Sting already made his WWF debut 14 years ago. Fact.

[Creepy Old Man]

On the 2004 Monday Night War DVD, Billy Kidman stated that WWE personnel – headed by Shane McMahon – were in charge of the final edition of Nitro on March 26, 2001. The WWF had purchased the trademark of Nitro, meaning they owned the show.

Sting headlined that final program, against Ric Flair. One could argue that it didn't count as a WWF debut because Sting wasn't signed to the WWF at that time, but he wasn't contracted to WCW either: his deal was with AOL/Time Warner. He performed on a show that was owned and booked by the WWF (akin to ECW One Night Stand, I guess). It opened with Vince McMahon giving a promo in front of a huge "WWF Attitude" logo, featured multiple McMahon segments, and closed by airing McMahon's promo in the Raw main event (waterstamped "WWF", no less). Little doubt remained.

In June 2013, a VOC Nation Wrestling interviewer put to Sting that he had technically "wrestled on WWE TV", and Sting said this was "absolutely right". So WrestleMania 31 will mark Sting's second WWE match.

Your thoughts?

 

[Nate DaMac]

March 26, 2001 was 13 years ago, not 14. If you're going to be a smart ass, you might want to nail down the smart part first.

Who do you think you're informing? Sting technically wrestling on a WWE owned product is universally known but everyone with a brain recognizes that he has never had a match on a show booked by the WWE.

 

[Creepy Old Man]

March 26, 2001 was 13 years ago, not 14. If you're going to be a smart ass, you might want to nail down the smart part first.

Who do you think you're informing? Sting technically wrestling on a WWE owned product is universally known but everyone with a brain recognizes that he has never had a match on a show booked by the WWE.

Hi troll! 13 years and 9 months is a whole lot closer to 14 years than it is to 13. Just sayin', know?

Billy Kidman mustn't have a brain then. The imbecile was only ON Nitro that night. You know best from your sperm-smelling bedroom, I suppose.

 

[Mr.Maikeru_Sawyer]

although YES Steve wrestled for WWE in 2001 as the purchase was agreed to and WWE produced the show(their camera crew) the sale hadn't been finalized yet(S.e.C. had to okay the sale because of AOL being a publicly traded company)
it was still a stand alone WCW show. Written by WCW creative, against another WCW contracted wrestler, a WCW ring, with a WCW referee, WCW announcers..seeing a theme here?
S.Series was the first time he was in a WWE ring against a WWE opponent

 

[THTRobtaylor]

While Sting may have accepted that logic to avoid a lengthy debate with an interviewer the reality is somewhat different.

Sting was never contracted to WWE, when the acquisition took place, only 20 or so talents were included in the package. Someone like Booker T, Shane Helms, Chris Kanyon etc... They indeed were making their WWE debuts on that evening and it played into the outcome of the WCW Title match with Booker becoming the champion of the now WWE owned belt.

The higher level talent however were NOT included in the buyout and were still under their TimeWarner/AOL deals, some, like Steiner's appearance on that Nitro was a request from TimeWarner/AOL in return for them then being allowed to collect on their remaining deals. Others like Sting, Flair etc had no actual obligation to appear, indeed their contracts would prevent them being "forced" to work for new owners in the event of sales and that AOL/TW had to pay them regardless.

Negotiations for WWE deals were handled on an individual basis and thus we saw the "drip feed" of major names joining WWE over the next 2 years.

That Sting, Goldberg and all the others didn't sign a deal with WWE at that time means they did not work for them on that evening. Any who did appeared on a show that WCW/AOL Time Warner had booked, advertised and paid months in advance in order not to disappoint and thank the fans who had made WCW and their legacies there. They didn't HAVE to work the moment the deal was signed and funds transferred. Any WCW talent not on that list had the perfect right to say, "nope, not doing it...I'm going home" however many WERE interested in working for Vince so would have been more agreeable. Sting was not interested/convinced and was not going to be rushed. It's fishing to even suggest he did Vince a favour... he paid back his fans.

