I have a million feelings on it, it's the moment I've been waiting for since 2001, and in some ways it delivered, in some ways it didn't, and in some ways it could never live up to the anticipation of a 13 year wait. It's bittersweet.
Pros:
-Sting is in WWE!
-A WM match between him and HHH is all but set (something I accurately predicted many times on these forums).
Cons:
-His hair. Look, I know it's shallow, and I shouldn't care, but here's the deal, whether we want to admit it or not, what we all really want is the Sting of 1997/98. Obviously, that isn't going to/can't happen. But, couldn't they have made some kind of effort with his hair? The divas all wear extensions, couldn't they dye his hair dark, cover the bald spot with an extension, and have his face paint go to the edge of his hair line? Otherwise his whole body and face are covered, so you could almost forget his age and just get lost in the moment. It was a totally mark out moment for me, but seeing his strange orangey balding hair just reminded me this is 2014 Sting, and my inner teenager, wanted to pretend like I was witnessing the invasion angle I always dreamed of.
-The music. His music is iconic, and they've just spent weeks getting us familiar with it in the 2K15 commercial, so why the hell would you change it now?! Especially on a night that already saw two other new themes debut, I really think this was a huge mistake, because it caused some confusion.
-Where was the baseball bat? Again, this is iconic. Crow Sting without the bat is like Jake without the snake, or Hacksaw without the 2x4. Imagine if he stood on the ramp and pointed the bat at HHH, THAT would've been a moment.
-The Commentary. Yeesh, what can I say. It's like they were reading his resume, and they'd known he was coming all along. Go back and watch his entrance at Starcade 1997 (the debut of Crow Sting), here's exactly what Tony Schivone says before Sting comes out "because we've been waiting so long for the entrance of Sting, I think we ought to just let the moment speak for itself" and then he goes silent. Perfect. WWE should've taken note.
-The overall effects. This is a minor gripe, but obviously he wasn't going to come down from the rafters, so couldn't they have projected a shadow coming down the tron? Or had some smoke or something? In 1997 he had lasers and fake snow, it's 2014 for the biggest wrestling promotion in the world and he just walks down the ramp?
Overall: I'm thrilled it finally happened before it was too late. I saw him wrestle at TNA tapings in Orlando, and used to think to myself how much better he deserved, and I'm glad it looks like he's finally going to get that moment for the history books. I just wish that they would've done something to protect the gimmick a little more, give him the mystique he deserves, and really play this up like it's a HUGE deal, because, well it is.
