Sting (wrestler)

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Sting

Sting in March 2015

Birth name

Steve Borden[1]

Born

March 20, 1959 (age 56)[2][3]

Omaha, Nebraska, United States[1]

Residence

Dallas, Texas, United States[4]

Children

Garrett Lee Borden

Steve Borden Jr.
Gracie Borden

Professional wrestling career

Ring name(s)

Blade Runner Flash[2]

Blade Runner Sting[1][2]
Flash Borden
Steve Borden[2]
Sting[5]

Billed height

6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)[5]

Billed weight

250 lb (110 kg)[5]

Billed from

"Every man's nightmare"

Venice Beach, California[5]

Trained by

Red Bastien[1]
Rick Bassman

Debut

November 28, 1985[6]

Steve Borden, Sr. (born March 20, 1959), better known by the ring name Sting, is an
American professional wrestler, actor, author and former bodybuilder, currently signed to WWE.
[5]
Sting is known for his time spent as the public face of two major pro wrestling companies: the nowdefunct World Championship Wrestling (WCW), which displaced the World Wrestling Federation
(WWF, now WWE) as the leading pro wrestling organization in the United States from 19951998;
[7]
and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA).[8] With a career spanning more than three decades,
Borden has cultivated a legacy as one of the greatest pro wrestlers of all time.[9]
Sting's 14-year tenure with WCW and its predecessor, Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP), began in
1987. Dubbed "The Franchise of WCW",[5] Sting held a total of 15championships in the promotion
including the WCW World Heavyweight Championship on six occasions, the WCW International
World Heavyweight Championship on two occasions, and the NWA World Heavyweight
Championship on one occasion and headlined multiple editions of the flagship NWA/WCW payper-view (PPV) event,Starrcade. He made more PPV appearances for the company than any other
wrestler.[10] Upon the acquisition of WCW by the WWF in March 2001, Sting and his long-term
rival Ric Flair were chosen to perform in the main event of the final episode of Nitro.[5] For much of
his WCW career, Borden held creative influence over the direction of both his character and the
organization as a whole.[11]
Following the expiration of his contract with WCW's parent company, AOL Time Warner, in March
2002, Borden held talks with the WWF but ultimately did not join the promotion, [12] instead touring
internationally with World Wrestling All-Stars (WWA)[13] winning the WWA World Heavyweight
Championship before joining the then-upstart TNA in 2003.[1] Over the following 11 years, he won
the NWA World Heavyweight Championship on one further occasion and the TNA World

Heavyweight Championship four times, wrestled in the main event of TNA's flagship Bound for
Glory PPV on multiple occasions, and was the inaugural inductee into the TNA Hall of Fame in 2012.
[14]
Previously described by WWE as the greatest wrestler never to have performed for that
promotion,[15] Sting finally joined the company in 2014, making his first appearance at Survivor
Series and having his debut match at WrestleMania 31 the following year.
Sting has held 25 total championships throughout his career, including 21 between WCW and TNA.
Readers of Pro Wrestling Illustrated named him "Most Popular Wrestler of the Year" on four
occasions, a record he shares with John Cena.[16] On January 11, 2016, Sting was announced as the
first inductee into the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2016:[17] this renders him the only performer to be
inducted into both the WWE and TNA Hall of Fame, as well as the second man to be inducted while
an active WWE wrestler, after Ric Flair.
Contents
[hide]

1Early life

2Professional wrestling career

o

2.1Continental Wrestling Association (19851986)

2.2Universal Wrestling Federation (19861987)

2.3Jim Crockett Promotions/World Championship Wrestling

2.3.1Rise to stardom (19871989)

2.3.2Feud with the Four Horsemen (19901991)

2.3.3Various rivalries (19911995)

2.3.4Change of character (19961998)

2.3.5Last feuds (19992001)

2.3.6Contract expiration (2002)

2.4World Wrestling All-Stars (20022003)

2.5Total Nonstop Action Wrestling

2.5.1Sporadic appearances (20032004)

2.5.2Feud with Jeff Jarrett (20052006)

2.5.3TNA World Heavyweight Champion (20062008)

2.5.4The Main Event Mafia (20082009)

2.5.5Deception and the Insane Icon (20102012)

2.5.6Final feuds (20122014)

2.6WWE

2.6.1Introduction (2014)

2.6.2Feud with The Authority (20142015)

2.6.3Injury and WWE Hall of Fame (20152016)

3Legacy and influence

o

3.1Resistance to signing with WWE

4Books

5Other media

6Personal life

7In wrestling

8Championships and accomplishments

o

8.1Luchas de Apuestas

9See also

10Notes

11References

12External links

Early life
Borden was born in Omaha, Nebraska,[1] and raised in Southern California.[6] He excelled at football
and basketball in high school, and later embarked on a career in bodybuilding.[1] He once co-owned
a Gold's Gymhealth club. He had no interest in professional wrestling and no television access to it
within his home community, but decided to pursue a career in the industry after being taken to an
"incredible" World Wrestling Federation (WWF) event in Los Angeles, California, where he saw Hulk
Hogan, The Iron Sheik, The British Bulldogs, Andr the Giant, and others perform.[6]

Professional wrestling career

Continental Wrestling Association (19851986)

Borden, originally wrestling under the ring name Flash, teamed with Jim "Justice" Hellwig as two
members of Power Team USA in independent All-California Championship Wrestling. Power Team
USA was a four-man unit also featuring Garland "Glory" Donahoe and Mark "Commando" Miller, plus
manager Rick Bassman.[18] Hellwig and Borden later moved to the Continental Wrestling Association,
a wrestling company based inMemphis, Tennessee and became known as the Freedom Fighters.
[19]
Fans were slow to respond to the lumbering hulks, so the team turned heel.[3][20] The Freedom
Fighters left the CWA after an uneventful run, the highlight of which was an angle in which they
broke the leg of veteran wrestler Phil Hickerson.[19]

