Will Sting even get a pop when he debuts?

[Blade]

WWE aren't stupid. They know that Sting won't get the response of someone like Hogan or Flair. His star has faded over the last 15 years.

So what do you do? Simple. You debut him in New York. You debut him in Chicago. Maybe Philly. Any major wrestling city with hardcore fans that will give him the reception he deserves.

People will see the reaction Sting gets in New York or Chicago, and they will understand that this guy is a big deal. I assume that if Sting's matches aren't on the WWE Network already, they will be when he signs. So people will check out those matches. Maybe put together a Sting DVD and promote it a lot.

That's all you need. A crowd reaction that makes it feel like a big deal, and a method for younger or more casual fans to discover who Sting is. That'll get him over.

 

[WWEFanWife]

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?

It's all about how you bring the character into the program
Batista,
I know we can't compare the 2, but we can def talk about booking.

Batista's booking was awful, it could've been 100 times better, but announcing him 4 weeks in advance and put him directly in the spot the universe wanted DB to be in was NOT brilliant.

Now if you bring Sting in the program to defend Santino from his cobra. You'll hear crickets and even boos,
But if you put Sting on the big screen while he's hanging from somewhere high in the Mecedez-Benz stadium after Undertaker just defeated Brock at WM XXX you will hear a huge freakin pop like you probably never heard before.

It's all about the booking my friend!

 

[IT Factor]

WWE aren't stupid. They know that Sting won't get the response of someone like Hogan or Flair. His star has faded over the last 15 years.

I agree that WWE aren't stupid. However, I don't think you can say that Sting's star has "faded over the last 15 years". I would say it's more of a case of less exposure. Big difference. You put Sting in the position of a Ric Flair or Hogan and he'd get just as big a reaction if not bigger. Simply because older fans have wanted to see him go to WWE since the days of WCW. And newer fans would probably pop just because he is different than the current people usually presented on WWE television.

So what do you do? Simple. You debut him in New York. You debut him in Chicago. Maybe Philly. Any major wrestling city with hardcore fans that will give him the reception he deserves.

I agree here. You can debut Sting in a big town and it would get a bigger reaction. But even if WWE theoretically debuted Sting @ WM 30 he would get a big pop, especially if he appears during or after Taker's match with Lesnar. Sting as a performer still has the chops to pull off a great storyline with Taker it is just the in-ring work I would be worried about.

People will see the reaction Sting gets in New York or Chicago, and they will understand that this guy is a big deal. I assume that if Sting's matches aren't on the WWE Network already, they will be when he signs. So people will check out those matches. Maybe put together a Sting DVD and promote it a lot.

I think WWE should debut Sting @ WM 30 and have him appear after Taker defeats Lesnar. They can keep having Sting appear on WWE TV and slowly build him until audiences are familiar with him. Have Taker appear on RAW the next night wanting to call out Sting and then bring him out and let him explain that he[Sting] has done everything in his career in WCW[thus making the new audience interested] and then Sting says he wants to face Taker @ next year's WM 31. People would get behind that no matter if they knew Sting or not.

That's all you need. A crowd reaction that makes it feel like a big deal, and a method for younger or more casual fans to discover who Sting is. That'll get him over.

While I do acknowledge that getting a pop is a big deal, it isn't everything. A good deal of the current fan base are young fans who would pop for about anything. They don't have anything to compare the current WWE to. They don't remember the days of Austin, Rock, Hogan, Flair, Sting, and others who got truly amazing fan reactions back in the day. They didn't experience real stars so they won't pop for them when they show up again. That doesn't mean Sting won't get a big reaction, as I believe he will. Those who know and remember Sting for his past history as a legend in the business will pop for nostalgia and those who don't will pop just out of curiousity.

 

[JoeyJoeJoe]

He will certainly get the pop if he does show up either at WrestleMania or at RAW the following night.

What I question is whether the feud will be worth the hype. Both men are getting up there, Sting in particular didn't look very good in the ring the last time I saw him in TNA, his promos have amazingly gotten weaker over time, and even the Undertaker seems to be mailing in the buildup to the Lesnar match.

 

[dailywrestle]

In response to the initial forum question, I've actually wondered this same thing. As a huge WCW fan and a "little Stinger"... I've been waiting to see Sting debut since the fall of WCW. I imagine, if there are just 100 people like me in the audience at WM30 or the Raw thereafter, then Sting is going to get a huge pop! I'm fairly reserved in public settings, but if I was in person and he debuted... I would go ape ****. Just 100 people like me, then, even if scattered around the arena, are enough to make the crowd explode. Another member mentioned the contagion of chants; I'm essentially saying the same thing. So the question is, are there going to be at least 100 die hard Sting fans in attendance at either WM30 or the following night's Raw? One of these events will surely make this sort of fan attendance the most probable over all other WWE events, and I think WM30 even more so than the following night's Raw.

In short, I think there will be at least 100 huge Sting fans in attendance at WM30, and I think there will be at least several thousand other fans who are knowledgeable enough to quickly join in with the "100 die-hards," and, hence, he'll get a huge pop!

How to use him?

I've been watching all of the old WCW pay-per-views in sequence on the Network beginning with Hogan's heel turn at Bash at the Beach 96'. I'm in the 97' pay-per-views now and my recollections are becoming more clear. Sting was the "Dark Knight" of WCW. He can debut by simply pointing the bat at Taker,... and then the next night on Raw he and Taker face off for the WM31 setup. Thereafter, he can play a similar role as the "Dark Knight" against the authority in WWE for several months in a lead up to Sting vs. HHH at SummerSlam. Then some other dream matches... and ultimately... WM31 against Taker. Even if he didn't go against Taker... there's even a chance he could interfere in Bryan vs. HHH helping Bryan win... and setting up HHH vs. Sting. There's a ton that can be done with Sting that will work... but it should all lead up to Taker vs. Sting at WM31... Taker should win IMO.

The probability of Sting debuting at WM30 with a huge pop... I'm giving a 75% chance right now. Confirmed: he'll be in the same city on the same day as WM30. Confirmed: he said in an interview he'd love for them to have him, and he'd love to face Taker.