The Invasion angle in WWE is one of the biggest mess-ups in WWE history.
The storyline came about after WWE purchased WCW, and should have led to a number of dream matches.
However, stars like Hulk Hogan, Goldberg and Sting did not sign right away, instead sitting out their WCW contracts and collecting their monthly cheques.
Because of this, we missed out on some incredible dream matches. Bouts like Sting vs Undertaker, Goldberg vs Steve Austin and Hulk Hogan vs Austin all never happened, which is a real shame.
However, one match that was rumoured for WrestleMania, that actually happened later on in a different company, was the long-awaited battle between Sting and Kurt Angle.
Sting vs Kurt Angle At WrestleMania X8
Kurt Angle vs Sting was almost a huge main event-calibre match for WrestleMania X8, following the purchase of WCW.
Sting was in negotiations with the WWE after his contract with Time Warner expired, with the star expected to wrestle Kurt Angle at the event.
Sadly, he could not come to a deal with the company, and the match never took place in WWE (although they later wrestled numerous times in TNA).
Sting spoke to JBL about almost signing for the WWE at this time, and was asked about coming in to wrestle a match against Kurt Angle at WrestleMania X8.
“I remember talking to Vince [McMahon] around that time. With Vince on the phone to me, everything was great. But when WWE’s attorney spoke to my attorney, all of a sudden there was trouble.
The bottom line is, at that time, I think Vince wanted more of a commitment out of me than I was willing to give.
Kurt Angle Wanted To Wrestle Bret Hart
As well as wrestling against Sting, Kurt Angle also tried to get Bret Hart out of retirement for a match.
Hart had retired years earlier, after a concussion caused by Goldberg ended in his having a stroke and crashing his motorbike.
Speaking on an episode of The Kurt Angle Show, the WWE Hall of Famer revealed he nearly fought Sting and Bret Hart, but told fans the reasons why the matches never took place.
“Yeah, there were talks about it. I heard about it. But I’m not surprised that it didn’t occur, you know. They couldn’t get Sting to sign that early, you know, Bret Hart at that particular time, you know, he was still wrestling. I did contact Bret. I’m the one that contacted him, yeah. I called him and said ‘hey I want to wrestle you at WrestleMania. I think it would be a dream match. You won’t have to do any of the work, I’ll do all the bumping and selling’ and he immediately said no. And I was like ‘okay, well I appreciate it. Nice meeting you Bret’.”
You can read more about Kurt Angle trying to wrestle Bret Hart at WrestleMania X8, by clicking down below;