It's Official The REAL Sting Returns on 1.3.13!

[Papa Pillman]

It wont be Sting because the "road to hell" just isnt his thing.

A Sting return is TOO typical and predictable, it's happened WAAAY too many times.

These are the same things that people said about the promos with the little kid that WWE was running around this time last year.

No matter how many people knew they were Jericho return promos, others said that they couldn't possibly be for Jericho.

They said that, apart from the fact that the verbiage being used by the kid fit with Jericho's previous character before he had last left, the videos in no way fit Jericho and weren't reminiscent of the style of return promos they used for him in the past.

They said that a set of cryptic vignettes hyping a Jericho return were too typical and predictable and overdone; therefore, they must be foreshadowing someone else.

And look what happened in that case.

Sometimes when things seem so obvious to so many, its because they are. This vignette is alluding to the return of Sting. I just don't see it being debatable. Arguing for anyone else is fruitless. Sting will return on 1/3/13. Put it in the books.

 

[FitFinlay4Life]

What has been overlooked thus far is that Sting isn't the only TNA guy to be completely taken out by the Aces & Eights, we also have Magnus and EY. Sting has done the insane gimmick recently and the angel of vengeance prior to that. EY has been playing off kilter for several years (off and on) and a more demented edge might really help refresh what many of his critics feel is becoming stale. As for Magnus, he was already exhibiting ruthless tendencies in his program with Joe - this unprovoked attack could allow him to amp that up to 11. I can see this as the beginning of a story leading into LockDown (especially with the two month build) but I feel the TNA side is likely still missing at least one element... most likely Kurt and, quite possibly, Joe - two competitors who have exhibited bloodlust at times in the past.

So, Fit's (most likely misguided) prediction is that Lethal Lockdown will feature the aforementioned five guys against Devon, DOC and three other Aces & Eights some or all of whom will be revealed.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

Not getting my hopes up for this at all. Sorry, but when it comes to major storylines, shocking surprises, or earth-shattering revelations, I don't trust TNA anymore. "They" at BFG 2010 was bad, but fuck, at least you had Hogan, Jarrett, Abyss, and Hardy. Some guys with real name value, and I wanted to tune into Impact to see the aftermath. But revealing Devon as the first known member of Aces & Eights was the nail in the coffin for me.

But yeah, this promo video screams something reminiscent of Abyss. Although, Chris Parks is just fantastic as Joesph Parks, so I hope TNA doesn't decide to go with a full-time return for The Monster. The Joesph Parks character has proved to be a nice change of pace for him, but returning to Abyss full-time would be a huge setback in my eyes.

So when 1/3/13 rolls around, I'll go through my usual Thursday night routine. Sit in front of the TV, and watch Impact from 8-10, but I will not get my hopes up for anything good or shocking.

 

[UrUp]

It will not be Joseph Park as his "wrestling training" gimmick has just begun and has more legs on it then three weeks. He'll be on Impact tonight, he's not going to return from wrestling training as Abyss.

I believe this vignette will be for new talent and not Sting. If Sting is involved, I believe he'll have some type of group with him.

For me, this vignette seems like it involves more then one person.

 

[Ferreira]

What if it is The Pope?

After all he was taken out by Aces and Eights and message can be related to a message from a Messiah or a Pope: "Vengeance Will Have A Name... He Will Descend Upon Them... Like A Plague... And They Will Fear Him 1.3.13"

Pope coming back to take on Aces and Eights and Devon, in particular, makes sense. The message used for this also makes sense with Pope being the returning one, maybe a more serious Pope, a darker Pope (no pun intended).

 

[Papa Pillman]

What if it is The Pope?

After all he was taken out by Aces and Eights and message can be related to a message from a Messiah or a Pope: "Vengeance Will Have A Name... He Will Descend Upon Them... Like A Plague... And They Will Fear Him 1.3.13"

Pope coming back to take on Aces and Eights and Devon, in particular, makes sense. The message used for this also makes sense with Pope being the returning one, maybe a more serious Pope, a darker Pope (no pun intended).

Now here is an interesting proposal...

This is the first name that isn't Sting that has been brought up and attached to enough logic that actually makes me feel like it could be a different feasible option.

If it is the return of Pope with a darker more serious character than the pimptastic Pope of the past, returned to seek his revenge on Devon and Aces and Eights, that could actually be really interesting. I like it as a possibilty.

He should also definitely be cleared to wrestle at this point. He's been out since August, and IIRC his estimated recovery time was only 2-3 months.

 

[slappy5524]

I like the idea of the Pope returning.

