Conspiracy Theories: Is Sting WWE Bound?

TNA has been expected to make wholesale changes to its roster for quite some time now. 

After suffering through a hurricane of spending that involved advertising on Monday nights, along with some significant free agent acquisitions, TNA now finds itself in need of some serious economic adjustments. 

15-20 roster cuts are expected to be made sometime in the near future, but Dixie Carter and TNA management have taken their own sweet time in pulling the trigger on cutting the TNA roster down to size.

Among the many cuts that will have to be made, it's no secret that the bigger, guaranteed contracts will need to come off the books in order to make any sort of financial impact (pun intended).

Expect a big name to be released by TNA soon.  One that has a lot of money tied to it while it is still under contract.  One that is not paid out on a per-event basis.  One that will cause even the most jaded of fans to perform a hard double take.    

Somebody like Sting.

Sting is a perfect candidate to be released by TNA. 

Nobody relishes in talking about roster cuts, however for purposes of this article, this is an intriguing potential storyline as opposed to job watch.

Of all the big names currently under contract whose release would make the most economic sense (Hogan, Hall, Nash, Flair to name a few), Sting and Samoa Joe are the likeliest candidates as big names to get the big boot from TNA. 

Joe and Sting have no strong political ties to TNA higher ups, they were never big stars in the WWE, and in Sting's case, limitations in the ring are expedited by a shoulder injury and advanced age.  

The writing may already be on the wall as it relates to Sting.  Sure, he's in line for a TNA Heavyweight title shot at Slammiverssary, but that ties into one of the conspiracy theories to be discussed shortly.  

The universe seems to be aligned not only for Sting's imminent departure from longtime employer TNA, but for what would be an historic debut in the WWE.

Generally I don't like playing the "Now [released wrestler] can go to [TNA/WWE]!" game.  The bottom line is it doesn't matter what wrestlers migrate where in today's landscape of mainstream professional wrestling.

TNA has Hogan, Flair, RVD, and Hardy under contract and can barely draw stick figures or move the needle when it comes to their coveted ratings.  Egregious errors in booking seem to render any TNA acquisition irrelevant. 

Meanwhile, Vince buries anybody of note who comes from TNA (Vance Archer, Gail Kim much?) rendering that side of the coin irrelevant as well.  

But Sting is the exception to the rule.  He simply changes the conversation.  Sting is the one man who, under current and future circumstances, seems to be poised to become a landmark acquisition for the WWE.  And matter.  

Conspiracy Theory No. 1: The Slammiversary Theory 

As mentioned before, Dixie Carter sure seems to be taking her time in making the final decision as to who is going to get axed. 

This could be directly related to the fact that four weeks of TNA Impact have already been taped, culminating in a Slammiversary main event match-up between Rob Van Dam (c) and Sting.

If Sting is indeed one of the names to be future endeavored removed from TNA's on-line roster, surely TNA wouldn't want to make this announcement with two weeks left of Sting as the company's #1 contender.   This would all but ruin their pay-per-view main event.

Perhaps TNA is waiting for Slammiversary to come and go before announcing the cuts they have made.  The fresh slate feeling that often originates during the first show after a pay-pay-per view would be perfectly complimented with a more financially efficient, new look roster. 

Conspiracy Theory No. 2: The Wrestlemania Theory

Wrestlemania 26 had one of the greatest builds that any pay-per-view could ask for.  The stage was set for what should have been a feeding frenzy for the WWE's consumers.

Unfortunately, the feeding frenzy had leftovers.  

Facilitated by a strong UFC card from the previous night Wrestlemania 26 disappointed at the box office with 885,000 buys , well short of the one million buy benchmark set by Wrestlemanias from years past.

The always proud Vince McMahon expressed his own disappointment in the event, saying "It was a good attraction, but it wasn't a great attraction ". [PWTorch ]   

So how does one achieve the unenviable task of making Wrestlemania a great attraction again? 

What's a greater attraction than the greatest active wrestler never to have set foot in a WWE ring?

Although the eventual booking may not convey it, WWE creative is instructed to come up with possible dream match-ups for the next year's Wrestlemania almost one year in advance.  These hypothetical scenarios are never hindered by who's currently under contract and who's on good or bad terms with the WWE.

With Sting in the WWE, a handful of potential dream match-ups immediately become a reality. 

Show me a wrestling fan, past, present or future, who won't pay to see Sting vs. The Undertaker at Wrestlemania, and I'll show you an impostor.

Desperate times call for desperate measures.  Especially in professional wrestling.  However, desperation isn't the only factor that could finally bring Sting to the WWE.  Sometimes, it's all about location.

Conspiracy Theory No. 3: The Hall of Fame Theory 

Wrestlemania 27 will emanate from Atlanta. 

WCW territory. 

Every year, in order to make the Hall of Fame more relevant and (more importantly) a bigger draw, the WWE inducts wrestling personalities who are relevant to the city or state in which the Hall of Fame ceremonies will be held in.  

This year's WWE Hall of Fame is expected to carry a WCW overtone, and many WCW personalities have already been questioned as to whether or not they would be open to joining the WWE Hall of Fame come Wrestlemania 27. 

Perhaps the most notable WCW figure to have been asked about joining the WWE Hall of Fame is Lex Luger .  Sting's best friend. 

Universe: Align!

Should Sting, a legend in his own right who made his career under the NWA/WCW umbrella, be released from his TNA contract, the WWE would be wise to acquire his services if nothing else to revitalize its Hall of Fame. 

Like the Wrestlemania 26 box office numbers, this past year's WWE Hall of Fame class left much to be desired.  Even for the WWE. 

Wendy Richter?

Mad Dog Vachon? 

Bob Uecker?  Without question he stole the show with his speech , but Bob freaking Uecker? 

It's obvious the WWE is running a bit thin on Hall of Fame candidates.  Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin, Bret Hart, and Ric Flair are all among notable Hall of Fame headliners from years past, along with a noteworthy appearance by the Rock at Wrestlemania 24's Hall of Fame ceremony.

The WWE needs some names for the Hall of Fame.  And with Luger seemingly on board, the WWE now has an excellent bargaining chip if Sting becomes available.  

Sting and Lex Luger going in to the Hall together, Lex Luger inducting Sting, or (God forbid) Sting inducting Lex Luger into the WWE Hall of Fame are all scenarios that could entice Sting to go to the Fed.  

The awareness created by a Sting Hall of Fame induction could also be the final piece to the puzzle as it pertains to a Sting Career DVD set produced by the WWE, something that has been in talks for years .   

While a WWE appearance by Sting seems to be south of 50 percent in the probability department, one cannot help but consider such a scenario.  Especially with big time TNA roster cuts set to occur during the same year Wrestlemania festivities are to be held in Atlanta. 

TNA cutting Sting from its roster would indeed be an economically sound decision.  Yet, by the same token, and with WWE looming, it could be a competitive blunder.