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Report: WWE Believes Sting Deal Can Happen in 2014

Posted: Jan 23rd 2014 By: mikeiles

Could Sting finally be on the verge of inking a WWE deal? Per one recent report, people in the company seem to be under the impression it's going to happen.

As Dave Meltzer notes in this week's (subscribers-only) Wrestling Observer Newsletter:

"The company has believed for months that Sting was coming in this year and it?s been talked about of late even more like it?s going to happen. Sting first had to work out his TNA contract before they can officially negotiate a deal."

Speculation has run rampant in recent months about Sting's future in wrestling.

The 54-year-old has spent most of the past decade seemingly quite content with TNA. But with America's (very distant) No. 2 promotion plagued with much publicized financial and organizational troubles, it's far from guaranteed he'll be sticking around much longer.

Why would Dixie Carter choose to keep him and his (presumably) hefty salary? He helped put the fledgling company on the map in 2005, but the veteran hasn't been a significant difference-maker in a long time.

Even taking WWE out of the equation, you would have to think the two parties will be going their separate ways soon anyway.

Then of course, there's the question of just what Vince McMahon can do with Sting if he does elect to sign the star once he becomes free.

Can he work in main events on a regular basis? Probably not.

Granted, Sting is in better physical shape than the likes of Hulk Hogan or Ric Flair, but that's not really saying much. Age and various injuries appear to have caught up with the wrestler.

His recent in-ring performances in TNA, while not awful, have still left a great deal to be desired. At this stage in his life, a handful of matches a year?at most?is probably the best way to utilize him.

There's also the question of whether WWE fans are as eager to see him now as they would have been in 2001 and 2002.

As TNA's stock has plummeted, his inevitably has too (see also: Jeff Hardy, who was once one of the biggest wrestling stars on the planet and now comes off like a mildly popular midcarder).

Sadly, you have to wonder whether Sting really will be seen as a major name when?or if?he makes his WWE debut. Has his star power been squandered?