A Story Worth Telling: Sting, Hogan and Closure

A fitting end for both men ahead?
Photo Credit: Impact Wrestling.com

In 1997, Sting chased Hulk Hogan in WCW to the point where the only logical conclusion would have been for the dark Icon to topple the nWo's leader and claim his spot in the wrestling pantheon. We all know what happened; they botched a fast count at Starrcade and ended up ruining what should have been Sting's crowning moment. Today in Impact Wrestling, Sting again chases Hogan, only this time, it's to help bring back the "real" Hulkster, not the evil corporate fraud whose moral fiber has been corrupted by power. At heart it's a good story, even if it is flawed in the execution (as most things in Impact are). But is it worth telling, even when both guys are on the wrong side of 50? What good can be done by Hogan to put Sting over now after avoiding it for 15 years now? I think looking at it through that lens will indict it from jump, but not all stories are about putting someone over or making someone go from one level to another. If one looks at this story through the perspective of two old foes needing closure, it becomes an infinitely more worthwhile tale.

It's true that Hogan should have put Sting over cleanly and emphatically in 1997 or sooner. Having Hogan come over from the WWF at the time was great for WCW in a way that Hogan could build a bigger audience. However, the way they had him come in, running roughshod over everyone, was totally wrong. While jobbing him out to everyone would have been catastrophically stupid, having him lose in key spots to guys like Sting, Goldberg, Diamond Dallas Page or even Chris Jericho, Eddy Guerrero or Chris Benoit would have meant a world of difference for the long term health of the company. Nothing that he can do now will undo the damage it did to WCW and wrestling in general.

So yeah, if Hogan and Sting are doing this program now as a make good for 1997, it's a shitty way to do it. However, I'm not entirely sure that's the case. Even in both men's minds, I have to think telling the right story is in their hearts. So, what is the right story? Well, let's look at it.

Hogan himself has done everything there is to do in wrestling. He's main evented WrestleMania, held titles the world over, defeated all the biggest legends of his time and wrestled some from the era that succeeded his. He's even run a wrestling company in Impact (Successfully or not is a matter of debate). Sting, conversely, also has done a whole lot except for two things. One, he's never wrestled for WWF/E, and two, there's one rival he's never taken down definitively, Hogan. The former can't be helped in his current state, but the latter surely can. When Sting finally defeats Hogan, he'll get closure on what has been a magnificent career. That in and of itself is worth doing this angle.

Now, of course, the match between the two would have to be heavily gimmicked, because what Hogan can do is SEVERELY limited. I'm not sure it'll be about the match quality per se though. It should very much be what Bret Hart vs. Vince McMahon SHOULD have been. Something quick, something decisive and something that will ultimately bring out closure for both men. For Sting, he'll have caught his white whale. For Hogan, it'll be coming full-circle (as he'd obviously return to his senses after losing to Sting).

While the company around them turns to focus around Beer Money, Austin Aries, Mr. Anderson and the rest of the people whose time it is now, the two old lions can retire peacefully. Well, theoretically they can. Who knows if the siren call of the ring will bring them back, and Lord knows Impact is more than willing to accommodate men FAR past their prime to further degrade their bodies and legacies. However, if this is the end for Hulk Hogan and the Stinger, then it's a very fitting one that they share a ring together in Philadelphia for Bound for Glory.