Former WWE wrestler claimed that Vince McMahon didn’t know who Sting was before he made his WWE debut.
Sting’s rise to fame began during his run in WCW. The Icon became a fixture and mainstay in wrestling during the early 90s. At one point he was regarded as the equivalent of WWF’s Hulk Hogan. After the collapse of WCW, many top guys from the company migrated to WWF but Sting. Although the wrestling fans roared to watch the wrestling legend in WWF, The Icon chose to go to TNA and have a career.
In 2014, Sting was finally signed to WWE and made his appearance felt during the PPV event of Survivor Series in a traditional elimination match between Team Cena Vs. Team Authority. Although Sting didn’t enter as a competitor, he appeared towards to end of the match helping Team Cena to victory by taking out Triple H.
This sparked the rivalry between The Game Triple H and The Icon Sting which ensued in a match at the grandest stage, WrestleMania 31. To fans’ disappointment, Sting would end up losing to Triple H. The Icon then feuded with The Game’s prodigy, Seth Rollins, and ended up injuring himself during their match, ending his in-ring career.
It’s no secret that Sting is a well-known figure and to not know of him as a wrestling fan from the 90s or early 2000s would mean you have been missing a lot. Yet, former WWE Chairman Vince McMahon seemingly didn’t know who he was before Sting made his debut in WWE. During an interview with Busted Open, former WWE superstar Road Dogg disclosed that Vince McMahon was unbeknownst to Sting’s “gravitas” in the wrestling world.
“Vince did not act like he knew who Sting was, or he knew of Sting’s gravitas. He literally asked us, “Is he over?” I don’t know if it was a performance or if it’s real, but if it was a performance, he deserves an Oscar. I feel like he just didn’t watch that. I think he was so laser focused on his stuff that stuff outside his bubble doesn’t compute. He literally asked us multiple times, ‘this guy is gonna get a reaction, right?’”
According to Road Dogg Vince wasn’t aware of Sting’s huge fan base and his glory in the business. However, on the contrary, in an old interview on the internet, Sting addressed speaking with Vince McMahon way back in the day. Sting also recalled interacting with Vince Mcmahon before he signed with TNA.
“I said, ‘Vince, I’m going to TNA.’ He said, ‘The thought of you and the legacy you leave behind and you going to TNA is just…BLAGH!’ He literally said, ‘BLAGH!’”
Where is Sting now?
After having an unsatisfactory career in WWE, Sting announced his retirement in 2016 following his injury in a match against Rollins. His announcement of retirement was on the day he was inducted into the Hall of Fame class of 2016. It seemed as if it was the end of Sting’s luminous career but he shocked the world again after he came out of retirement and joined AEW in late 2020.
After five long years, the Icon returned to the ring and teamed up with Darby Allin at AEW’s Revolution ppv in 2021 in a tag team cinematic Street Fight that they won. As of this writing, the fifteen-time World Champion is on hiatus due to injury.
