Personally, I really do hope Sting makes the move this time and really does appear at Mania, whether it's against Taker or someone else.
Thankfully, it seems that the notion has disappeared that people still think that Sting should not "sell out" to McMahon and WWE, and that Sting should remain the "one guy" who really made it big without the WWE machinery. Because here's the thing: Sting doesn't need to prove that anymore - He's already done that.
He's undeniably the biggest and most well-known wrestling star outside the WWE universe, and I've made the experience that even here in Europe, where wrestling's not nearly as big as in the US, people usually know Hogan, know Rock, and surprisingly, Sting. And that's just all the testament to his legacy that you need. Sting has already shown that he could make it without WWE; at 54 years old, he has sh*t to prove to anybody, and he can do whatever the hell he pleases.
That being said, I'd love for the Stinger to walk down the aisle at Mania. Simply because he deserves to be on the big stage one more time, and end his career on a high note. His work and dedication for TNA is admirable, but at the end of the day, TNA is the minor leagues. WWE is where it's at. And for a guy that's 54 years old, Sting is still in incredible shape and can still go - sure, he's not the high flying Sting of the 1990ies anymore, but for his age, he's still good. So he may be going a bit bald, and wearing a t-shirt to the ring is probably not the best of choices... but I bet that if Sting signs a WWE deal for Mania, he's gonna work his butt off in the gym to be in the best shape possible for Mania, and he will make that one match count.
No one is asking of Sting to do a full year or so for WWE; really I guess we just want to see him that one time. And considering how good Sting was and still is, I'm pretty confident he could still put on that one last big match. It may not end up a five star classic, but I'm not asking for that. A good, solid match - and in my opinion, Sting is absolutely capable of pulling that of. Me personally, as a WCW fan and follower back in the day, I'd love for the Stinger to have that Mania moment. I'd mark the hell out, no matter what. At this point it's probably still just wishful thinking, but man, would it be awesome