Universal Wrestling Federation (19861987)

The duo surfaced in the Universal Wrestling Federation, an organization run by Bill Watts and based
in Shreveport, Louisiana where they were known as the Blade Runners. Borden changed his ring
name from Flash to Sting, while Hellwig became known as Rock.[3] They soon joined Hotstuff & Hyatt
International, a heel stable headed by "Hot Stuff" Eddie Gilbert and Missy Hyatt. Together with
"Russian" wrestler Kortsia Korchenko, the Blade Runners became henchmen in Gilbert's on-screen
feud with Watts. Hellwig, who would later become The Ultimate Warrior in the World Wrestling
Federation (WWF, then WWE), left the promotion in mid-1986, leaving Sting without a partner. Sting
won the UWF World Tag Team Championship twice with Gilbert in 1986 and a third time with Rick
Steiner in 1987.
Following a match against Terry Taylor in mid-1987, Gilbert interfered on Taylor's behalf, costing
Sting the match. Taylor and Gilbert ganged up on Sting until Gentleman Chris Adams came to
Sting's aid. Adams cleared the ring and then asked Sting if he was with him or against him in his
feud with Taylor and Gilbert. Sting turned face by declaring his allegiance to Adams.
Behind the scenes, Gilbert endorsed Borden by telling a dirt sheet that Sting would be a megastar in
the future. Later that year, Sting was tabbed to win the UWF Television Championship, then held by
Gilbert, untilJim Crockett of the National Wrestling Alliance bought the company from Watts.
Crockett's booker, Dusty Rhodes, decided to put the Television title on Taylor to set up a feud
between Taylor and NWA Television Champion Nikita Koloff to unify the two titles. Rhodes used
then-unknown Shane Douglas as the transitional champion from Gilbert to Taylor because Rhodes
did not want to diminish Sting's growing stardom with a brief title run.

Jim Crockett Promotions/World Championship Wrestling

Rise to stardom (19871989)
Sometime after Sting's arrival to the NWA in July 1987, Dusty Rhodes used the opening bout of
Crockett's first foray into pay-per-view, Starrcade '87, to showcase the young superstar. Sting
partnered with Michael P.S. Hayes and Jimmy Garvin in a six-man tag team match against Gilbert,
Steiner, and Larry Zbyszko that ended in a 15-minute time-limit draw.
Having established himself as a rising star, Sting was one of the few UWF alumni to be pushed in
the NWA. At the inaugural Clash of the Champions in March 1988, Sting challenged Ric Flair for
the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. The match ended in a draw after the 45-minute time
limit expired and the ringside judges could not declare a winner.[3][21] Sting lost to Flair in several nontelevised rematches following the Clash and, later that year, battled other members of Flair's stable,
the Four Horsemen. Sting teamed with Koloff at The Great American Bash in July 1988 to challenge
Horsemen Tully Blanchard and Arn Anderson for the NWA World Tag Team Championship;
Blanchard and Anderson retained the titles when the match ended in a 20-minute time-limit draw.
Rhodes continued to book Sting in title matches throughout the year against both NWA United
States Champion Barry Windham and NWA Television Champion Mike Rotunda. In the fall of 1988,
Sting was attacked byHawk and Animal of The Road Warriors after a televised match. Rhodes, as
booker, identified Sting as the face who was most over with the fans, despite knowing that turning
the Road Warriors heel would be no easy task. Rhodes himself teamed with Sting to challenge the

Road Warriors for the tag team championship at Starrcade '88 that December. Rhodes and Sting got
the win by disqualification, allowing the Road Warriors to retain the titles.
Sting returned to singles matches in 1989, starting the year off by wrestling Flair to a one-hour draw
in Atlanta's Omni on New Year's Day. He would also have his first experience in Japan with a brief
tour in All Japan Pro Wrestling, with his most notable match in AJPW against Dan Spivey on January
25. After a long push, Sting won his first title in the NWA when he defeated Rotundo for the NWA
Television Championship at a live event in March.[3] Sting defended the Television title actively but
tended to face sub-par challengers such as The Iron Sheik. In mid-1989, The Great Muta challenged
Sting at The Great American Bash. The match was booked with a classic, controversial Dusty
Finish even though Rhodes (the namesake of the technique) had been fired months earlier. Sting got
the three-count and was announced as the winner, but a replay showed Muta's shoulder was up at
the count of two. The NWA decided to declare the title vacant.[3] Sting and Muta battled in many
rematches for the vacant Television title, but they always ended in disqualification, giving neither
man the championship. Eventually, Muta won a No Disqualification match against Sting at a live
event in September by using a blackjack to get the win and the title.
In the main event of that year's Great American Bash, Flair defended the NWA World Heavyweight
Championship against Terry Funk, who was a member of Gary Hart's J-Tex Corporation. After Flair
got the victory, he was attacked by Funk's stablemate, Muta. Sting came to the aid of his old rival
Flair, and the two feuded with Muta and Funk for the rest of the summer and fall, culminating in
a Thunderdome Cage match between the two teams, which Flair and Sting won, at Halloween
Havoc '89. The alliance with Flair resulted in Sting joining the newly reformed and now-face Four
Horsemen along with the Andersons, Arn and Ole.
Sting finished out the year by winning a four-man round-robin Iron Man tournament at Starrcade '89.
In the final match of the night, Sting defeated Flair to accumulate the necessary points to win the
tournament. The victory made Sting the number one contender for Flair's NWA World title, leading to
tension within the Four Horsemen.
Feud with the Four Horsemen (19901991)
Sting was summarily dismissed from the Four Horsemen on February 6, 1990, at Clash of the
Champions X: Texas Shootout after refusing to relinquish his title shot against Flair, thus restarting
their rivalry. Later that evening, Borden suffered a legitimate knee injury while interfering in a Steel
Cage match featuring the Horsemen.[3]
Borden's injury forced the bookers of World Championship Wrestling, the dominant promotion in the
NWA, to find a new opponent for Flair for the forthcoming WrestleWar pay-per-view event. Lex
Luger was chosen to challenge Flair at WrestleWar. During the match between Flair and Luger, Sting
came down to motivate Luger to come back and beat Flair. Before this Sting and Luger had been at
odds. When Luger was close to winning Sting was attacked by Ole Anderson. Luger opted to save
the already injured Sting and ended up losing the match by countout while assisting his friend.
Behind the scenes, WCW officials had wanted Flair to drop the title to Luger at WrestleWar, but Flair
refused, saying he had promised Borden he would hold the title until Borden could return to the ring.
Despite the injury, Sting was still utilized on television and pay per views when necessary. At
the Capital Combat event in May, Sting was accosted by the Four Horsemen and thrown into a metal
cage at ringside. In a promotional crossover, Sting was rescued by his buddy RoboCop.[22]
After Borden's recovery, Sting finally defeated Flair for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship
on July 7, 1990, at the The Great American Bash.[3] Sting went on to feud with title contenders Flair
and Sid Vicious. Vicious appeared to defeat Sting in a title match at the 1990 Halloween Havoc, but
the "Sting" that Vicious pinned was revealed to be an impostor played by Horseman Barry Windham.
The real Sting appeared soon after and pinned Vicious to retain his title after the match was
restarted.

