Too Far: The Authority’s Personal Vendetta with Sting

From the moment he first appeared at the 2014 installment of Survivor Series, Sting has made it clear that he’s here to take out The Authority. For a brief month, he was successful, as his interference in the main event allowed Dolph Ziggler of Team Cena to get a pinfall victory over Seth Rollins, giving Team Cena the win, and banishing The Authority forever.

Of course, Rollins would hatch a plan of his own, and after ambushing Edge on Monday Night Raw, he (along with The Big Show and J&J Security) was able to force John Cena to overturn the banishment, and to reinstate both Triple H and Stephanie McMahon back to power. Since then, it’s become quite clear that the agenda with Sting is a far more personal one than anything we’ve seen from The Authority in the past. Whereas the goal with guys like Daniel Bryan or Dolph Ziggler were simply to hold them back, or keep them from big matches, with Sting, it’s become quite clear that the goal is to take out the man known as The Franchise of WCW.

It started at Fast Lane when Triple H, clearly underestimating his target, simply challenged Sting to a face off. Clearly, the Cerebral Assassin felt comfortable with a home field advantage, and with his history of oppressive dominance on his side, looked ready to attack. This was an odd step for Triple H, as he had kept things very corporate to that point, dealing with problems via paperwork and rules changes, and not via head to head confrontations. In fact, outside of his match with Daniel Bryan and subsequent feud with The Shield, Triple H had really taken a back seat as far as physicality went. But with Sting, Triple H immediately set the tone that he was going to take the face painted superstar out.

As he said in that face off, “You will be erased from history. No legacy, no nothing. GONE! Like you never even existed.” He made it crystal clear what he wanted, and then attacked. Unfortunately, Sting was clearly familiar with Helmsley’s tactics, and was able to counter, and even avoid a sledgehammer attack by introducing his familiar black bat to the scene. It was then that Sting made it clear what he wanted: Triple H at WrestleMania.

From that point on, you could see that Triple H and Stephanie both had an insanity about them, unable to focus, or to even process rational thoughts, as they were completely consumed with taking Sting out. This, of course, led to talk of WCW, and how WCW nearly put the (then) WWF out of business all those years ago.

Sting himself would address this point on a Raw shortly before WrestleMania when he said And yes, although I am the last soldier standing for some forgotten war, I’m not here to fight for WCW, that would be ridiculous at this point, and Stephanie McMahon would enter the ring shortly thereafter, and immediately forget what he had said, instead dragging it back to the long since over Monday Night Wars.

Clearly, there’s something about Sting that drives The Authority crazy, that makes them unable to deal with any type of reality, even when it’s right in their face. The need to prove some point, to stop Sting, grew so great at WrestleMania that Triple H had a master plan ready to go: every member of D-Generation X (save for Chyna) would storm the ring if things got out of hand. And while Sting had a counter of his own (New World Order members Hogan, Hall, and Nash), the odds were still in Triple H’s favor, and Sting eventually succumbed to The Game. After the match, Triple H would shake Sting’s hand in a move that confused us at the time, but now makes sense as Hunter simply attempting to coax Sting into a false sense of security, as if it’s over now.

Sting would take some time off after that match, and in that time off, he would see Triple H constantly brag about his WrestleMania victory. Obviously, no hatchet had been buried, and that handshake and hug meant nothing to him in the long run. Sting found himself in a very familiar place – as the fool who trusted too much. He trusted Triple H had gotten what he wanted after WrestleMania, but that’s the thing with Triple H – he is never satisfied. Even if he gets what he wants, well, he’s just going to think of more stuff that he desires, and he’ll do everything in his power to get it.

And so, when Sting reappeared towards the end of the summer, and had the audacity to again meddle with The Authority, something snapped inside of Triple H. At first, no one really understood why Sting would be rewarded for his shenanigans with a shot at the WWE World Heavyweight Champion. After all, he was coming off a loss to Triple H, a loss that had taken place months prior. How could he simply waltz back into the scene and immediately be gifted a title shot?

