Triple H vs Sting

[Hanley!]

So ... did everyone else like this match?

I can understand why people would on some level. The DX vs nWo stuff was pure fan service. And the fans in attendance were into it because they got to see all these extra wrestlers they didn't know they'd see. And got to hear two of the best wrestling themes ever. I can see why that would be fun. And a lively crowd in the arena always makes things seem more entertaining when we're watching from home.

I really hated how this was booked though. It felt like Wrestlemania was jumping the shark.

It started with the entrances which were both too over the top. They also felt completely unconnected to the feud and to the characters. Triple H's in particular was just silly, though at least I feel like the character Triple H might just like spending ridiculous amounts of money on dumb over-the-top entrances. With Sting it felt like the company had no understanding of his character at all.

This wasn't the feud to turn into a random "fun" match at Wrestlemania. Which is what it became with all these interferences and all the fan service. This was one of the biggest and most personal feuds on the card. Sting had spent 14 years watching Triple H slither his way to the top. He didn't respect him. Triple H wanted to kill off this vigilante and get him out of the way for good. It felt like the balance of power in the WWE was almost supposed to be on the line here. And the nostalgia fueled DX vs nWo stuff just didn't work with that narrative.

Besides, this was a street fight and became pretty violent. This was presented as just a fun time, but people were encouraging these guys to use sledgehammers and baseball bats on each other. Kevin Nash and Scott Hall wanted Sting to dismantle their friend with a baseball bat. They were hugging Triple H the previous night! If they wanted to just take down DX at Wrestlemania for pride or bragging rights, that would have made sense. But doing this at the expense of their best friend's health?

The fact that the nWo were even backing up Sting when they were mortal enemies is pretty weird, but given everything else that was happening, I found this the easiest part to believe.

Triple H winning was obviously shit, and people are complaining about that in another thread. Once WWE went full force in making it WWE vs WCW, they obviously were going to give the win to Triple H. The feud wasn't about WCW vs WWE: Sting said as much on Raw. But they decided to change all that at Wrestlemania itself, so Triple H had to bury the company once again. It was horrific treatment of a genuine star in his first WWE match.

Years ago Sting said he didn't jump ship because he saw how the others were treated and didn't want to be buried too. You should have listened to your instincts, Sting. Though his priorities have probably just changed since then, and he likely wanted the exposure and the money and to work on that particular stage. And good for him if so. Not good for the audience though. They should have been given a Sting victory: a gift to his existing fans and a statement to those who didn't know him before this.

The handshake after the match was the worst though. It made no sense at all. Both guys hated each other. They had no respect for each other. A match filled with run-ins, cheap shots and cheating gave them no more reason to respect each other. It made no sense for either character or for the situation. I was groaning all the way through this part.

I feel like WWE did what it often does at Wrestlemania: rather than giving us something good, they just gave us a reference to something that was good in the past, and pretended it was the same thing.

Is there anyone on my side here? Or was seeing a bunch of guys from WWF and WCW enough to make this "fun"? I know a bunch of people will probably tell me not to take matches like this so seriously, but everything that happened up until Wrestlemania suggested this was the match that I should be taking seriously. Anyway, I like stories in my wrestling and I don't know what kind of crazy ass story they were trying to tell here.

I'd appreciate confirmation that I'm not crazy, if possible. I know that Kirbi is on my side here, but then maybe I'm just rubbing off on her.

[Circled Square]

I'm kidding bro.

I'm totally fucking with you. I disliked the match the second the NWO limped down the stage. I loved hearing the theme tune, that part was the coolest for sure, but I knew then where they were going with this - a burying the hatchet on an old grudge sort of thing, so HHH would pick up the win. Now even with my limited understanding of Sting's career, as I know his TNA work only, he wouldn't have shaken hands with him after the match became such a clusterfuck. Seeing DX was cool as well I guess but it was derailing to the feud's original plot lol. Also, what a shit ending, that pin was trash and I didn't react to it. It was weird, as I noticed lots of guys in the chat liked the match. I didn't.

[Daz]

I enjoyed it, more than I would have otherwise.

The feud was a piece of shit to begin with, so I don't care about the disconnect between story and match. The match itself was never gonna be great given the limitations of Sting these days, and Triple H hasn't had many good matches himself in the past 5 years. Paying fan service and adding a sense of fun to the thing, was more than I hoped for going in. And yes, to me, it was fun.

[Str8Shooter]

I didn't mind it, the in ring part of the match was probably a bit better than anyone would have anticipated.

I thought Sting would have won clean for sure, and that's what I would have done if it had been my decision. Just as something to pay homage to Sting and the spectacle of his first WWE match after all this time.

However.... I enjoyed all the shenanigans involved. Yeah the NWO doesn't make much sense helping Sting given their history. And yeah we just saw DX with Hall and Nash yesterday so why would they be fighting a day later? But sometimes things are just about the moment and giving you something to remember it by. I'm not sure that Triple H vs Sting in a normal okay match with Sting winning clean is all that memorable in 20 years. Adding in the nWo vs DX dynamic may have made it more memorable and will probably look better in highlight packages 20 years from now.

[KaiserGlider]

It was an awesome match, definitely better than I thought it was gonna be. I dug the nWo vs DX stuff, it was a good way to make the match different from others that night and hide the fact that it wouldn't have been as good if it was just Sting and HHH wrestling for 20 minutes.

[prophet]

Whilst I don't disagree with what you've said I don't think I minded the DX/NWO shit because the feud between Sting and Triple H was pretty woeful to begin with, they literally only allowed Sting to explain why he's been stalking HHH for months last Monday - that is tragic. I can't seem to bring myself to care too much about what happened in the ring when WWE themselves only cared enough to try and explain the entire fucking feud less than 7 days ago. Nash's 'ow my quad' bump was fucking hilarious enough for me to love it, actually.

I'll give props to Sting though. I was impressed by the pace he worked the match at and thought he took his bumps like a champ. His mic work was good last week too and I'd like to see him stick around in some capacity this year. The match wasn't great sure but Sting more than held his own and it was lovely seeing him finally get his time at Wrestlemania.

Oh and Triple H's entrance was the most retarded thing I've ever seen. Just awful

[AkydefGoldberg]

I remember an interview Sting did, during a DVD that TNA produced on his career, on why he wouldn't join the WWE and he described a segment between The Rock-Booker T around 2001 where Sting felt, the latter was made to feel like a "pea on" to the rest of the WWE guys.

Maybe times changed and he wanted to be in a WWE ring before he retired and tbh, I don't think his career will be overly damaged by bad booking in the WWE which he's making up for what seems a good in ring performance at WM.

[Hanley!]

It was an awesome match, definitely better than I thought it was gonna be. I dug the nWo vs DX stuff, it was a good way to make the match different from others that night and hide the fact that it wouldn't have been as good if it was just Sting and HHH wrestling for 20 minutes.

I would have preferred it. The best part of the match was before the run-ins, if you ask me. Though this match should have been more about the spectacle of Sting anyway, but they botched his character and the outdoor arena and the daylight weren't really conducive to the theatrics that made him so popular during Nitro's peak.

Adding in the nWo vs DX dynamic may have made it more memorable and will probably look better in highlight packages 20 years from now.

This is part of my problem with this kind of booking: I'd almost guarantee this isn't making any highlight packages in 20 years. The shenanigans of the original DX and nWo stables will certainly still be featured in plenty of highlight packages, but this moment will eventually be largely forgotten just like all the others that did little more than reference another better moment.

This match [i]was[i] a highlight package in many ways. It was WWE patting themselves on the back for stuff that happened in the 90s, rather than creating something that stands on its own.