During Sting's title run, a masked man known as The Black Scorpion would taunt and attack Sting on
many occasions. This feud culminated in a final showdown between Sting and The Black Scorpion
at Starrcade: Collision Course in December. The cage match ended with Sting pinning and
unmasking the Scorpion, who turned out to be Flair in disguise.
Various rivalries (19911995)

Sting in his surfer gimmick

Sting's first world championship reign ended January 11, 1991, when Flair defeated him in a rematch
from Starrcade. In the same month, WCW seceded from the National Wrestling Alliance, in the
process recognizing a WCW World Heavyweight Championship and a WCW World Tag Team
Championship.
Sting took part in what many consider to be one of the best matches of 1991, teaming with Luger to
face The Steiner Brothers at the first SuperBrawl pay-per-view. The Steiners won by pinfall after
Koloff, who had been feuding with Luger, interfered in the match by swinging a chain at Luger but
hitting Sting instead. Consequently, Sting feuded with Koloff throughout the summer of 1991. [3]
In August 1991, Sting defeated "Stunning" Steve Austin to win a tournament for the vacated WCW
United States Heavyweight Championship.[3] Sting held the title for 86 days before losing it to Rick
Rude at Clash of the Champions XVII.
At Starrcade '91, Sting won the first-ever Battlebowl battle royal, for which he received a Battlebowl
championship ring.
At the end of 1991, Sting became embroiled in a feud with the Dangerous Alliance, headed by
manager Paul E. Dangerously. The stable targeted Sting because he was the so-called "franchise"
of WCW, and the Alliance vowed to destroy both Sting and the promotion he was the face of. At the
same time, Sting was being targeted by Luger, who had once again turned heel and, as WCW
Champion, viewed Sting as a threat. Sting engaged in many matches with Dangerous Alliance
members, especially Rude, who was the group's biggest star. It was during this feud that Sting won
the first of his six WCW World Heavyweight Championships, defeating Luger on February 29, 1992,
at SuperBrawl II.[3] The feud ended when Sting formed Sting's Squadron, consisting of allies Ricky
Steamboat, Dustin Rhodes, Windham, and Koloff, and defeated the Alliance (Rude, Austin, Arn
Anderson, Zbyszko, and Bobby Eaton) in a WarGames match at WrestleWar in May 1992; wrestling
observer Dave Meltzer awarded the match his highest rating of five stars.
Near the end of Sting's battles with the Dangerous Alliance, the seeds were sown for what became
arguably one of the most famous feuds of Sting's career. Sting defended his WCW World title on
April 12, 1992, atThe Omni in Atlanta against the 450-pound Big Van Vader. During the match,
Vader splashed Sting, cracking three of Sting's ribs and rupturing his spleen. Sting recovered and
defended his title on July 12 against Vader at The Great American Bash, dropping the belt to Vader
after missing a Stinger Splash, hitting his head on the ringpost, and receiving a powerbomb. After
beating Cactus Jack in a Falls Count Anywhere Matchat Beach Blast[23] and WCW newcomer Jake

