10 Most Divisive WWE Match Outcomes Ever

This convoluted match was fittingly difficult to unpack.

At first, it was promoted as a war for WWE's soul. Sting, silent avenger, had vowed to vanquish the Authority faction and restore justice to the company...but, when WWE decided to prolong the shelf life of the stable, it was quietly re-oriented into a rehash of the Monday Night Wars, with both men representing the companies with which they were synonymous. This, despite Sting's portrayal as a babyface and WWE's years-long drive to revise history, and position themselves as the victorious, self-financed little engine that could.

The match itself continued the theme of confusion. The nWo rushed to Sting's aid - even though they were, in the original storyline, as intent on destroying WCW as Vince McMahon was.

The finish made even less sense to many. Though there was face-saving chicanery involved, the coveted Sting lost his first ever WWE match. He then shook hands with a respectful Triple H in the post-match, before the COO resumed his domineering heel role just over an hour later, bearing no ill effects of the battle he had just waged. Sting was clearly past it, vindicating those who backed the decision, but that just raised more unanswerable questions - to doubters and supporters alike. Why was he asked to wrestle the longest match on the card in the first place?

The whole thing was drenched in irony. WWE were meant to be the heroic underdogs in 2001 - but by 2015, initiation into their elite club required a submissive, aura-draining attitude.