Will Sting even get a pop when he debuts?

[Creepy Old Man]

I'm in no way sh!tting on Sting. He's a legend of the industry and a surefire WWE Hall of Famer when he calls it a day. However, there are two key problems with Sting's WWE debut: 1) This isn't WCW, and 2) this isn't 1997.

The kids will have NO CLUE. Some adults will, but I'm not convinced that all of the passionate WrestleMania week WWE fans were fans of WCW 15-20 years ago. TNA isn't really popular, so I doubt it'll have much of a bearing on how WWE fans treat Sting. If he debuts the night after WM30, as is rumored, I'd guess that maybe 30% of the audience would have an interest in him. Of course, WWE are able to get people invested in stars over time, but I'm talking about the first night.

I think there will be audible crowd noise, but not a "pop". Maybe a little louder than what Jake Roberts got when he returned a couple months back, but certainly not as loud as what, say Christian gets on a typical night when working face. Again, I'm not crapping on Sting, I'd love to hear the fans go crazy but I just don't see it happening.

What are your thoughts?

 

[JJ15776]

Jake Roberts was exactly the guy I was going to mention. I guess you don't consider that a pop, but I certainly would. It was definitely more of a reaction than guys like Christian get, like you said.

I'm guessing you don't have kids, not young ones that are currently fans of the WWE. It's pretty easy to go on the internet and learn about old names and watch their matches on YouTube, and it's even easier now with the WWE Network. Kids knows exactly who Sting is. Especially with TNA...we can mock them all we want, but people know what TNA is and who's on there. Kids might not react like the adults, of which there is plenty, will, but they'll still react. He will get a very good pop indeed.

Plus, Sting isn't likely to just show up one day. They're going to hype his appearance endlessly, and everybody that doesn't know him now will know who he is and what he did by the time he shows up.

 

[wrestler36]

IF he signs, it's not for sure that that he will be active so who knows if there even will be a debut. He may just go to the HOF. If that's he case he'll get a HUGE pop since I would assume that most attendees are adults

 

[OYDK]

I dunno, it's a bit of a stretch to say that only 30% of the audience would recognize or be interested in Sting because honestly, the guy is a legend and people are going to mark out to see him in the WWE. I would say that about 70 % of the crowd will actually CARE about Sting but you can bet that, that 70% is going to be making some NOISE.

On another note, I thought Jake the Snakes pop was pretty massive for somebody like him. Not taking anything away from the Snake, he is a legend but he aint no Hogan, Austin, or Sting. I think Sting gets a much bigger pop than Jake.
Then again you never know with the WWE fans. I wouldn't be too surprised to see the fans bury the shit out of Sting either.

 

[ckoneagain]

IF he signs and IF he debuts the night of or after Mania and IF he somehow gets the attention of Undertaker as part of his debut then that would be plenty to get people excited about him and those who don't know him will sure as hell go find out who he is, not that they'll have to, his entire back-catalogue of 'relevant' work will be plastered over the network and the website the second he sets foot in the building. I don't see it being an issue at all

 

[ShawnBronald]

Does Undertaker get a reaction? He only shows up once a year, certainly the kiddies can't appreciate what he's done. Yet, somehow, he gets a nice ovation every time he returns. Sting will get the same reaction, possibly more just because it will such a shock since he's never wrestled in WWE. Fans know who he is. The kids may or may not, but I'd estimate at least 75% of the crowd will and that's enough to get a 'pop'.

 

[kadroan]

Depends on how WWE prepares us for his debut, if they signed him. If he just randomly shows up, he'd be lucky to get a reaction like Psycho Sid when he returned last year.

Now, if they take advantage of WCW's tape library and his character, we might have something. They're going to really need to educate the audience now, release DVDs, show more WCW on the Network

 

[CrucifiedRaven]

I wouldn't be surprised at all if part way through the Undertaker/Lesnar match a "We Want Sting" chant breaks out. Not to mention that the majority of the WrestleMania crowd are smart wrestling fans. They chanted for Lesnar's return. Same with Goldberg's return. Sting, if he shows up at 'Mania will get a pop. It'll be a huge mark out moment for a lot of people I think. Even if they delay it to the next night, it'll still happen.

 

[Charismatic Enigma]

I think when it comes to getting a pop its all about context. Where do you think Punk gets a bigger reaction Idaho or Chicago? Get what I'm saying? If you're gonna debut a guy like Sting you either do in front of a super hot smart crowd (i.e.: Mania) or you do it in Atalanta, home of WCW.