Roberts in a Coal Miner's Glove match at Halloween Havoc, Sting defeated Vader, who had lost the
WCW championship in August, in the "King of Cable" tournament final at Starrcade.
The Sting-Vader feud continued into 1993, with Vader, who was again WCW Champion, defeating
Sting in a bloody Strap match at SuperBrawl III. Sting exacted revenge by beating Vader for the
WCW World Heavyweight Championship on March 11 in London, England, but lost it back to Vader
six days later in Dublin, Ireland. Sting then teamed with WCW newcomer Davey Boy Smith to beat
the team of Vader and Vicious at Beach Blast in a match that was set up by a mini-movie in which an
evil midget blew up Sting's boat. At the end of 1993, Sting was one of the first people to congratulate
Flair, who had just returned from the World Wrestling Federation, after his WCW World title victory
over Vader at Starrcade.
Sting feuded with Vader and Rude through the first half of 1994. Sting won the WCW International
World Heavyweight Championship from Rude in April. Rude recaptured the title on May 1
at Wrestling Dontaku 1994in Japan, but the decision was reversed because Rude had allegedly hit
Sting with the title belt during the match; this was to cover for a real-life back injury Rude sustained
in the match that forced Rude into retirement. Sting refused to have the title handed to him and
instead defeated Vader for the vacant WCW International World Heavyweight Championship
at Slamboree. Soon afterward, Flair turned heel and defeated Sting in a title unification match
at Clash of the Champions XXVII. Sting spent the second half of 1994 and most of 1995 teaming
with new arrival Hulk Hogan in his battles against Kevin Sullivan's Three Faces of Fearand its
successor stable, The Dungeon of Doom.
At The Great American Bash 1995, Sting defeated Meng to win another tournament for the WCW
United States Championship. Sting defeated Meng in a rematch for the title at Bash at the Beach
1995.
Sting was on the first ever Monday Nitro in a match where Flair defeated Sting by disqualification as
a result of a run-in by Arn Anderson to attack Flair. At Fall Brawl, Sting teamed with Hogan, Luger,
and Randy Savage to defeat the Dungeon of Doom, consisting of Kamala, Zodiac, Shark, and Meng,
in the event's WarGames match. In October 1995, Flair convinced Sting to team with him in a match
against Anderson andBrian Pillman at Halloween Havoc. Anderson and Pillman had attacked Flair
earlier in the night, rendering Flair unable to come out for the first part of the match. Sting fended off
his opponents until Flair emerged. Later in the match, Flair turned on Sting and reformed the Four
Horsemen with Anderson and Pillman, later adding Chris Benoit to fill out the group.[3] Sting defeated
Flair on a subsequent Nitro with the Scorpion Deathlock, refusing to let go until Luger persuaded him
to do so. Sting defeated Flair again at the World War 3 pay-per-view. Later in the night, Sting
competed in the World War 3 battle royal for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, which
was won by Savage. Sting's alliances with Hogan and Savage led the Horsemen to attack them as
well.
Sting's second U.S. title reign lasted until November 13, when he was defeated by Kensuke
Sasaki in Japan. At Starrcade, Sting defeated Sasaki, representing New Japan Pro Wrestling, in a
non-title match to win the World Cup of Wrestling for WCW. In the next match that night, Sting lost
a Triangle match involving Flair and Luger; Flair won by countout to become number one contender
for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, which Flair won from Savage in the next match.
Change of character (19961998)

Sting (right) drastically changed his appearance in 1996 after the formation of the New World Order which
includedKevin Nash (left)

Early in 1996, Sting's appearance started to change: he grew longer, darker hair, replacing his
blond flattop haircut, and he often wore black tights with a multi-colored scorpion, although he
occasionally wore his colorful ones and maintained his colorful face paint.
Sting teamed with his old friend Luger, who had returned to WCW from WWF in September 1995,
despite Luger's standing as a heel. The duo beat Harlem Heat for the WCW World Tag Team
Championship on the January 22 edition of Nitro. The team often retained the championship as a
result of Luger's cheating tactics, to which Sting remained oblivious. When Luger was temporarily
unavailable for WCW Uncensored in March, Harlem Heat member Booker T teamed up with Sting to
successfully prevent the title from changing hands. Sting and Booker T developed a mutual respect
that showed itself when Sting and Luger granted Harlem Heat a rematch. During the Tag title run,
Sting received a World title shot against The Giant at Slamboree in May, but lost after accidental
interference from Luger. Harlem Heat eventually won the titles back on the June 24 edition of Nitro.
In the summer of 1996, Sting was the first to stand up to The Outsiders: Kevin Nash and Scott Hall,
who had recently competed in the WWF and whose alliances and agenda were unclear, had been
infiltrating and causing chaos at WCW events. Sting teamed with Luger and Savage to defend WCW
against Hall, Nash, and a mysterious third Outsider to be revealed at the Bash at the Beach. Hall
and Nash started the bout without their third partner, but the WCW's temporary three-on-two
advantage was short-lived: Luger left the match after he was accidentally injured by a mistimed
Stinger Splash. The two-on-two match continued while Hogan, who had been a fan favorite for over
two decades, emerged at ringside. Hogan appeared ready to back up the WCW wrestlers until he
attacked Savage with his leg drop finisher in one of wrestling's most famous swerves. The match
was ruled a no-contest, and Hall, Nash, and Hogan declared a new world order in professional
wrestling. The name stuck and Sting became one of WCW's stalwarts against the New World Order,
or nWo for short.
As part of this, Sting and Luger went up to rivals and Four Horsemen members Ric Flair and Arn
Anderson some time after Bash at the Beach and asked them to team with him, saying that they
needed to put aside their differences for the good of WCW. Flair and Anderson agreed and the four
wrestlers composed Team WCW for the annual WarGames match at Fall Brawl in September 1996.
They would be facing the nWo's team of Hall, Nash, Hogan, and a fourth member yet to be
determined. On the Nitro prior to the event, however, the nWo played a trick on WCW claiming that
Sting was joining their side. A vignette was shown where the nWo had a recording of Sting's voice
playing in its limousine as Luger was being lured into the parking lot. Once he was there a man
dressed as Sting, played by Jeff Farmer, attacked him and the crowd at home was led to believe that
Sting had joined up with the nWo and would be their fourth man against what was now a three-man
WCW team. Sting, however, was not at that edition of Nitro and showed up at Fall Brawl just as his

teammates declared that they would face the nWo by themselves. Sting told Luger that he did not
attack him, but Luger refused to believe him. Later, during the match, Sting entered as the fourth and
final man for Team WCW, after the impostor Sting had entered for the nWo. Once in the ring, Sting
immediately took out all four members of the nWo. He then stopped, turned to Luger, and angrily
said to him, "Is that good enough for you right there? Is that proof enough?" Sting then gave Luger
an obscene gesture and walked out of the match, leaving Team WCW at a four-on-three
disadvantage which they did not overcome.
The next night on Nitro, Sting came out unannounced during the middle of the show with no music or
entrance pyrotechnics. He entered the ring and, with his back turned to the camera side of the
audience, launched into an angry tirade about what had transpired over the last week:

I want a chance to explain something that happened last Monday night at Nitro
Saturday night, and what'd I see? More of the same... more DOUBT. Which bri
you if you stand by me! But for all of the people, all of the commentators, all o

After declaring he would be "popping in from time to time" afterwards, Sting threw the microphone
down and left the ring. Days after the infamous promo, he was booked for shows in New Japan Pro
Wrestling, to take part in the Japan/U.S. Superstars Tournament, where he defeated Masahiro
Chono in the first round, but was eliminated in the second round by Shiro Koshinaka. His last match
of 1996 took place on September 23 at the Yokohama Arena, where he and Lex Luger teamed up to
defeat Arn Anderson and Steven Regal. It would end up being his last tour of Japan.
On the October 21, 1996, edition of Nitro, Sting returned for the first time since the night after Fall
Brawl. In a match where the impostor Sting was wrestling Mr. JL, Sting emerged wearing a trench
coat and white face paint with black marks around his eyes. He went in the ring and attacked nWo
Sting (who was still imitating Sting's old mannerisms at this point) with his new finisher, the Scorpion
Death Drop inverted DDT, two jumping elbow drops, a Stinger Splash and a Scorpion Deathlock
while the rest of the nWo came to ringside. Rather than intervene, they simply stood by and
watched. After Sting was done, Ted DiBiase and Kevin Nash came into the ring and made Sting an
offer to join the nWo and get back at WCW for betraying him. Sting considered it briefly, saying that
he might not be "in (the nWo's) price range", and then concluded by saying "the only thing that's for
sure about Sting is that nothing's for sure." With that, Sting left the ring and would not speak (on mic)
on WCW programming again for over a year.
After this a silent, almost ghostly Sting, carrying a baseball bat as a weapon, began appearing in the
rafters at WCW events and began painting his entire face with black and white corpse paint. Sting's
new gimmickwas inspired by the 1994 film The Crow. In retaliation, nWo Sting, who was still
imitating Borden, began painting his face this way as well. While appearing on a WCW/nWo
merchandise special on QVC Sports in late 1999, Borden admitted that Scott Hall had initially
suggested the idea of painting his face like the character of Eric Draven from The Crow. Sting
maintains aspects of his "Crow" persona as of 2014, occasionally with different designs and use of
color of the face paint.
In a series of unusual loyalty tests over the next months, Sting would confront a WCW wrestler in the
ring and shove the wrestler several times with his bat until the wrestler was provoked enough to
advance on him. Then Sting would draw the weapon back as if he were going to assault him,
causing the wrestler to stop. Sting would hand the bat to the offended wrestler and turn his back,
offering the wrestler a chance at retaliation. When the wrestler hesitated or declined, Sting would
nod, retrieve the bat, and leave the ring.
In January 1997, a "blackballed" Randy Savage returned to WCW for the first time since Halloween
Havoc and aligned himself with Sting as a "free agent" as he refused to join the nWo although WCW

Vice PresidentEric Bischoff, also one of the leaders of the nWo, declared he would not be allowed
back in WCW if he didn't. For the next few weeks the two were seen in the rafters together and
coming to the ring together. This story, however, petered out at SuperBrawl in February; Sting and
Savage had come to the ring together to watch Roddy Piper face Hogan in a match for the WCW
world title. As Sting left, Savage went to the ring and helped Hogan win the match, thus going back
on his word and joining the nWo. This did not change Sting's character as he continued to stalk from
the rafters.
At WCW Uncensored in March 1997, Sting finally made his decision as to where he was standing.
As the nWo celebrated a victory in the main event battle royal which guaranteed them title shots
whenever they desired with their newest recruit, Chicago Bulls NBA star Dennis Rodman, Sting
rappelled from the roof of the arena on a vertical zip-line. As he stood there with his baseball bat
Scott Hall entered the ring. Sting attacked him, then followed with an attack on Kevin Nash with the
bat and finally he intercepted Savage coming off the top rope. He followed this by hitting the
Scorpion Death Drop on all three men and pointed his bat at Hogan who was standing on the
outside with Rodman. Hogan reluctantly went into the ring, then was met with the same treatment.
These actions cemented Sting's allegiance to WCW.
In subsequent weeks, Sting frequently rappelled from the rafters or came up through the ring to
attack unsuspecting nWo members, came to the aid of wrestlers once subjected to his loyalty test as
they battled the nWo, and employed decoy "Stings" to play mind games with the nWo during the
closing segments of Nitro. Sting's appearances to fight the nWo at the end of almost
every Nitro helped WCW keep and widen itstelevision ratings advantage over the WWF's Monday
Night Raw throughout the summer. On-screen WCW commissioner James J. Dillon tried many times
to get Sting to return to wrestling by making contracts to fight various nWo members. Sting, however,
did not accept any of the contracts, often tearing them up in Dillon's face. A confused Dillon then
asked Sting who he wanted on one edition of Nitro, and Sting went out to ringside, picked up a fan's
sign, and pointed out one name on it: Hogan.

Borden after a taping ofNitro in 1998

Eventually Sting got his wish and he and Hogan finally met in December at Starrcade for the WCW
World Heavyweight Championship. The finish of the match was supposed to echo theMontreal
Screwjob finish that the WWF had used to double cross Bret Hart just one month earlier at their
annual Survivor Series event. Nick Patrick, the referee for the contest, was supposed to execute a
fast count on Sting while Hart, whose signing with WCW was the linchpin for the Montreal Screwjob,
would come out to protest the decision and, since he had already served as the guest referee for the

