Scott,
Warrior was a close friend of mine (I also had the pleasure of growing up in the same city Chris Benoit called home — Peachtree City, Ga — and used to talk to him at the gym all the time).
Benoit's death hit me hard, because he was the nicest guy in the world and I always saw him walking around the golf cart paths of my home town with his son on his shoulders.
Warrior's death is unbelievably tragic, because he was so happy to be back with the WWE and was poised to tell new stories (though his last appearance on RAW was so prophetic).
I met Warrior in 2003 at a conservative function in D.C. and thereafter we would talk three or four times a year on the phone for hours on end.
He was incredibly passionate and the true man shown through at the HOF this past weekend, with his love for his wife and daughters the highlight of the show (and, by all the tweets from wrestlers, something they all noticed as well).
Back in 2010, we were talking on the phone right before Wrestlemania 26 in Phoenix and he told me how close he was to going in the HOF then, but he couldn't do it until they told the right story (which they did on the new DVD). He told me at a meeting with WWE to go over the libel lawsuit surrounding the Self Destruction of the Ultimate Warrior DVD, all of a sudden Vince came from behind and gave him a huge bear hug… as if nothing had happened between 1996 and 2010 in their relationship…. ha.
Warrior was alpha, one of a kind. The media storm surrounding his horrific death is testament to this and the power sports-entertainers (wrestlers) have over the public imagination.
That he was able to come back and end things ON HIS NOTE (with perhaps the most eerie final promo in the history of… promos)… isn't that the most poignant way to end an incredibly enigmatic and obviously inspiration life?
Anyways… if Sting has signed with the company (though they weren't that close after the Blade Runners broke up), it makes too much sense to have him debut this coming Monday Night at some point, especially to fill the role of ambassador Warrior was set to do.
What say you?
See, I don't even know that Sting and Warrior were close past their initial association in the 80s. Sting certainly gave no indications of being in touch with Warrior in any of the interviews he's done. However, I think Sting's a pretty well-spoken and well-respected guy who would do fine as a goodwill ambassador for the company. Or if nothing else he can hang out on Wall Street and point baseball bats at anyone trying to sell their WWE stock.
I think they can disguise him pretty well in the ring if he's doing limited stuff, because I feel like the younger guys would respect him so much that they'd be lining up to sell his offense and would probably keep him from getting too exposed. If he was to take on a role where he was, say, mentoring the Shield or teaming with John Cena against the Wyatts to even the odds (and you know Cena would mark out for that) he'd probably do fine.