Did anyone else pay attention to the towel Bully Ray threw down when confronting Hogan on 12/13?

Ideally, I'd like to see a tweener stable who would dish out justice to anyone like the Shield in Vince's dog & pony show. My preference is for 5 members... Sting, Angle, & Bully Ray but can't decide on the other 2.

Possiblities IMO are... Storm, EY, Joe, Anderson who we haven't seen for awhile, The aforementioned Pope, & AJ considering his recent attitude shift on the 12/13 Impact.

 

[Brewski]

What if it is The Pope?

After all he was taken out by Aces and Eights and message can be related to a message from a Messiah or a Pope: "Vengeance Will Have A Name... He Will Descend Upon Them... Like A Plague... And They Will Fear Him 1.3.13"

Pope coming back to take on Aces and Eights and Devon, in particular, makes sense. The message used for this also makes sense with Pope being the returning one, maybe a more serious Pope, a darker Pope (no pun intended).

There is no way they would make a promo like that for a guy who was one of the jobbers of BFG series and made his last come back by just showing up.

 

[Alex]

It would be cool if it was Raven. I've been watching some Raven matches and promos lately and it just seems to be something that would suit him.

Honestly though with the rampant speculation no one quite knows for sure and that's good. Now if TNA can deliver on these promos then it will be a good surprise.

 

[ABMorales787]

My most likely candidate is Mr. Anderson. The latest promo featured a line claiming "they will all fear him". Back at Lockdown 2010, the promo for that PPV featured Mr. Anderson repeatedly exclaiming "Fear Me" with a demonic voice. Given also that Anderson wasn't removed from TV due to injury but due to having nothing for him, this seems like the most likely re-introduction for a guy who's very clearly a darling of Hulk Hogan. Not that there's nothing wrong with that, Anderson's proven to be damn good at times.

I don't the whole concept of TNA hyping something and at the end it being considered a "disappointment" it's a very old concept of wrestling to hype things and aside from Immortal's eventual fall down the sinkhole due to Hardy, I don't really recall a hyped announcement from TNA that didn't deliver.

 

[SpecialFNK]

whoever the video is for, I think it's too early. Aces/Eights aren't exactly steam rolling right now with big momentum. in fact more the opposite. they just recently had THREE additional members interfere in a match, and they still lost the match.
if someone is going to return to help take on Aces/Eights, it should come at a time when TNA needs help against Aces/Eights.

 

[It's Damn Real!]

As seen on IMPACT tonight, Sting—the real Sting— will officially return to TNA on 1.3.13, as was revealed in the final promo they ran.

[YOUTUBE]Naz895Crb_E[/YOUTUBE]

Frankly, I'm perfectly fine with the move not being anyone crazy or brand new. Sting will help to add a lot of interest to the tapings in England TNA will be airing throughout January.

I'm sure some people will be disappointed over it "just" being Sting, but fuck them. The Stinger is back, baby! It's SHOWTIME!

 

[Brewski]

He's the Boogeyman and he's coming to GET YOU!

I can't be the only one who thought of that first?

I'm excited for a sting return and a new gimmick but I still wish he was the more quiet creepy sting from the original crow gimmick. Always thought that was just scary.

 

[Detroitsandman]

It could be anybody really, it could be the crow Sting. Or the most logical scenario would be abyss. Crimson could happen to cuz he just lost the ovw championship to Rob Terry but Crimson left when he lost to James Storm so building him up like this wouldn't make sense. It isn't justified if this is a return or debut yet so it could be alot of guys.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Nothing wrong that it's going to be Sting but nothing really right either. Basically, it looks like we're, yet again, going to have Sting play the role of TNA's knight in shining armor coming to save TNA from Aces & Eights. Evidently, whenever TNA's existence is threatened in the the power struggle storylines, Sting's the only one that's able to save the company while every other face has his thumb up his ass. So Sting will make his return, he'll look damn near invincible for a while, he'll probably wind up taking out a few A&E members with his baseball bat, he'll have them running scared and will do more to them in one or two weeks than the entire roster has in the past 7 months. Same old same old. It might actually be worth seeing if Aces & Eights came across as legit threats in any way. They do fine when it's half a dozen guys coming up behind one guy with a lead pipe or a hammer, yet they lose 90+% of their matches and can only win if they're against "lawyers" or with tons of interference. So yeah, Sting'll basically eat 'em alive and be hailed as the conquering hero.

Aces & Eights has been far from exciting and I don't see Sting's return to the same sort of role we've seen him play countless times in TNA against the big bad heel faction is going to freshen things up. It'll be nice to see him again from a purely nostalgic standpoint but that's about it.