I was actually just thinking the other day, how WWE really sucks nowadays about never being able to keep a return a complete surprise because they are more interested in the ratings than the shock value. Lesnar was the last time it was attempted although word had already gotten out, but he still got a big pop. I had an idea how to debut Sting that I think works for everyone involved, if they are actually gonna go through with this, here's how I'd do it…

We're nearing the end of Taker/Lesnar and Lesnar is just beating him mercilessly, it looks like the streak is seconds from ending, high drama, the crowd is going crazy, and right as Lesnar is about the make the pin, the lights go out. Spotlight to the rafters and we see Sting up there with the baseball bat, lights come back on, Taker regains consciousness. Lesnar is about to go for the F5, but Sting shows up at the ramp/near/in the ring whatever, and either interferes or provides enough distraction for Taker to somehow get a miraculous last second win.

Next night…

Sting cuts a promo, saying he's been waiting for his moment to strike, he's done it all in this business, the only thing missing is to headline a WM and take the streak. He "protected" Undertaker because only one man is gonna get the chance to end, and it's gonna be him. Taker is furious, because he was ready to lose like a man, respect, blah blah blah. We get the occasional mind games for the next year leading to 31. In the process, WWE pumps up Sting with a bunch of old footage while he gets in shape for the match, and Lesnar doesn't leave looking weak because he beat Taker within an inch of his life.

The pop is all about a BIG debut being done in the right way, otherwise in front of the wrong crowd you'd get a lot of confusion from the younger fans. Unless you build him up with vignettes first, but whats the fun in that? Remember when Warrior came back at the end of WM8 with no build up…goosebumps. We need a moment like that.

 

[Mustang Sally]

Have to admit I've been wondering about this. I keep comparing it to Hulk Hogan's re-emergence in WWE; it's been said the initial audience reaction to him wasn't that hot even though he's been in the public consciousness all these years both in and out of a pro wrestling context.

With Sting, it's not the same; he's a legend in the world of wrestling, but not beyond it, unless you were a fan of "Thunder in Paradise" and have worshipped Steve Borden as a celebrity ever since. Worse, his only exposure in his chosen profession since WCW folded in '01 has been in TNA, which isn't the way a performer keeps himself in the public eye.

Sometimes, a wrestler coming into WWE gets the benefit of brief mentions on Raw and Smackdown over a period of weeks (He's coming!) so we have time to think about him. But if Sting's first WWE appearance is slipped into WM30 with no advance fanfare, I wonder what kind of reaction he'll get.

Sure, loads of folks who attend pro wrestling shows aren't fans of the "sport" but can be counted on to cheer (or boo) a performer based on what they see everyone else doing. I still say that ("Yes!") is largely based on that; tons of people who neither know nor care about Daniel Bryan but love to chant along with everyone else. You watch it happen on Raw and get the idea Daniel is the most popular wrestler ever.

But if Sting shows up at WM30 out of the blue, his whole reaction will depend on how well he's already known and appreciated. That's dicey; the company might have to position a bunch of people in the crowd to be "cheerleaders" and get the audience reaction going. I'm sure it wouldn't be the first time they've had to do this.

Because of all this, it might be better to wait until after WM30, give the guy some build-up with short vignettes, and introduce him a month later, letting the less savvy viewers understand they are about to be in the presence of a true legend of pro wrestling.

 

[streicher187]

Your kidding right?

IF at Mania taker wins and the lights go out the roof will blow off the place, you assume these kids don't

A. Watch TNA
B. Know what WCW was

He will get a pop that rivals that of Ric Flair or Hogan and is 10x better than most active guys on the WWE roster. You have the same mind set as Vince and HHH about Sting but I seldom watched WCW during the "wars" but knew who Sting was and w/ all the DVDs and WWE Network most people do and know the only dream match left is Sting/Taker (sorry CM Punk worshippers but and Austin/Punk match is not a real dream match).

 

[Xemmy]

It's a simple matter of when and where he debuts. Wrestlemania is full of old school fans. If he debuts on the grandest stage of all, Sting will get the biggest pop he's had since the days of WCW. If he debuts on a random Raw, he could very well get crickets. If they're in New York, Pittsberg, Chicago, or some other "wrestling" city, it'll be fine. He's been out of the mainstream spotlight for a very long time now, but I'm not sure how much that'll hurt him. Hell, I haven't seen him on my TV since I was 7, and I'm still desperate to see him make his debut.

All WWE has to do is be careful where they put him, and he'll be fine, the rest of the fans will quickly catch up.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

If he signs the WWE hype machine will go into full effect and Sting will get a monstrous reception when he shows up.

Is he going to be a massive draw for the company though? Only initially. The appeal will wear off quickly. Sting has been available to watch on TV if people wanted so see him over the last decade after all.

