Discussing Why Seth Rollins vs. Sting Is Rushed

There he was – Seth Rollins, the first ever WWE World Heavyweight US Champion, eagerly anticipating the official reveal of his own monument. When Seth was finally done talking and the curtain fell, there was no statue and that was no surprise. You can’t fool wrestling fans that easily! We knew things would go wrong but the logical choice of an attacker would have been John Cena, who had officially been kicked out of the building but who would have had a lot to say about Rollins’ controversial win at Summer Slam. However, the WWE had something else in store for us. Under the cover there was no statue. Instead, there stood an icon. The Icon – Sting.

The segment started well with a good surprise and a swift game of symbolism, entwined in it. However that’s about where the positives stopped. Sting was unveiled standing in the middle of the ring; he slapped Rollins around for a few seconds and – voila: Sting was granted a WWE World Heavyweight Championship match at Night of Champions. I realize that we are talking about a legend here and that being a legend has its perks. However, that felt rushed, even for Sting. Giving him a match against Rollins and then a few segments later, adding the WWE WHC stipulation to it, would have been fine. Ambushing the champion a few more times before getting into his head and making him snap and give a title opportunity, would have been smart. Granting Sting a shot at the WWE WHC within 5 minutes of his arrival was a bit hasty. The WWE’s biggest prize deserves a storyline with a decent build-up.

Some could claim that Sting didn’t need to work on a storyline because he already had his on-going feud against Triple H and his regime. However, Sting vs.The Authority, where it was left off, is not enough and I’ll tell you why. Sting vs. HHH, WCW vs. WWE, undoubtedly, was amazing. That was the biggest rivalry of the Attitude Era, brought back to life 15 years later. At WM31, two legends clashed to determine which one had the winning legacy. The match was filled with Attitude Era throwbacks that wouldn’t have made sense for the younger viewers but it was an emotional roller-coaster for the older fans. I found the amount of history, cramped up in 20 minutes or so, to be too much but that’s a personal opinion. The fact of the matter is that Triple H reigned victorious. To be fair, it’s the WWE; there’s no surprise that WCW wouldn’t be booked to come on top. What frustrated me was Sting’s reaction.

Next time we saw the Icon was at the post WM edition of RAW. The Stinger wasn’t angry over having been cheated out of the win at Mania. He wasn’t eager to get his hands on the head of the Authority and exert some vengeance. No. Instead, Sting was obedient, humble and unrepining.  He was grateful to have been a part of Wrestle Mania and he was ready to take any scraps the Authority threw at him. I’ll quote the Icon on that: “Whatever they do throw my way, I’m gonna reach out and I’m gonna grab it. And if they don’t throw anything my way, well, that’s just too bad.”  I remember that line clearly, it imprinted in my memory because it got me out of my skin when I heard it. The legend that Sting is should have felt that he deserved his WM moment; not because of the fans but because he should have had the pride of a legend.  If he did have that pride he would have never put himself in the position of a dog, waiting around the table for Triple H and Stephanie to throw him a bone. He would have chased them, he would have threatened them, he would have taken his opportunity by force and he would have destroyed them.

It could be argued that this is exactly what Sting is doing right now but I think it’s a bit too late for the vengeance talk and a bit too early to forget that atrocious promo after Mania. You can’t just walk in and pick up a storyline where you left off if you haven’t really left off there. Last time Sting and Triple H stood in the same ring, The Game was victorious with a sledge hammer in his hand. Why would he then be so scared upon seeing Sting? Also, Rollins was there. It would have made sense if Triple H had stood up to Sting; if he and Rollins had attacked Sting. They would have still come up short and that would have been frustrating. Sting would have claimed that he couldn’t keep his peace with the Authority any longer because he got tired of waiting for his opportunity and also because he got tired of listening to Seth Rollins’ endless bragging. The Authority would have ambushed him and a few segments later, with some mind-games involved, Rollins would have given Sting the match he was looking for. It would have been logical. However, none of that happened. Sting didn’t even have to say a word. He didn’t have to do anything but show up to get a title shot and that’s neither fair, nor sensible.

There is another major downside to this rushed feud – the US title suffers greatly. Seth Rollins won it and in less than 24 hours, it became an afterthought. Sting not only went straight after the WWE World Heavyweight Championship but the US title wasn’t anywhere to be seen in the shot. Rollins didn’t care about it. Sting didn’t care about it and the WWE Universe wasn’t supposed to care about it. I rarely say this but I agree with John Cena. He worked hard to bring prestige back to the title and he succeeded. Rollins took it and it was stripped off of all its importance in a single segment. If Cena had gotten to Rollins first, if Sting had lifted both titles in his hand, if at least Rollins had desperately clutched the US title in his arms, while retreating to the back to the sight of Sting, holding his WWE WHC, if any of that had happened, the US title would have still been of some importance. However, it was overlooked, as the build-up was skipped entirely.

I’m not saying that Rollins vs. Sting shouldn’t have happened but it shouldn’t have happened this way. A good feud needs a good story to back it up, otherwise it’s just a decorated filler. To lack care, meaning and precision hurts not only the feud itself but the people and the titles involved in it. Sting was booked weak once, he deserved a better come-back.

What do you think? Comment below with your thoughts, opinions, feedback and anything else that was raised.