Sting wisely sat out the Invasion storyline of 2001 in order to collect on his guaranteed Time Warner contract. Sting essentially got paid seven figures to sit on his couch and do nothing. It was an astute move, considering how the Invasion turned out for most former WCW wrestlers. His Time Warner deal expired in March 2002 but he quickly dismissed rumours of a return to wrestling. In June, however, Sting re-entered contract negotiations with the WWE. After seeing the nostalgic response to Hogan's comeback they figured that Sting would have a similar effect. Sting claimed in a radio interview in January 2003 that he was close to signing a deal in June but that he and the company couldn't agree on terms. He was wary of the intense WWE travel schedule and also not a fan of WWE's increasingly racy attempts to draw ratings. There would be further 'Sting to WWE' rumours over the years but they wouldn't become a reality until 2014. 2002 was the closest he had come to joining before then.
