Sting in Danger of Becoming Watered-Down Caricature in WWE

Believe it or not, there was once an intense anticipation for Sting's arrival to World Wrestling Entertainment. Fans wanted to see the man so synonymous with World Championship Wrestling finally step foot inside a Vince McMahon-owned ring, ending his decades-long holdout from working for the competition.

Through the first year of the business relationship, though, such anticipation has been let down by WWE Creative's inability to recognize what made Sting such a compelling performer in the first place, instead putting him in danger of devolving into a watered-down caricature of himself.

The Sting of the late 1990s was an intriguing character because he was unique, based on the titular character from the 1994 major motion picture The Crow.

The franchise star of WCW had become the outsider, forced to watch from the rafters and plot his revenge against the New World Order and Hulk Hogan, who had invaded the company and taken over.

He was cool, edgy and completely different from any other character in pro wrestling. Even as the new millennium approached and the character underwent changes, he was still one of the few bright spots among utter darkness.

He was the savior of WCW, an aspect of the character WWE has taken a step further.

The company has labeled him "The Vigilante." To be a vigilante, though, one must fight injustice. To this point, he has not. Instead, he targeted Triple H and lost in what was essentially another excuse for McMahon to remind fans WWE won the Monday Night Wars.

Since returning to challenge Seth Rollins for the world heavyweight title, Sting has become even sillier, even more watered-down, courtesy of a Creative team that clearly has no idea what made the character so special in the first place.

Sure, he plays mind games with The Architect but has adopted the over-the-top manner of doing things rather than the more subdued methods he utilized earlier in the character's development. Stealing statues, tossing them in the garbage truck then driving it away is a long way from doing something as powerful and effective as slowly raising a baseball bat and pointing it at his next target.

It is of the utmost importance that a character grow and evolve, but it should never lose track of what made it so successful in the first place. WWE has failed to recognize this, composing creepy theme music and creating a crow-assisted bumper, thinking that is enough homage to the original persona to tide over fans.

It is not, and the new incarnation of The Stinger fans are witness to today is further proof of McMahon's stubborn unwillingness to treat former WCW stars with the same respect he does the legends who have succeeded under his umbrella.

By allowing Sting to fall into mediocrity, to book him as someone who lost his first match in the company and then returned so full of rage that his focus was on something as vital as stealing a statue and playing trash man, McMahon has wasted one of the few legitimate draws the industry has left.

Is there an opportunity to rebuild Sting, for him to rediscover the edge and seriousness that once had fans patiently sitting on the edge of their seats for over one year to see him vanquish the nWo? Unfortunately, it is unlikely. One never has a second opportunity to make a first impression. WWE wasted that first impression, and now, he feels far too much like just another guy to really have the impact he should.

The only question remaining at this point is whether Sting can be pulled back from the edge and avoid descending completely into a caricature of himself.

There is time to save him, to prevent ruining the goodwill that still exists between the company and Sting's longtime fans. It would behoove WWE not to waste that opportunity because performers with the star power of The Icon do not walk through the door everyday.