 

[thebowtiekiller]

I really hope the crowd goes beserk if or when he turns up its a moment a lot of fans have wanted to see for years and a dead crowd could kill it but it really depends on how wwe have him debut.they make some strange decisions sometimes and a report said a while back that wwe dont plan on treating stings debut as a big deal so if thats true they already had decided to put little effort into it before he even signed the contract.i think the image most fans have is sting showing up in crow style makeup and challenging taker or at least some variation of that scenario.but as i said wwe make some strange decisions and for all we know vince might see it as some sort of final victory over wcw to make a fool of him.

 

[closet_fan]

Debuting him the night of Wrestlemania or the RAW after where the crowd is one of the craziest would be the best move they could do. Most of the audience at these shows have shelled out money for years, coming from other countries. They are the hardest of hardcore fans. They know their wrestling. It's just like when Lesnar came back. Of course more people know or knew Lesnar more than Sting, but debuting these guys' comebacks is better when it's between these 2 dates.

If he shows up 3/6 or 3/7 and the kids who don't know who he is see the reaction he gets, they'll do their homework on him and start looking at his past to get themselves caught up.

I hope him being in New Orleans that same day and his pre-WM appearance elsewhere being limited is more than a coincidence.

 

[CrucifiedRaven]

If they want to build towards 'Taker and Sting at WM31, they need to manage it carefully. It should probably be booked similarly to Rock/Cena I.

First, they have to debut Sting in a big way, preferably at Mania30 and have the initial confrontation/challenge with the Undertaker.

Second, they need to build Sting up throughout the year to make him a credible threat to Undertaker but without overexposing him. This is the challenging part, especially over the course of a year. Does he make sporadic appearances on RAW and just lay people out? Do they book him into actual matches at SummerSlam or the Rumble?

Third, they need to find a reason for Sting/Undertaker to be feuding. If it's just "we are kind of similar, I respect you, and I want to end the streak", that's boring. Why should Sting show up before 'Mania31?

Who knows if Sting is even signing. And what their plans are for him. But it will be tricky booking.

 

[Rich the UK WWE Fan 2k14]

You IWC nerds need to STFU, Sting ain't coming to WWE, he's said many times that he will never work for Vince McMahon, if he was coming, he would've joined during the WCW Invasion angle in 2001 and not bothered with TNA.

 

[hatehabsforever]

I have absolutely no doubt that if Sting debuts in WWE, whether it be at WM30, at RAW the night after, or whenever else, he will undoubtedly get a significant pop. Frankly I cannot imagine why he would not. He is not that far removed from his active wrestling career, only being a few months removed from his tenure in Impact Wrestling. He has had a legendary and lengthy career, having earned the moniker of "icon" for this reason. And sure, there may be some kids in the audience who may not know who he is, but all of those kids have parents, and you can be damn sure that they will know who he is and will absolutely positively respond to seeing him arrive on the grandest stage of them all.

I can't say for sure that we will ever see it happen, but if we do, there will be a well deserved pop. Even in 2014.

 

[MrGameTime]

Ok lets clear a few things up,

To all the smarks who think he hasn't signed, is it a coincidence that sting is in the same location on the same date of wrestlemania 30 and raw the next night? Or how about that WWE have trademarked "the man called sting"? Or how about how sting laid the seeds in his Q and A in london last week about wanting to face undertaker and that he has been watching raw and not tna?? Or which i think is the biggest giveaway yet is WWE have been promoting Sting a great deal on the network and wwe.com, most notably in trailers for the network, where all other wcw wrestlers have taken the backseat, strange for wwe for to do that if sting has not signed a deal isnt it? Its obvious he is gone from TNA, all he wants to do is have the match against undertaker, again which he said in the Q and A, look it up on youtube for evidence,
Its not a case of IF sting has signed its now a case of HOW he is going to debut.

The second thing to clear is up is the horrible idea of sting debuting in takers and lesnars match to help give taker the win GOD NO you cannot make undertaker look weak, if sting shows up at all in the lesnar match it is a clear giveaway that lesnar is then destined to loose so they can do sting vs taker at wm31.

Sting will either appear at the end of takers match, or on the next night of raw.

If i had to bet i would say, taker comes out on raw at the end of the night and begins to cut a promo saying he has nothing left to proove then sting makes his debut after some lights out a maybe a freaky video intro on the titantron, the fans will eat it up, raw after wrestlemania fans are the biggest marks THEY WILL ALL KNOW who Sting is. sting will get a huge pop, the fans will love it, Sting dosent even need to say anything just stand there at the top of the ramp with black and white face paint with a long black cloak staring at undertaker in the ring.... raw then closes.

