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KELLER'S TAKE
KELLER: Ready to see Sting vs. Undertaker? Or Sting vs. Michaels or Cena? WWE should push for it Oct 18, 2007 - 6:21:31 PM
Sting's TNA contract is up for renewal again at the end of this year. The question is whether he's worth it, or whether he'd be better off entertaining one last opportunity to head to WWE.
First, on the TNA side, Sting is not a great fit in certain ways. He has not generated a pop in TV ratings. He is not going to be wrestling in five years on any kind of regular basis (maybe not even in a year or two). He doesn't work house shows or do autograph appearances. (By the way, Sting returns to TNA under the agreement he wouldn't be required or asked to work house shows or autograph sessions; he does not deserve any blame for skipping out on those; at this point in his life, him putting his family ahead of his wrestling affiliation is to be commended, not criticized.)
Sting [artist Grant Gould (c) PWTorch]
He has given TNA some "credibility" of having some big stars of the past. I don't know if that was really worth much, as he also tends to represent an image of TNA "living in the past" and trying to recreate an era gone by. Sting also produced a very good main event with Kurt Angle on Sunday night and has been more engaged in his TV appearances lately. (Angle's enthusiasm is infectious.)
If Sting left TNA, it wouldn't be that big of a blow to TNA, especially if TNA acquires Rob Van Dam and King Booker with that same block of salary.
For WWE, Sting is much more valuable. Sting has never wrestled Triple H, Batista, Undertaker, or Shawn Michaels. Those are four dream matches on PPV, and given what Sting showed he can still do at Sunday's Bound for Glory PPV, he could have a passable WWE-style PPV main event with any of those four. (Well, maybe not Batista, but who can?)
Sting also has a rich history with Ric Flair. Flair is still on the outs with WWE, basically sitting out his contract right now - getting paid to do nothing, but prevented from moving to TNA while everyone works on resolving their issues. If Flair gets back on the same page with WWE, and Sting is signed, that would be a nice way to end Flair's in-ring career. Sting's too, for that matter.
I'd rather see Sting vs. Michaels or Taker or Hunter, though. When John Cena returns, they could have a dream tag team run culminating in a singles match at a WrestleMania. Let's not forget about Edge, either, as a potential great fit for a feud with Sting.
Sting's greatest value is against opponents he's never faced. Which is why TNA was so reckless with their PPV dollars by having Sting wrestle Angle in their first-ever match without any chance to really hype it or draw money from it.
So my vote would be for Sting to sign with WWE, maybe a one or two year deal. WWE is in a position where they have to be flexible with their old stance of insisting everyone work house show tours. Sting certainly has more tenure than, say, a Bill Goldberg type when he wanted a part-time deal. Shawn Michaels left the UK tour after Raw because he doesn't want to work a full slate of house shows at this stage of his career, either. More power to him if he wants to get home to his family and church activities. He's made it clear it's either part-time or no-time to WWE; full-time is off the table.
In the mean time, WWE needs to be working hard to bring some developmental talents up the ranks and protect rising stars such as MVP (that job to Undertaker & Kane last week was a bad move; Hardy should have jobbed there). And then utilize icons like Michaels and Sting to elevate wrestlers in the 18-34 age group who will be drawing money for them for years to come.
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