Sting spent the majority of his wrestling career in WCW and TNA, so fans missed out on a plethora of dream opponents and matches for The Vigilante.

The former face of WCW didn't join WWE until 2014, when he was 55 years of age. Sting debuted at the Survivor Series pay-per-view, and he wrestled his first match for WWE at WrestleMania 31 -- losing to Triple H in a no disqualification bout.

The hope for WWE fans was that Sting would join the company after Vince McMahon bought out WCW. Though the WWE chairman succeeded in recruiting most of the rival company's talents, Sting opted to sign with TNA instead.

Had Sting joined WWE, there would have been no shortage of dream matches awaiting. The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin, Edge, Brock Lesnar, Chris Jericho and The Rock were among the marquee stars.

On his Grilling JR podcast (h/t 411Mania) former WWE and current AEW play-by-play commentator Jim Ross revealed that WWE was looking at bringing Sting in "for a part-time role at best to maximize the investment."

Ross explained that The Rock, who was on the verge of leaving WWE in 2004 as he prepared for a major career in Hollywood, felt confident about putting on a quality match with Sting.

"Rock knew in his heart that he could get a match out of Sting, who had been dormant for quite a while, without any problem," Ross said. "Full confidence. And I believe that too. So anyhow, yeah it was a topic we talked about."

Related: Triple H & Stephanie McMahon Attend Rob Gronkowski's Super Bowl Party [Photo]

With Sting joining TNA, and with The Rock working in Hollywood, the opportunity for these two to square off never materialized. And by the time Sting arrived in WWE in 2014, The Rock had already completed his final regular tenure with the company.

Sting retired from the WWE in 2016 (at his Hall of Fame ceremony) after suffering a neck injury during his match with Seth Rollins at Night of Champions 2015. The Rock confirmed his retirement from wrestling last August.

The Rock Vs. Sting Would Have Been A Sight To Behold

There are plenty of dream matches for Sting that never happened, but a showdown with The Rock would have especially been something special. These were to elite and athletically-gifted in-ring performers, and their personas -- both charismatic babyfaces -- would have made for some epic promos. It's too bad that we never got to see these two all-time greats go at it.

Next: Scott Dawson Responds To Backlash From Fans About Revival's Contract Situation