There had to be a plan. And Seth Rollins did his part in suckering Sting into it all. He played shocked, asking why he would have to defend against Sting. He started presenting the illusion of dissension, comparing himself to Triple H, and then adding a few extra lines that seemed to insinuate that he considered himself better than the Boss. This led to Stephanie McMahon scolding him on multiple occasions, so that it appeared that there was a growing rift between The Authority and The Architect.

And Sting fell for it all. He entered Night of Champions thinking that he had the champion running scared, and doing so alone, without the security of any corporate backing. Sting, in his mind, had Rollins exactly where he wanted him, and he was not only going to beat the man, he was going to take his most prized possession – the WWE World Heavyweight Championship – with him in the process.

However, what Sting didn’t realize was that a plan had been reinvigorated. A plan to not only put Sting in his place, but to, as said earlier, take him out. Permanently. With that in mind, Rollins had to first get by John Cena in a match for the United States Title. And yes, while it must have been embarrassing to lose the title back to Cena, in the long run, he still had the World Title, and that’s what matters most. All he needed to do was take Sting out.

The two battled, and they battled fiercely. Sting would give no inch, busting everything out in his bag of tricks to bring justice to WWE. He flew all over the ring, and he even flew to the floor in one amazing moment. Rollins would show his worth, withstanding it all, and coming back for more. And then, when the moment was right, the trap was set. Rollins threw Sting into the turnbuckle with his vaunted Turnbuckle Bomb.

Immediately, Sting started shaking his hands out, and you could see something was wrong. Rollins got that look in his eye, and shortly afterwards, would again hoist Sting up, and would again drive him into the corner with yet another vicious Turnbuckle Bomb. It was here that Sting was visibly shaken. His legs turned to rubber. He could barely fight out of the corner. Still, he tried his best, but when Rollins whipped him into the ropes, and Sting tried to duck the clothesline, the damage finally took effect. Sting collapsed to the canvas. Rollins, assuming that the match would be stopped and that the plan was complete, through his arms in the air in a premature celebration. The referee and doctor checked on Sting, who was still having trouble moving.

Sting would eventually clear the cobwebs enough to push the doctor away and stubbornly continue the match, but he would eventually find himself trapped in a rollup after having a second Scorpion Deathlock reversed. The power to kick out was gone, and Sting had been beaten. Later medical reports would say that Sting was diagnosed with cervical spinal stenosis, which, at Sting’s age, seems like quite the condition to return from.

One has to assume that Sting will want to return, though. That he wants revenge, and that he wants to finally bring down The Authority. But he needs to consider the stakes here. Clearly, The Authority (and Triple H specifically) want him not only down, but out. They’ve tried repeatedly to make sure he doesn’t get back up.

And coming from a guy that worshipped Ric Flair, maybe it shouldn’t be a huge surprise to see Triple H fight so hard to get Sting removed from the picture. Maybe that’s part of the vendetta for Triple H. Sure, Ric Flair eventually gave up the ghost, and he and Sting are friendly with each other, but for Triple H, the rivalry still exists, and when he sees Sting, he sees reminders of things of which he wants no reminder. WCW. Ric Flair losing. Terra Ryzing. It all comes to a head when he sees that black and white face paint.

Which is why, at some point, someone is going to have to step in and remove Triple H from power. It’s one thing to be a jerk of a boss. It’s one thing to have a personal beef with an employee. We saw Vince McMahon manage just fine while feuding with Steve Austin for two years. It is possible to have a feud going and still do your job. But when the boss is actively attempting to cripple the wrestlers, that’s when someone else has to step in. Will Stephanie show compassion? Will Vince McMahon return to his throne?

Or will this end when Sting is, for the final time, carried out of the ring? Only time will tell. One thing is for sure: this can’t end well.

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