match between Larry Zbyszko and Eric Bischoff earlier that evening, order the match to be restarted
and Sting would emerge victorious by forcing Hogan to submit to the Scorpion Death Lock. However,
Patrick did not do his part properly and instead counted the pin at normal speed, which added an
unintentional level of controversy to the finish.[3]
The next night on Nitro, Hogan protested the decision claiming that Patrick's decision should have
been considered final and a rematch was granted. The match ran over Nitro's allotted time slot and
the finish was aired later in the week on the inaugural episode of Thunder. Similar to the Starrcade
result, two different referees declared the two different men as the winner. Later that night, Dillon
vacated the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, forcing Sting to surrender the belt. Sting
responded with his first words (on mic) since October 1996 when he told Dillon, "You've got no
guts!". Sting turned to Hogan and said, "And you... You're a dead man!".
As 1998 began, the nWo began to splinter. Sting recaptured the vacant WCW World Heavyweight
Championship in February at SuperBrawl VIII with the help of Savage, who was beginning to split
from the nWo. Sting went on to successfully defend the title against the likes of Hall, Nash,
and Diamond Dallas Page (DDP). Like Savage, Nash began to pull away from the Hogan-dominated
nWo, and Nash helped Savage beat Sting for the championship at Spring Stampede in April.
Nash and Savage officially split from the original nWo on May 4, forming the face group nWo
Wolfpac, while Hogan's heel faction became identified as nWo Hollywood. The two nWo factions
vied for Sting's allegiance, with Sting's friends The Giant joining nWo Hollywood and Luger joining
nWo Wolfpac. Sting seemed to have joined nWo Hollywood when he appeared wearing a black and
white nWo shirt, but Sting soon tore off the shirt to reveal the red and black of the nWo Wolfpac.
Sting began wearing red and black face paint and tights as a member of nWo Wolfpac. [3]
Sting and The Giant won the WCW World Tag Team Championship at Slamboree in May when Hall
turned on his teammate Nash. Sting and The Giant also split, and the team was forced to vacate the
title 18 days later. Sting then defeated The Giant at The Great American Bash in June to take control
of the Tag Team titles and chose Nash as his partner. Throughout the summer, Sting and fellow nWo
Wolfpac members Nash, Luger, and Konnan feuded with Hogan and nWo Hollywood. Sting also got
involved in a feud with Bret Hart over their similar finishing holds, the Sharpshooter and the Scorpion
Deathlock. Hart cost Sting and Nash the Tag titles by interfering in their match with Hall and The
Giant on the July 20 Nitro. Sting and Hart squared off at Halloween Havoc, where Hart, the United
States Champion, attacked Sting with a baseball bat, kayfabeputting Sting out of action for several
months.
Last feuds (19992001)
Sting returned to Nitro in March 1999, sporting the black and white Crow-inspired attire he debuted
in 1996 and began to participate in more mic work. By this time, the nWo storyline had faded, and
Sting was not aligned with any of its factions. Sting competed in the main event of April's Spring
Stampede, a Four Corners match for the World Championship, against Hogan, DDP, and champion
Flair. Savage served as special guest referee and delivered a diving elbow drop to help DDP win the
match and the title.
Sting defeated Page on the April 26 edition of Nitro to win the WCW World Heavyweight
Championship for the fifth time, Later that night, Sting defended the title in a four-way match
featuring DDP, Goldberg, and a returning Nash. DDP pinned Nash, allowing DDP to win the title
without directly beating Sting. Sting's 90-minute reign was the shortest WCW World Heavyweight
Championship reign in WCW history.
Sting lost to Rick Steiner in a Falls Count Anywhere match at The Great American Bash after he was
attacked by Steiner's three pet dogs backstage and Steiner forced the referee to prematurely declare
himself the victor, claiming his dogs had pinned Sting for him.

Over the next several months, Sting feuded with Goldberg, Rick Steiner, Vicious, and Savage. Sting
teamed with WCW World Heavyweight Champion Nash at the Bash at the Beach in July to take on
Vicious and Savage of Team Madness. Savage pinned Nash and won the World title as a result.
Hogan returned from injury on July 12 as a face to win the WCW World Heavyweight Championship.
Sting defeated Flair on the July 19 edition of Nitro to become the on-screen president of WCW. Later
that night, Nash turned heel by attacking Hogan during a title defense against Vicious. Sting
remained president for just one week and used his power to book a main event pitting Hogan and
himself against Nash and Vicious. Sting vacated the presidency the following week because he only
wanted Flair out of the position rather than wanting the power for himself. Along with Goldberg, Sting
and Hogan feuded with Nash, Vicious, and Rick Steiner for the next month.
Sting began to question Hogan's trustworthiness and credibility in the weeks leading up to Fall
Brawl. At the September pay-per-view, Luger brought a baseball bat to the ring and Sting used it to
beat Hogan for his sixth and final WCW World Heavyweight Championship, turning heel for the first
time in WCW. Sting's heel turn and subsequent attitude change did not resonate with the WCW fans.
[3]
They still cheered Sting despite the fact he was supposed to be the villain (reminiscent of The
Road Warriors' heel turn in late 1988). At Halloween Havoc, Sting retained the title against Hogan
after Hogan entered the ring in street clothes and laid down for Sting to pin him. After the match,
Sting sounded his disdain of the result and issued an open challenge for later tonight. Later that
night, Sting lost an unsanctioned match to Goldberg, who accepted his open challenge and then
attacked referee Charles Robinson. Sting was stripped of the title the next night for attacking the
official.
Sting entered the 32-man tournament that was set up to award the vacant WCW World Heavyweight
Championship. Sting defeated Brian Knobs, Meng, and Luger to reach the semi-finals to be held
at WCW Mayhem. At the November event, Sting lost to Hart, the eventual winner of the tournament.
After the match, Sting shook hands with Hart in a sign of respect, turning face again. Sting sought
revenge against Luger the next month at Starrcade. Sting won by disqualification when Luger
and Elizabeth assaulted Sting with a steel chair and baseball bat, putting Sting out of action for some
time. Sting ended his feud with Luger by defeating him in a Lumberjacks with Casts
match at Uncensored 2000 the following March.
WCW officials Vince Russo and Eric Bischoff, in an attempt to save the fading
company, rebooted the storylines on April 10, 2000, and declared all titles vacant. At Spring
Stampede 2000 the following week, Sting advanced to the finals of the United States Championship
tournament by defeating Booker T and Vampiro in the first two rounds. Vampiro cost Sting the
championship in the finals against Scott Steiner, leading to an intense feud between Sting and
Vampiro. Sting pinned Vampiro at Slamboree 2000 in May, and Vampiro beat Sting in a Human
Torch match at The Great American Bash the next month; for the climax of the match, Borden
switched with a stuntman, who was set on fire and thrown off the top of the frame of the stage's
entrance video screen.
Sting went on to feud with Jeff Jarrett and then Scott Steiner. Steiner attacked and injured Sting in
November 2000. Sting stayed off WCW programming until the final episode of Nitro on March 26,
2001. WCW had been purchased by the World Wrestling Federation, and the final match in WCW
history pitted Sting against his longtime rival Flair; the two had also competed on the very first edition
of Nitro on September 4, 1995. Sting defeated Flair and the two embraced at the end of the contest.
[3]

