Ryan Dilbert's 10-Count: Sting at SummerSlam Is an Opportunity WWE Can't Miss

1. Waiting for Sting to Step out of the Shadows

Sting stands in the on-deck circle, fingers tight around his trusty bat, not sure when his turn to strike will come.

WWE has a marquee attraction who has wrestled just once for the company on its roster. Buzz crackles about whether this icon from another world is set to be a part of SummerSlam. And reportedly Sting won't be swinging any fists at that marquee show.

According to a report from PWInsider (h/t Wrestle Zone), WWE doesn't currently have any plans for Sting to wrestle at SummerSlam.

Is this WWE trying to throw Internet-savvy fans off the scent, trying to make Sting's emergence a surprise despite a flood of rumors about him as of late? Because if this lack of plans is not a ploy, WWE is missing out on a big chance to harness Sting's star power.

This is a ''use it or lose it" situation. A 56-year-old Sting is enough of a challenge to work around. If WWE waits much longer, the proverbial window of Sting being able to compete at all is going to shut.

Don Feria/Associated Press/Associated Press

That would be a mistake. Sting is a Roman candle waiting to be lit. Sure the fireworks display that is SummerSlam will be good without him, but why not fire him into the sky as well? 

The power of bringing The Stinger to SummerSlam for the first time is twofold. For one, it brings added attention to a show increasingly feeling like a second WrestleMania. That's largely why Undertaker is on the card. As far as The Deadman is past his prime, his name increases the number of eyes on the product.

Sting will do the same, especially because it would be only his second WWE battle to date.

The second major benefit of welcoming Sting to WWE's summer blockbuster is that he can help elevate emerging stars. Be it by working alongside Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose or by having Bray Wyatt tear into him, Sting can provide memorable, lasting images with this next generation of talent.

Reigns and Ambrose vs. Wyatt and Luke Harper would be a good, solid match, a diluted version of the battles between The Wyatt Family and The Shield.

Folding Sting into that storyline turns it into something far more special. It brings both a freshness and a sense of nostalgia. It provides Wyatt with a top-tier victim to use as a steppingstone.

Just putting Sting and Wyatt in the same ring on Raw pre-SummerSlam in an intense staredown is a career booster for The Eater of Worlds.

Have The Vigilante pass the torch to Ambrose. Have Wyatt mangle a legend post-match. Whatever route WWE chooses, Sting will bolster SummerSlam.  

Constructing the pay-per-view card without him would be an opportunity squandered.

2. Time to Shine

Providing further proof that WWE is at least temporarily showcasing its women far better than it has in the past, Paige and Sasha Banks were allowed plenty of space to do what they do best on Monday's Raw.

For too long, WWE women's matches have been insubstantial offerings that don't last much longer than the entrances that precede them. That was not the case on Monday night in Oklahoma City.

Paige and Banks battled 13 minutes and 53 seconds. For perspective on how much of a departure that is, look back to the first six Divas bouts on Raw this year. 

Date	Matchup	Match Time
Jan. 5	Natalya vs. Nikki Bella	1:16
Jan. 12	Naomi vs. Alicia Fox	3:33
Jan. 12	Brie Bella vs. Paige	2:17
Jan. 19	Natalya and Paige vs. Alicia Fox and Summer Rae	2:58
Feb. 2	Paige vs. Alicia Fox	2:44
Feb. 9	Paige vs. Brie Bella	3:15

It takes adding up the match times for all six of those clashes to surpass the time Banks and Paige got last night. What could comprise over a month's worth of Raw happened in a single night. That's tangible change.

And thanks to the excellence that those two women produced in those 13-plus minutes, WWE has more reason to keep doling out this much ring time to Banks, Paige and Co.

3. For Those Pining for the Days of the 60-Minute Broadway

A pair of titans going the distance, no one able to gain a decisive edge, even after an hour-long battle was once a staple of pro wrestling. It's a lost art today. Well, not completely.

While you won't see WWE putting on any 60-minute title draws, Ring of Honor placated the diehard fan who wants to see that element of that sport stick around. Jay Lethal vs. Roderick Strong at Death Before Dishonor XIII for the ROH World Championship went the full time limit, the first "Broadway" like that in a long while.

It's smart of ROH to go this route. That company's niche has to partially be providing the parts of wrestling that WWE doesn't provide anymore, the kind of patience-requiring elements that will satiate the purist fan out there.

4. Throwback Video of the Week: The U.S. Express 

Before Hulkamania exploded, before Hulk Hogan became the face of the WWE, another group charged to the ring to the tune of Real American—Mike Rotundo and Barry Windham, the U.S. Express.

