WWE: 10 Gimmicks That Should Have Failed (But Didn't)

6. Sting (Crow Sting)

Okay, so I know that this version of the Stinger was on WCW but this particular gimmick was so huge that it nearly helped win the Monday Night Wars away from WWE and so, definitely deserves a spot on this list. When we first see the dark Sting in '96 everyone thrilled at the new, more brooding persona. Even if it was ripped straight from the 1994 move The Crow. It shouldn't have worked, we'd already seen gimmicks taken from the big and small screen fall flat. So why was it that it worked for Sting? For one, Timing. The 90's fan no longer seemed to get behind the flamboyant gimmicks that had been force fed to us for years. We wanted something different, something darker with more edge. Secondly, we were tired of Hogan and his N.W.O and all that they stood for. We waned them gone and Stinger was just the man to do it with his solid black baseball bat, long flowing trench coat and eerie silence.