WWE would have offered Sting, Flair etc the option to appear on the show and literally "do what they liked" without interference, under the terms of their contracts they were working for THEIR employers, not Vince. If agents were involved, they would be WCW agents such as Arn Anderson or Dave Finlay, indeed much has been said over the years that Shane was literally there to make sure things went smoothly with the simulcast part and liaise with newly acquired talent, it was in a WCW run show with certain bullet points to tie up the loose ends in terms of titles that WWE now owned being with acquired talent.

It's a nice try, but Sting absolutely did not work for WWE until 3 weeks ago.

 

[Radical Canadian Goose]

Wow. I cannot believe that this is a thread. Yes he wrestled a WCW match on the night that the purchase happened. This match was not sold as a WWE show, nor was it advertised as a WWE show. This was the final WCW show and will always be known as that. This would be like me seeing a Slim Jim commercial during Raw (it happened in Canada) featuring Randy Savage. Does that mean that Macho Man was contracted by both WWE and WCW at the same time?

 

[FlairFan2003]

Hi troll! 13 years and 9 months is a whole lot closer to 14 years than it is to 13. Just sayin', know?

Billy Kidman mustn't have a brain then. The imbecile was only ON Nitro that night. You know best from your sperm-smelling bedroom, I suppose.

While I agree that using this "technicality" of sorts is a cheezy way to say Sting has in fact wrestled, or appeared at least, on WWE TV before S-Series 2014, it is false that he appeared on Nitro. The conclusion of the match with Flair was simulcast on RAW & Nitro so Sting appeared (albeit briefly) on both and WWE owned WCW at the time this event took place so even wrestling live on Nitro that night meant that TECHNCIALLY Sting did in fact wrestle on WWE TV.

 

[FlairFan2003]

Wow. I cannot believe that this is a thread. Yes he wrestled a WCW match on the night that the purchase happened. This match was not sold as a WWE show, nor was it advertised as a WWE show. This was the final WCW show and will always be known as that. This would be like me seeing a Slim Jim commercial during Raw (it happened in Canada) featuring Randy Savage. Does that mean that Macho Man was contracted by both WWE and WCW at the same time?

Nitro was owned by WWE when the episode aired so that was WWE TV and the conclusion of the match was simulcast on both RAW & Nitro.

It's a pretty tacky way to say Sting appeared in WWE before - but it is not incorrect.

 

[FlairFan2003]

While Sting may have accepted that logic to avoid a lengthy debate with an interviewer the reality is somewhat different.

Sting was never contracted to WWE, when the acquisition took place, only 20 or so talents were included in the package. Someone like Booker T, Shane Helms, Chris Kanyon etc... They indeed were making their WWE debuts on that evening and it played into the outcome of the WCW Title match with Booker becoming the champion of the now WWE owned belt.

QUOTE]

No talents or talent contracts were included in the WWE purchase of WCW. Absolutely none. WWE offered buyouts to WCW wrestlers who wanted out of their Time Warner deals to appear on WWE TV (with Time Warner's blessing) but WWE never purchased the rights to a single WCW wrestler contract.

WWE purchased the rights to WCW trademark names like Starrcade, Super Brawl, etc, and purchased the video library. They also included a clause in the contract prohibiting Time Warner from airing any wrestling product on their stations for several years post purchase. No talent contracts at all were included.

This is why other than DDP no main eventers joined WWE right away. WWE was interested but hesitant regarding Hogan & Nash and had immediate interest in Sting, Goldberg, & Flair. None of them were willing to take pennies on the dollar from the WWE buyouts and leave Time Warner's guaranteed money.

Flair's WCW deal was the smallest, he may have taken a buyout at the end but I don't think he had much time left if he did.

Goldberg, Nash, & Hogan waited till their deals were about done. Obviously with no other wrestling company of note in the US they could all afford to take time off and collect on their Time Warner deals, WWE would be there when they were ready. Likewise WWE was going to make money with or without them and could easily wait to make more money with them later.

Sting had different ideas as has been documented.