 

[L@RISANO]

Ok lets clear a few things up,

To all the smarks who think he hasn't signed, is it a coincidence that sting is in the same location on the same date of wrestlemania 30 and raw the next night? Or how about that WWE have trademarked "the man called sting"? Or how about how sting laid the seeds in his Q and A in london last week about wanting to face undertaker and that he has been watching raw and not tna?? Or which i think is the biggest giveaway yet is WWE have been promoting Sting a great deal on the network and wwe.com, most notably in trailers for the network, where all other wcw wrestlers have taken the backseat, strange for wwe for to do that if sting has not signed a deal isnt it? Its obvious he is gone from TNA, all he wants to do is have the match against undertaker, again which he said in the Q and A, look it up on youtube for evidence,
Its not a case of IF sting has signed its now a case of HOW he is going to debut.

The second thing to clear is up is the horrible idea of sting debuting in takers and lesnars match to help give taker the win GOD NO you cannot make undertaker look weak, if sting shows up at all in the lesnar match it is a clear giveaway that lesnar is then destined to loose so they can do sting vs taker at wm31.

Sting will either appear at the end of takers match, or on the next night of raw.

If i had to bet i would say, taker comes out on raw at the end of the night and begins to cut a promo saying he has nothing left to proove then sting makes his debut after some lights out a maybe a freaky video intro on the titantron, the fans will eat it up, raw after wrestlemania fans are the biggest marks THEY WILL ALL KNOW who Sting is. sting will get a huge pop, the fans will love it, Sting dosent even need to say anything just stand there at the top of the ramp with black and white face paint with a long black cloak staring at undertaker in the ring.... raw then closes.

My feelings exactly.

I also think that the match can be setup on that very RAW, and the build-up is something I am looking forward to and hope the WWE Creative can do it justice. Apart from HBK vs the Rock, this is the one showdown of past years that I have wanted to see especially for the build-up.

 

[FitFinlay4Life]

9 World Title reigns in his WCW run, 4 PWI Most Popular Wrestler awards at a time when WCW vs WWF was at current TNA levels TV wise (and a record breaking 13 appearances in the top 4, including 4 in his time with TNA), WCW's big hope against the nWo (as WCW dominated the Monday Night Wars) was the Stinger who was immensely over doing basically nothing for a large period of this.

The WWe themselves recognize him as the greatest superstar in WCW history (over two time HoFer Naitch) and the greatest superstar never to wrestle for them - pretty high praise.

TNA promoted an incredibly successful UK tour on Sting's name in 2012 despite the fact that WCW was never that well known in this part of the world.

WrestleMania 30 is being built on history and is in a city that the NWA/WCW regularly performed in. The current ads running for WMXXX are playing on the father/ son love of wrestling, if the father loved Sting back in the day would it not follow that he'd pass that onto his son? TNA has featured Sting for many years; ditto WWe.com, WWe Vintage Collection, any number of WWe DVDs with classic Sting and we all know that there is more than enough Sting on the likes of YouTube. Anyone who loves Naitch or Hogan/ nWo knows who Sting is.

Believe me, if Sting appears in the SuperDome that place will be rocking!

 

[Cena's #1 In My Heart]

Yeah he'll get a massive ovation, guarantee it.

Even people who don't know who he is will get caught up in all the hype and emotion of the rest of the crowd and start cheering...

 

[Creepy Old Man]

You IWC nerds need to STFU, Sting ain't coming to WWE, he's said many times that he will never work for Vince McMahon, if he was coming, he would've joined during the WCW Invasion angle in 2001 and not bothered with TNA.

Find me a single interview where Sting says he will never work for Vince McMahon. I dare you. Before you go linking the YouTube clip where he says he didn't trust how he would be used in 2001, that's not what I'm asking for. I want Sting unequivocally stating that he'll never work for WWE, like you claimed he has said. Because in the past three years he's given at least four interviews where he stated that he wants to wrestle The Undertaker at WrestleMania, his London Q&A session this very month being the latest.

Your move.

 

[IT Factor]

Sting will get a pop if he does debut either @ WM 30 or RAW the next night. People aren't factoring in different variables in this;

1}Even kids who don't know Sting who he is or what he has done, still have internet access. Youtube, Wikipedia, Google, whatever. People who don't know history can always be taught.

2}WWE is a promotion machine. With them promoting the WWE network heavily, more people than ever will be able to watch past WCW and become familiar with Sting. Plus if WWE are bringing Sting in, they will probably put a lot of build and effort into familiarizing fans with Sting and they know kids won't know him.

3}Most weekly WWE fans are older fans who still watch. Meaning that while the kids won't recognize or possibly know Sting, the old school crowd from the 80s, 90s, or possibly further back sure will.

Sting is a legend and those who believe he won't get a pop are delusional. Even the newer fans would pop for Sting just because he would be working with Taker. The interaction between Taker & Sting would be epic no matter which era WWE fan you happen to be.

 

[WWENETWORK]

Like you said i dont think the kids know who he is. I mean this is a new gen who probably doesnt know who the British Bull Dog was.