Flashing back to this battle is also interesting as a study in how much Bo Dallas works like his father. The similarities between Bray Wyatt and Rotundo are harder to spot, but Dallas clearly emulates his dad, look and all.

5. Intensity Not an Issue for Mada 

A week after Patrick Clark suffered elimination, Tough Enough lost another of the men favored to win the whole thing. Thanks to new judge (he replaces the recently fired Hogan) The Miz saving Amanda, Mada Abdelhamid found himself ousted from the show.

Like he did with Patrick, Chris Jericho told Mada that he believes that he will be back. If he proves Jericho right, it will be largely because of his intensity and passion. Fans saw that on display when the personal trainer roared as he pleaded his case to stay on the show.

That kind of fire will open a door in the wrestling world somewhere for him. 

6. Hustle, Loyalty and Gut out a Match With a Broken Nose

Not that anyone was questioning John Cena's toughness before his main event collision with Seth Rollins on Monday's Raw, but now we have proof in GIF form that he's a complete badass.

A knee from Rollins wrecked his nose. Blood dotted the canvas. Cena's schnoz sat bent and swollen on his face, like some rotted vegetable caving in.

Jimmy Traina of Fox Sports provides a clip of the blow that did the damage in question and a glimpse of the U.S. champ waving off help.

Cena not only continued to wrestle but turned out another impressive performance. Like Triple H working through a torn quad years ago, this will become a big part of Cena's mythology.

7. Zack Ryder Missing Out

The Long Island Iced-Z has the easiest and most frustrating job on the main roster—resident benchwarmer. The former U.S. titleholder is barely used. 

Ryder has been in the ring on Raw only five times this year. That means he's missed 24 of those shows already.

He's wrestled on just one SmackDown. And three times he made it to a pay-per-view card, two of those being as part of a Battle Royal and the other as the guy who lost in the pre-show.

At this point, one wonders if Ryder's tenure is coming to a close. The next time WWE decides to cut fat from its roster, Ryder is among the likeliest candidates to get cut. Either that or the company will forget that Ryder is still employed.

8. The Miz's Greatest Hits

The Miz's heel work is at its apex. He's more grating, more self-absorbed and compelling than he has been throughout his whole career.

He hasn't done much in the ring recently, though. Although never known as a top-tier in-ring guy, The Miz has had some really good bouts in the past. It's just been a few years since we've seen him deliver one of his greatest hits.

• The Miz vs. John Morrison vs. Finlay vs. Matt Hardy: ECW, July 22, 2008
• The Miz vs. Daniel Bryan vs. John Morrison: Hell in a Cell 2010 (Submissions Count Anywhere)
• The Miz vs. John Morrison: Raw, Jan. 3, 2011 (Falls Count Anywhere)
• The Miz vs. John Morrison vs. John Cena: Extreme Rules 2011 (Steel Cage)
• The Miz vs. CM Punk vs. Alberto Del Rio: TLC 2011 (TLC match)

Looking at his career best one notices that not only has he not done much since 2011, but that he hits his peak in matches with multiple men. Triple Threats have been where he has shined the most.

And it certainly helped to have John Morrison around. His former tag team partner is in the majority of his best work to date. 

9. The Tag Team Division Lacks Grit

Especially with Erick Rowan's biceps injury putting a halt on potential dominance from Harper and Rowan, the tag team division has a real problem. There are no destroyers, no bruisers, no real intimidating characters prowling the scene.

Instead, it boasts a pair of bullfighters in neon, a clap-happy trio, colorful and kid-friendly luchadors and The Ascension, who have been presented as more silly than scary.

In that way, the tag division has become the more lighthearted, comedy-centric section of WWE.

That leaves a deficiency in darkness. Where are the monsters for the babyfaces to overcome? Where are the evil, fearsome teams for The Prime Time Players to fend off? The answer, for now, is nowhere to be seen.

Even after Rowan is back, that's an imbalance WWE should address. 

10. Kevin Eck on Hulk Hogan/Hall of Fame

Hulk Hogan went from celebrated Hall of Famer to persona non grata in just days when racist comments he made years ago leaked over the weekend.

WWE has since mostly scrubbed The Hulkster from the company. There has been speculation about whether expelling him from the Hall is next.

That would be a hypocritical move. As former WWE writer Kevin Eck writes on his blog, several other inductees have skeletons spilling out of their closets. 

He points out that the Ultimate Warrior, for one, has plenty of issues. Eck writes, "Warrior came under fire for homophobic and racist remarks that he made while on the lecture circuit. Among his more inflammatory statements were that gay couples had the same disease as pedophile priests, queering doesn't make the world work and Kwanzaa is not as legitimate as Christmas."

Match statistics courtesy of ProFightDB.com.