As for the wrestlers who joined WWE right away, most were low paid talent who weren't established stars and took the low ball buyouts just to get on TV, plus it wasn't like the WWE deals didn't pay them money even if it was less than WCW most of them were at the low end of WCW pay scale anyway. Booker & DDP were at the higher end (DDP was one of the highest paid in WCW) but they agreed to the low ball buyouts to get the exposure with WWE right away. (It wasn't like Flair, Hogan, or Nash had to worry about fans not being interested in them if they say out for awhile, they were huge stars already).

But WWE never bought talent contracts, they didn't want to be stuck with WCW deals that were set up differently than WWE contracts and they wanted to pick and chose pay scales as they saw fit. Obviously the top guys all got paid well when the finally appeared so it wasn't like WWE was working cheap.

 

[It's...Baylariat!]

HHH and Edge debuted in WCW.

Those are actual facts, not a 'technicality'.

And no, Sting didn't debut in WWE... because it was still booked under WCW and under the WCW banner. I mean WWE owned WCW, but it was still WCW, not the 'WCW' during the Invasion angle.

 

[tak161]

As many have previously stated, Sting did not wrestle for WWE. The final match of Nitro was just what it was, the final match on Nitro. It was a WCW show, in a WCW ring, with WCW announcers, in front of WCW fans. He was not under contract to WWE, and he was not being paid by Vince McMahon.

Sting in WWE means he is in a WWE ring, on a WWE show. That did not happen until Survivor Series. He has never been employed by Vince McMahon until now, thus meaning this was his debut for WWE.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

There absolutely were deals "included" in the form of "options" as not all WCW contracts were the same.

Lower talent did not have the kind of deals the higher talent had where they could not be compelled to work for a different company after a buyout. Indeed many of the older talents service wise had just that, deals signed BEFORE the AOL/TW buyout, which meant when that occured, they worked for them not Turner and it just happened again with Vince.

Any of those 20 or so talents Vince "wanted" he could option, it meant they had a simple choice to make, work for the WWE or their deals got ripped up. Only the very top guys, who had constant contract upgrades thanks to ATM Eric avoided that and could sit on their deals. Most who got the chance of that group jumped at it, while some like Rey waited a few months to decide/heal up before taking the offer.

It was another part of how the "have's" in WCW had it better than the others... The better known guys could say "No thank's Vince, we'll talk after my paid vacation" while if the lower tier wanted to get paid they had to work. After all, there would have been a flooding of the market of talent, so Japan/Indy shows etc wouldn't have been their best bet. Someone like a Kanyon, Shane Helms etc were on more in WCW than they could have conceivably made elsewhere, so working for Vince and "fulfilling that dream too" seemed a No-Brainer. Guys like Bagwell were NOT wanted but given a shot, which they blew. Some like DDP had no reason to go to WWE other than the challenge and some like the NWO saw pay days.. but still sat out their AOL deals first.

 

[JasonSilverTX]

Put it this way..

Just because the WWE owns the videos of WCW and can show David Flair wrestling on the WWE Network, doesn't mean David debuted on WWE.

Its a WWE owned product, featuring a WCW produced/filmed/orchestrated event with WCW owned Superstars.

In the case of the final WCW and Sting, it was a show with WCW/AOL Time WARNER contracted wrestlers, under the banner of a WCW tv show name, and the superstar in question was neither owned by WCW OR WWE. He was under contract with AOL/Time Warner and wrestling a final date for an event. The WWE 'DID' own the rights of the show, but, the show was still advertised as a WCW event(the 'final' Nitro I believe). Sting made no WWE debut, but rather was 'FEATURED' on a WWE owned event.

It would be the same case of WWE featuring clips of an indy show they support. Those wrestlers shown would not be debuting on WWE, but simply shown in the clips. Sting was SHOWN on RAW, but did not actually wrestle there nor paid by WWE. He was wrestling on a WCW bannered event and PAID by AOL/Time Warner. So technically he has APPEARED on a WWE event, but not debuted.

 

[Trill Co$by]

No, it isn't even a technical fact. In 2002, when WWE bought the rights to WCW they bought the name and the contracts of wrestlers who weren't signed to AOL/TW but to WCW. Guys like Mysterio, Chavo, etc. Sting, on the other hand, was signed to W. Acquisition Company (Owned by Ted Turner) until the end of his contract. After that, Sting would retire until coming out of said retirement to join TNA.