 

[andrewp488]

According to impact this week it was said that sting is coming back I think it was kaz and daniels that said it so maybe the 1.3.13 could be when sting does return

 

[Zeven_Zion]

Sting's returns have turned into as much of an overhyped bore-fest as Shawn Michaels' returns.

YES HE RETURNS! WE GET IT! HE'S BEEN GONE FOR 2 MONTHS!​

I swear, those fucking wrestling companies today are milking the holy turd out of the concept of "the return". They try to smack a return on anyone, anywhere at anytime, thinking that it'll have the special, feel-good feeling inducing effect on the audience while it's done everything BUT that.

We're desensitized to it. Seen too many of them, too many of THOSE didn't matter.

Same thing with Sting's return. He's coming back for his bat. Apparently he ran out of bats over the years and this was the last he ever owned.

He'll come back, forget to tuck his leotard into his boots again and look like a fool, people will cheer, Mike and Taz will destroy the moment and Aces and Eights goons will fly around.

Seen it before. "Immortal", I think they called it.

 

[MrAnderson123]

In my opinion, this was a huge letdown. I was at least expecting someone deserving of hype.
As the person above me said, it's a second hand 'Immortal'.
I've been a TNA die hard fan for at least 7 years now, and this has to be up there with the dissapointments.
It's good he's back. But he should be in Hogan's spot, as GM.

 

[JJYanks121]

Man, I thought I posted in this thread but it must have been in an LD. What I said was "if anyone thinks the video is anything but Sting, they're being naive." It's nice to get the speculative juices going, but anyone with a brain knew that these things are always Sting in TNA. That's why I didn't go nuts over it. It's fine to promote the guy as he's TNA's Undertaker in that sense, but why people still cant' figure out vignettes for the guy when they do it EVERY YEAR is beyond me.

As for the return........ho hum. Old man comes back to battle a group that is so bad, I hear the reason they don't show the darts hitting the board is because nobody actually hits it! Kidding, but it's an awful group and they aren't dominating anything so Sting isn't really needed in that sense.

Good thing the "real" Sting is coming back though. I mean, he was so sure which the "real" Hogan was, clearly this madman will have a grasp on which the "real" version of himself is hehe.

 

[hatehabsforever]

I get the whole idea of hyping a return of an icon like Sting, I really do, but hasn't he only been gone a couple of months? At least when the Undertaker does one of his annual returns, he's been absent for a significant period of time. Sting has only been gone a couple of months, so I can't help but question the necessity of a mysterious vignette when everyone on the planet knew it all revolved around Sting coming back to feud with Aces and Eights.

I am glad, though, that at least we are getting the "real" Sting coming back to wage war with this rogue faction. After all, a faction comprised of Devon Dudley, Festus, not to mention some of the other rumored names to be in the group, that's going to take some major firepower to bring them down, something that only the "real" Sting could provide. After all, Aces and Eights have been on such a dominant winning streak, 1/3/13 could be a real turning pont in terms of the future of TNA.

 

[IT Factor]

I honestly believed these videos were for Abyss. Especially since they had Joseph Park training in OVW, so the timing would've fit. Dual characters and such. However, it is just another Sting return. At this point, I think Sting has had so many numerous "returns" that the desired effect will not work. Sure, people will pop when he returns. But it has been done to death and a week later it'll be routine again. Sting has went about as far as he possibly can in Impact Wrestling. He needs to get on board with a WWE match with WrestleMania and The Undertaker next year to be the cherry on top of his storied career. Everyone wants their "wrestlemania moment". Sting should get his before he retires and it would be interesting to see how the story for it plays out.

 

[HBsam31]

I am glad the real Sting is back, but just as everyone else has said, wrestling is really over hyping their returns lately. Sting has only been gone for a little while, and while I thought the videos were predictably going to be him it just seems a little overdone for the time that he was off. Like I said I am glad he is returning I think that a surprise return and house cleaning of Aces and Eights would have been a better return for Sting.

 

[This Is My Name Thank You]

I don't mind that it is Sting. Everyone basically had a feeling it was him. The only issue I have is how TNA handled Aces & Eights. That is a bigger let down than the vignettes for a returning Icon. Sting will come, and either he is the leader of the group or he gets demolished by Aces & Eights. A's 8's could really use a strong moment to help legitimize themselves. Maybe Sting is that answer, as he is returning and it said something like roads will be paved in blood. Maybe it is his own blood, this time around.

I personally wish it was someone else, like Crimson or Abyss. But if it is Sting, I wouldn't mind that.