Contract expiration (2002)

After the WWF did not buy out Sting's contract with AOL Time Warner, he rejected a buyout offer of
50 cents on the dollar from AOL Time Warner, instead waiting until his contract expired in March
2002[13][27] (he announced a short-lived retirement in February of that year).[1] Borden then entered into
contract negotiations with the WWF, but ultimately did not join the promotion. [12]

World Wrestling All-Stars (20022003)

Borden toured Europe with the World Wrestling All-Stars (WWA) promotion throughout November
and December. His first match in the WWA took place on November 28, 2002, in Dublin, Ireland,
where he reunited with Lex Luger to defeat Buff Bagwell and Malice. At The Retribution on
December 6, 2002 in Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom, Sting lost to Luger in a bout for the
vacant WWA World Heavyweight Championship. Sting defeated Luger to claim the WWA World
Heavyweight Championship in Zurich, Switzerland, on December 13.[3]
Sting embarked on a second tour with WWA in May 2003, successfully defending his championship
against Rick Steiner, Shane Douglas, and Disco Inferno. The WWA held its final show, The
Reckoning, on May 25 inAuckland, New Zealand, where NWA World Heavyweight Champion Jeff
Jarrett defeated Sting for the WWA World Heavyweight Championship, unifying the two
championships.[3]

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling

Sporadic appearances (20032004)

Moment of Truth

In 2003, Sting signed a contract committing him to four appearances with the Total Nonstop Action
Wrestling (TNA) promotion. He debuted in TNA on the June 18 one year anniversary show, teaming
with Jeff Jarrett to defeat A.J. Styles and Syxx Pac.[3] Following this, Borden engaged in a
comprehensive series of sitdown interviews with Mike Tenay, discussing his career and his faith.
Sting returned to TNA on November 5, 2003, defeating Jarrett by disqualification in a match for the
NWA World Heavyweight Championship. On November 12, Sting teamed with A.J. Styles to defeat
Jarrett and Lex Luger. He made his final TNA appearance of 2003 on December 17, defeating
Jarrett in a non-title match.
On March 24, 2004, Borden was interviewed once again by Mike Tenay as part of the promotion for
his direct-to-video biographical film, Sting: Moment of Truth, and on March 31, he returned to the
company for one night only as the special guest enforcer for the main-event, a four way match
between Abyss, A.J. Styles, Raven, and Ron Killings, which Raven won.
Feud with Jeff Jarrett (20052006)
On December 11, 2005, at Turning Point, as Jeff Jarrett stood in the ring celebrating his victory, the
lights in the arena went out as images of a scorpionSting's symbol appeared on the arena