Also, any man who's dumb enough to let Torrie Wilson go is in fact dumb.

 

[JasonSilverTX]

Just an add-on, but Sting was out of retirement long before TNA came around. He was wrestling other smaller shows, most notably he wrestled for WWA(World Wrestling All-stars) which was a precursor to TNA as it featured pretty much their entire talent pool before TNA was formed and carried them over.

 

[JoeyJoeJoe]

I don't see what the point of this thread is.

Even if you want to split hairs and say Sting appeared on the Nitro that WWE owned, and therefore that somehow counts, that's a pretty pathetic debut.

Where is my poll option that says Vince McMahon wasted Sting in the worst debut of all time, if that's the case?

He had a single match on a show he was already on that was bought out by a rival competitor and he never returned. Big whoopdie doo. You've pointed out the most minor technicality...a trick gotcha question that will be asked one day as part of a third rate trivia game.

 

[Goldie]

Sting appeared on a WCW show newly owned by WWE.
Making this an 'official WWE debut' is a whole different ball game.

The final Nitro was still the WCW product, still the WCW wrestlers, the WCW writers, the WCW bookers, the WCW Television & Effects crew. It was watched by a WCW audience.
Shane McMahon went and oversaw the show of course, but to call this final WCW broadcast 'Stings official WWE debut' is farfetched.
Maybe Stings 'unofficial debut' is a more correct term.

 

[Psykohurricane55]

The fact that this is actually a thread makes me laugh. Sorry but Sayaing that Sting made his WWE debut 14 years ago because he wrestled on the final nitro it'S like saying that edge made is mainstream wrestling debut in WCW because he job out to Meng on WCW pro or that Bobby Roode and Samoa Joe made the WWE debut because the were jobber on a edition of WWE velocity. It makes no sense at all, Sting was just a guy that wasn't contracted WWE wrestlers, he was a WCW contracted wrestler at the time and decided to do his job that night because he was booked on the show before WWE bought the company.

When Sting got booked on that final nitro, Eric Bischoff was still supposed to buy the company, the deal fell throught during that week and WWE bought the company after so Sting beeing a company decided to go on and do his job anyway and wrestled his last WCW match on that night.

 

[Old Timer]

Really enjoyed watching Sting. Is he still active? I got lots of good memories of him, always respected him a lot

 

[thebarber]

firstly, it was 13 years ago.
Secondly, even though WCW had been purchased days before, Sting was still working under the banner of WCW. There was no signage in Panama City for WWE that I rememberm, it was a seperate entity.
Yes WWE owned WCW, but Sting was not contracted to WWE and was only on WWE Raw due to the live simulcast of both shows on two differeing channels.
Sting appeared under the WWE banner for the first time at Survivor Series 2014. End of story.

 

[shalliin]

Which company name was on the check that he got for working that night? was it wwe, wcw or time warner? it was was wcw or time warner then no, he didn't wrestle for WWE at the time as the deal had not been finalized so it was not yet complete that WCW was no longer a separate company but only a WWE brand. And if it was Time Warner, then absolutely no way he was working as a WWE employee that night. So despite technically appearing on the simulcast, doesn't mean he was even technically working a WWE event unless he was paid by WWE itself for the night.
Similar to how Mick Foley was mentioned on wcw as winning the title on raw that night, doesn't mean he was even technically on nitro.

 

[rmp0012002]

While Sting did technically wrestle in MSG once he was not a WWE employee for that final Nitro. Vince did not purchase the contracts of the wrestlers in the deal as they were left to WCW/UWC to fulfill.

 

[thebarber]

the final Nitro was nowhere near Madison Square Garden...it was in Panama City Florida

 

[rmp0012002]

the final Nitro was nowhere near Madison Square Garden...it was in Panama City Florida

Very true as I'm pretty good with geography, but that wasn't my point smart ass. The point was that the closest Sting ever got to working for Vince prior to the final Nitro was a WCW card at MSG (actually below MSG) which for decades was the Mecca for WWE.