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- Sting refused to sign with WWE after they bought WCW
- The Rock threw a match with Sting at WrestleMania 21
Fantasy Booking Dream Matches is something that many wrestling fans enjoy making up for fun. Such dream matches usually involve the biggest legends in the wrestling business. Among those legends of the wrestling industry that are talked about are The Rock and Sting. Despite working at separate companies, both men represented their respected promotions during the Monday Night Wars and became legendary figures among their company brand. Fast forward to many years later. This may surprise people, but there was an inner drive WWE to book a dream match at WrestleMania 21 between The Rock and Sting.
Sting refused to sign with WWE after they bought WCW
The Rock and Sting may have different personalities, but they have more in common than some people might think. In addition to looking like marketable wrestlers, The Rock and Sting exhibit that larger-than-life charisma that represents the foundation of the sports-entertainment aspect of professional wrestling. And one should not overlook the fact that they are talented in-ring performers who can get the job done in the ring, as The Rock and Sting have had many classic matches in their respective careers.
One of the most compelling aspects of a potential fight between The Rock and Sting was that fans had never seen them interact on television in their wrestling careers. The Rock has always been loyal to WWE since the beginning of his career, and Sting was loyal to WCW while he avoided WWE after WCW closed in 2001.
It is well known in the wrestling world that Sting was opposed to signing with WWE because he couldn’t trust how WWE would sign him. This is not just an internet rumour, as Sting himself has even admitted on the In the light documentary that he didn’t want to sign with WWE because of how he felt about the company’s treatment of former WCW wrestlers. When Sting brought up the WWE Invasion storyline as an example of WWE’s treatment of WCW wrestlers, Sting even brought up the angle where The Rock confronted Booker T when he made his debut.
Sting’s refusal to sign with WWE speaks volumes about how much he valued his career. It’s understandable why he didn’t want to make the jump to WWE after WCW closed. As someone who has wrestled since the mid-1980s, he didn’t want to risk WWE’s creative pipeline tainting his legendary wrestling career.
Because of this, there is a reason why Sting was kept out of the WWE spotlight. When he finally made his WWE debut at the 2014 Survivor Series pay-per-view, Sting was much older, as his career as a wrestler was coming to an end. It meant that the possibility of facing The Rock, who has retired from wrestling, in a dream match became minuscule.
The Rock threw a match with Sting at WrestleMania 21
Although The Rock and Sting never met in a match, it’s worth noting that there was a push for the two to wrestle each other at WrestleMania 21. Former WWE announcer and Executive Vice President of Talent Relations Jim Ross confirmed this. on his Grilling JR podcast, stating that there was a time when The Rock wanted to work with Sting before his WWE contract expired in December 2004. According to Jim Ross, The Rock felt he could have gotten Sting to wrestle him at WrestleMania. 21, as this would have been his first singles match since facing Bill Goldberg at the 2003 Backlash PPV.
As a feud between the two could have generated box office appeal in the wrestling world, having Sting return to wrestle The Rock at WrestleMania 21 would have presented Sting as a huge problem in the eyes of WWE fans. It’s worth noting that Jim Ross stated on his podcast that they intended to hire him part-time.
Jim Ross recognized the importance of not abusing someone like Sting if hired while also pointing out the importance of maximizing the investment in Sting’s character. Also, if Sting were to wrestle at WrestleMania 21 against The Rock, it would be just a few years after WCW closed, which could have drawn former WCW fans.
However, nothing came off the pitch. The Rock left the company after his contract expired in December 2004 and became a phenomenon in the acting world. Sting continued his wrestling career for many more years in TNA Wrestling, with a respected career spanning nearly a decade with the organization before heading to WWE in 2014.