talent, the other are enjoying seeing their faves that aren't working for Vince. Borden didn't want a full time schedule. I think TNA got a good amount of help from having Sting there, but he was the WCW company man back in the day, and now he's not trying to carry a company on his shoulders. TNA needs to push their company man, be it Joe, Styles, Abyss, Morgan, or whoever.

1. Old WCW contract expired? What are you talking about? I don't even think you have a clue about what you're saying. Sting's WCW AOL/Time Warner contract expired in 2002. Sting has been with TNA off and on since 2003. When he signed a contract with TNA in 2006, TNA or SpikeTV should have advertised Sting, who was the face of WCW and possibly flock over lots of disgruntled WCW fans to watch their product.
2. He could have been booked to put over Christopher Daniels, Kaz, some X-div. stars and many of the upcoming stars in TNA. If TNA booking was on point, it could have really helped them.
3. I'm not talking about house shows. I'm talking about PPV's. Instead of TNA booking different arenas each month for Sting to headline as world champ, they kept Sting as world champion that main evented in the Impact Zone over and over.
4. I didn't say TNA should have gone head to head with WWE on a weekly basis every Monday but with the starpower that TNA has, it would have been nice for TNA or Spike to do a test run on a Monday Night against WWE as a sample to see how they may fare in the future if they wanted to go head to head.
5. Who said anything about boosting Sting's popularity. I'm talking about something that is already there that TNA could have capitalized on.
6. How can he bring in younger viewers, when he's not advertised?? That's my point genius. Maybe if TNA ran some ads on Nickelodeon, Sting would've looked cool enough to attract that PG audience to see who the hell that cool guy with the black & white facepaint is.

Really, where is all of this coming from? I or no one ever said that Sting should have carried TNA but his name & marketing power could have done them wonders if they exploited some key things a bit more. That is all I'm saying. At the end of the day, it's a business and you want to succeed the best way possible and TNA didn't do that with him.

 

[DRAGO!!!!]

No this is horrible for TNA. When Nash, and Steiner, and Booker go its over. Angle is going for sure. When those guys leave its all thats left of WCW. Thats a huge fan base that TNA has that WWE doesn't. Those guys are all close. Maybe not Booker. But this is only going down for TNA

 

[ztwhite]

I'm not sure it matters one way or the other. I can't imagine there being too many wrestling fans who watch TNA solely for Sting - the same as I'm sure there aren't too many wrestling fans who watch the WWE for one guy in particular.

I'm sure it's a major blow for the guys in the TNA locker room because Sting certainly helps boost TNA's draw power when it comes to his name with semi frequent wrestling fans, but as for their overall TV ratings or PPV buys, I don't think it will matter.

Merchandise wise is where I think TNA will take the biggest hit. A lot of fans buy the Sting masks and shirts, but hopefully his vacated spot opens up opportunities for a younger guy like AJ Styles.

 

[jaxster]

This would be the worst case for TNA. For two reasons SPIKE only gave them a TV deal if they had Sting and secondly merchandise and viewership will drop. This will be good for WWE as they will give him a proper retirement send off and better storylines. Plus WWE is going PG which Sting said he wants to wrestle in that type of program. He and Shawn do their religious programs so it could be that he is WWE Bound and be the main Attraction in the next Hall of Fame. Long shot yes but whether he stays retired or goes to WWe it spells one thing for TNA T-R-O-U-B-L-E! TNA missed used him over the years, his departure/retirement coming in two months is a horrorible storyline or copy cat in the making, no build up what so ever and no one on the roster that can really step up and take that spot. TNA invested way too much in older guys who can't move around any more or last long. TNA will be rebuilding yet again. I just wish Sting did a few house shows for TNA as I think that would have brought in more ppl and house show revenue for them. Even if he did every other wk it would show something to the guys of look I am here and not only doing ppv's and tv. Plus the fans who love him would appreciate it more so. I think Sting lost the love of the sport at the end of WCW and only came back as a favor and for money in TNA. It is a shame if this is Stings end. TNA should have thought about this sooner. This is bad news for them and maybe a big big pick up for WWE RAW.