With the news and rumors surrounding the likely participation of the pro wrestling icon Sting participating in the upcoming release of WWE 2K15, it is worth discussing how to best incorporate a legend like Sting into the next game. With Hulk Hogan already confirmed, there is a landmark opportunity for publisher 2K Games and WWE to seize here. Make the special single-player campaign mode an adaptation of the Monday Night Wars period of professional wrestling.
WWE ’13 featured the Attitude Era mode. WWE 2K14 featured the 30 Years of WrestleMania mode. The next best idea would be an adaptation of the Monday Night Wars. However, instead of just making it WCW’s Monday Nitro against WWE’s Monday Night Raw, 2K Games should take things a step further with actual WCW vs. WWE matches. Sting was one of WCW’s franchise players and their personal icon. He was the only WCW guy who never made the jump to WWE in the company’s entire history. Not to mention, his run as “The Crow” version of Sting during the Monday Night Wars led to some of WCW’s hottest moments and biggest draws in history.
Now that WWE is taking full advantage of owning the WCW brand with home video releases and WWE Network programming, a WCW vs. WWE theme in a new game is a great strategy to attract old school WCW fans who tuned out of wrestling after WCW folded. Unfortunately, WWE’s attempt at a WCW vs. WWE angle in 2001 with the InVasion storyline was a complete failure. Wrestling pundits and journalists considered it the one angle that no one could screw up, yet it happened in the WWE. With the Monday Night Wars or a WCW vs. WWE mode in WWE 2K15, gamers would have the opportunity to do it the proper way.
In the day of the Monday Night Wars, there was constant pressure from both companies to one up each other every week. This could easily translate to a video game if Nitro and Raw go to war. But instead of WCW and WWE rosters remaining on their own shows, why not have wrestlers “invade” the rival show to fight for the name of their respective brands? Beyond that, wrestlers could also betray their respective rosters and defect to WWE or WCW. The best way to avoid ticking off fans in this mode would be to have multiple paths where both WCW or WWE could ultimately “win” the war. We all know the WWE won the Monday Night Wars in 2001, and it bought out WCW. But for a video game, fans could be given the opportunity to rewrite pro-wrestling history their own way.
While this is just a case of “fantasy booking” for a video game, the prospect of Sting finally appearing in a modern video game is very exciting. I cannot wait to play as one of my all time favorites yet again.