That's why I said have him enter the Rumble and clean house. Let him toss Cena, Orton, etc out the ring. Its happened plenty of times before when injured or returning guys come out on fire and surprise you in the rumble. He could easily be 30 and toss out the last 3 or 4 guys soak up the ppv spot light and come out on the next raw for the first time in history
No one gets pinned or taps to him, and he can declare that he never in his life wanted the wwe title because he was a WCW guy, that he already had his run with the world title, but the streak .... Remember the winner gets to pick their main event match, not specifically a title anymore, that and the chambers can decide the contenders while keeping the champs healthy heading into mania.
Winning the rumble would be huge for him when you think of who all won it ... Hogan, Flair, Austin, Michaels, Hunter, Rock, Brock, Batista, Cena, Edge, Taker .... Its an accomplishment in itself, so losing at mania after a hard fought match won't hurt as he gets his pay, the mania stage, his win, and we all get the Definitive Sting Collection
New Orleans even fits the Crow and Takers Deadman gimmick and the last time the super dome held a wrestling event it was WCW