Undertaker and Sting to appear at Summer Slam: are they returning a tad too early?
The wrestling world went into a tizzy yesterday when news of Sting and Undertaker making an appearance at Summer Slam broke. The two will probably set the ball rolling for a probable WrestleMania Legends v Legends match.
However, Summer Slam might be three pay per views too early for them to make a comeback.
The Undertaker with his “one match a year” deal has pretty much made his ill-health obvious to the wrestling fraternity. Nevertheless, he still delivers every time at the grandest stage of them all.
Sting, on the other hand, has lived his heydays in WCW. He was their face for a very long time and successfully took the company to new heights in the mid and late 90s. His contract with the WWE, when compared to that of WCW, is a feeble one. Also, the lack of legendary opponents is doing no good to his larger than life character. Besides Triple-H, it is only The Phenom who has the credentials to fight Sting.
Critics believe that this fight, if it happens, is five years too late. So, will it be right for the WWE to go forward with their Legend v Legend match?
The streak is over. Undertaker’s character at Wrestlemania underwent a sea change after his defeat to Brock Lesnar. It is now more emotional than ever where his ardent fans want him to win just for the sake of winning. In such a situation, it will not be fair for the young talent to fight him; a reason why his win against Bray Wyatt this year received a lot of criticism. Fans want him to fight against wrestlers who have a legacy of at least 10 years or more. John Cena would’ve been a better fit for this year’s Wrestlemania. It never happened and is very unlikely to happen in future.
With limited options, WWE has to turn to Sting. Not because Sting needs this fight to legitimize his WWE fan base, but because The Undertaker has no one else to fight against.
That being said, their return at Summer Slam seems a tad too early. If the writers are planning on initiating their feud from August, it might just fizzle out by the time WrestleMania season arrives. Feuds spanning over 6 months are a thing of the past now. It doesn’t work anymore; at least the WWE writers think so.
Sting’s storyline with the authority is a closed chapter. The post-match handshake at Wrestlemania was not welcomed by fans. They wanted a tag team match between two factions that sent shockwaves through the wrestling world in the 90s and during the attitude era. DX v nWo, however, would’ve fared badly because the members of nWo are way past their prime. Hulk Hogan can barely move and Scott Hall is lucky to still be alive.
The Ideal Build-Up
What the WWE should do is make their return a ‘Royal’ one.
Here’s a situation:
The Deadman makes a surprise return at the 2016 Royal Rumble. The crowd is at fever pitch. He eliminates some big names and is on the verge of winning another Royal Rumble match, when suddenly the lights go out. The next frame is a captivating TV moment - Sting facing The Undertaker. The two exchange stares for a minute or two. The remaining wrestler takes this opportunity and eliminates The Deadman, wins the Rumble and then attacks Sting but gets Scorpion Deathlocked instead.
It is deja-vu for The Undertaker. He was eliminated in a similar way by Maven in 2002. But this is different.
Taker returns to the ring. Stares at Sting again and gives him his legendary cut-throat gesture. Sting smiles and points to the WrestleMania XXXII marquee. Screen fades to black.