'The Icon' Sting finally debuts in WWE, attacks Triple H and ends the Authority

The wrestler known as Sting (real name Steve Borden) made his WWE debut on Sunday at the company's Survivor Series event.Turning up during the climax of the main event between 'Team Cena' and 'Team Authority', Sting confronted on-screen COO Triple H, hitting him with a finishing move known as the Scorpion Death Drop. This resulted in a win for 'Team Cena', meaning that (according to the prior match stipulations) Triple H and his wife Stephanie had to relinquish their on-screen authority over the WWE.

'The Icon' Sting finally debuts in WWE, attacks Triple H and ends the Authority

Sting, who spent his best years as a professional wrestler in the now-defunct promotion World Championship Wrestling (WCW), had reportedly signed a WWE contract earlier this year after years of speculation.

After WCW ran out of business in 2001 and was purchased by WWE, Sting headed over to Total Nonstop Action (TNA) wrestling, a new promotion. Following several years there, Sting finally made his debut at the age of 55, in the WWE at Survivor Series on Sunday.

Sting was not always comfortable with WWE. In an interview in 2001, Sting had said that he decided not to join WWE after WCW went out of business. He felt that wrestlers who had jumped to the WWE from WCW were not being given their due share by WWE owner Vince McMahon. Sting cited an example - during a segment between The Rock and Booker T (of WCW fame), the Rock claimed ignorance about who Booker T was (though he had been a 5-time WCW World champion). Sting took this as an indication that McMahon would never consider WCW wrestlers to be on the same level as his WWE stars, and thus decided not to join the company. Despite several overtures by the WWE over the years, Sting stayed true to his word and never set foot in a WWE arena.

After years of shunning WWE however, Sting signed a contract with the promotion this year, and participated in marketing the video game WWE 2K15. Speculation over his active participation increased as his Twitter account sent out less and less subtle hints, finally saying this six days ago:

Sting was a big star in the WCW of the late 90s and until its closure, and along with Bill Goldberg earned the greatest amount of attention from the fans. He was known to be as loyal to WCW as The Undertaker was to WWE, earning Sting the moniker of 'The Franchise'. He is also known as 'The Icon' for being in the professional wrestling industry since 1985 and winning the World Title 23 times across several promotions.

The arrival of Sting means WWE has seen the debut of the last of WCW's greatest stars. In the past, Bill Goldberg, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Scott Steiner, Booker T, Diamond Dallas Page, and even women wrestlers like Torrie Wilson have been on WWE's payroll.

Though it is unlikely that Sting will work a full schedule in WWE, a potential match with Triple H seems on the cards after the events of Sunday's Survivor Series. This match should ideally take place at Wrestlemania, WWE's biggest annual event, next year.