screens, along with the date "January 15, 2006". Spotlights then illuminated the ring, revealing a
chair bearing Sting's signature trench coat, boots, and a black baseball bat in the center of the ring.
[28]
His return to TNA was officially announced one minute after midnight on the January 1, 2006
episode of Impact!.
On January 15 at Final Resolution, Sting and Christian Cage defeated NWA World Heavyweight
Champion Jeff Jarrett and Monty Brown in a tag team match after Sting pinned Jarrett following
the Scorpion Death Drop.[3] His heavily promoted return was greeted with chants of "welcome back"
and "you've still got it" by the Orlando, Florida audience.[29]TNA later revealed that Final Resolution
was "by far the most-purchased TNA pay-per-view event in company history, breaking all previous
numbers". On the January 28, 2006 episode of Impact!, Sting made his Spike TV debut and first
appearance on national television in almost five years, coming to the ring at the end of the show to
make a "major announcement." Sting noted that he had never had a chance to properly say
goodbye to his fans. He then announced that Final Resolution had been "his goodbye", before
thanking the TNA management and the fans. Sting then dropped his bat, with a spotlight appearing
over it, and left the ring, shaking hands with various TNA wrestlers on his way up the ramp. With
Sting gone, the storyline continued with Jeff Jarrett and Eric Young worrying that Sting had not
actually retired and sending Alex Shelley to California to videotape Sting at home. Sting discovered
Shelley filming, then walked up to Shelley's car and told him that he was going to show up
at Destination X and confront Jeff Jarrett as "Steve Borden." Clad in "street clothes" and without face
paint Borden returned on March 12 at Destination X, saving Christian Cage and Rhino as they were
attacked by Jarrett's Army. He placed Jarrett in the Scorpion Deathlock, but was attacked by the
debuting Scott Steiner shortly thereafter.[3] In his first cable television match in five years, Sting
defeated Eric Young on the April 13, 2006 episode ofImpact!. After being attacked by Jarrett, Steiner,
and America's Most Wanted (Chris Harris and James Storm), Sting was saved by A.J. Styles, Ron
Killings, and Rhino, who he announced as his teammates in his Lethal Lockdown match against
Jarrett's Army. On April 23 at Lockdown, "Sting's Warriors" (Sting, A.J. Styles, Ron Killings, and
Rhino) defeated Jarrett, Steiner, and America's Most Wanted after Sting made Chris Harris tap out to
the Scorpion Death Lock.[30] Following Lockdown, Sting proceeded to seek out partners to help him
defeat Jeff Jarrett and Scott Steiner for good. After bringing out Lex Luger, Buff Bagwell, and Rick
Steiner as options, he settled on Samoa Joe. On May 14 at Sacrifice, Sting and Joe defeated Jarrett
and Steiner after Joe pinned Jarrett with a Muscle Buster.[3] Still having proven unsuccessful at
putting Jarrett away, Sting defeated Scott Steiner by disqualification to earn as spot in the King of the
Mountain match at Slammiversary on June 18. Due to a confrontation with Christian Cage during the
match, Sting was distracted, which allowed crooked referee Earl Hebner to knock over the ladder
both were on, sending both men to the floor and allow Jarrett to pick up the victory.[31] On July 16
at Victory Road, a four-way number one contenders match was held for a shot at Jeff Jarrett for
the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. During the match, Jeff Jarrett, disguised as a
cameraman, came into the ring with a bottle of gasoline and squirted it into Sting's eyes. Sting was
taken by security into the back and as a result, taken out of the running for the number one
contender match. As the match continued as a three-way, Sting returned to the ring with his head
wrapped in bandages, performed the Scorpion Death Drop on Scott Steiner, and Sting pinned him to
become number one contender. After the match, Sting had a confrontation with Christian Cage in the
ring that ended with them shaking hands, and Cage showing respect for Sting. Sting received his
title shot on August 13 at Hard Justice, but failed to capture the NWA World Heavyweight
Championship from Jeff Jarrett after Christian Cage turned heel and hit Sting with Jarrett's guitar. On
the following edition of Impact!, Sting stated that he wanted a rematch with Jarrett at Bound for
Glory, TNA's biggest pay-per view of the year. Jarrett accepted the match, with the implication that
Sting put his career on the line, a stipulation Sting accepted. Sting then retreated to train for what
could have been his final match. Meanwhile, Impact! began showing videos of Sting going through a
so-called transformation with many biblical references. On October 22, 2006, in the Title vs. Career
match at the Bound for Glory PPV, Sting returned debuting his new look, a hybrid of
his surfer,Crow, and nWo Wolfpac styles, looking much leaner physically. He went on to claim his
second NWA World Heavyweight title when he made Jarrett submit to the Scorpion

Deathlock marking the first major championship title Sting had won since 1999.[3] With that victory,
Sting became the oldest NWA World Heavyweight Champion of the TNA era, as well as the only
person to ever win the title both before and after the inception of TNA.
TNA World Heavyweight Champion (20062008)
Sting lost the title to "The Monster" Abyss on November 19 at Genesis by disqualification after
pushing aside the referee and pushing Abyss into a stack of tables covered in barbed wire. [3] In the
weeks following Genesis, Sting's feud with Abyss continued as he tried to get in Abyss' head by
telling him he was being used by his satanic manager James Mitchell. Abyss was visibly affected by
this, but remained by Mitchell's side. Sting's former friend Christian Cage and his
bodyguard Tomko were also thrown in the mix, with Cage claiming he knew a dark secret in Abyss'
past. The three finally met in a three-way match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship on
December 10 at Turning Point, where Abyss retained the title.[3] After Turning Point, Sting continued
to try to convince Abyss he was nothing but a machine for Mitchell, and he got so far into Abyss that
Abyss grabbed Mitchell by the throat, almost chokeslamming him on an edition of Impact!, but
ultimately convinced himself not to.

Sting at Lockdown in 2007.

As 2007 came along, Sting continued his feud with Abyss while trying to recapture the NWA World
Heavyweight Championship. On January 14 at Final Resolution, Sting faced Abyss and Christian
Cage in three-way elimination match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship but failed
regain the championship after he was eliminated last by Cage. On the January 24, 2007 edition
of Impact!, Sting revealed after going through public records that Abyss shot his own father three
times in the back, sending him into a coma. During the ensuing brawl throughout the Impact! Zone
between Sting and Abyss, James Mitchell burned Sting's face with a fireball, sending Sting to the
hospital. Sting, returned to defeat Abyss in a "Prison Yard" match on February 11 at Against All
Odds and again in a "Last Rites" match on March 11 at Destination X. On the March 22 edition
of Impact!, Sting teamed with his enemy Abyss to face Christian Cage and A.J. Styles. During the
match, Mitchell returned with a woman who Abyss recognized and Abyss left the match with Mitchell
and the woman, leaving Sting alone to fight Cage and Styles. The following week on Impact!, during
a meeting between Sting and James Mitchell, it was revealed that the woman was Abyss' mother,
and that she was the one who had actually shot Abyss' father, but Abyss took the blame to protect
his mother. Later in the night, it was announced Abyss was added to the Lethal Lockdown match

at Lockdown as part of Team Cage while Sting ended up joining Team Angle. At Lockdown, Sting,
with the help of Jeff Jarrett, pinned Abyss to win the match for his team and end their bitter rivalry.[32]
Due to his win, he was supposed to be facing Christian Cage for the NWA World Heavyweight
Championship at Sacrifice, but the next week on Impact!, Kurt Angle challenged Sting for his number
one contendership. After Team Cage interfered in the match, it was revealed that at Sacrifice there
would be a three way match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship between Sting, Kurt
Angle, and Christian Cage.[33] The day of the PPV, the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), the owners
of the NWA World Heavyweight and the NWA World Tag Team Championships, stripped Cage of the
title and Team 3D of the tag team title.[34] NWA Executive Director Robert K. Trobich stated the
reason was that Cage refused to defend the NWA Title at NWA live events.[34] At the event, Cage, still
holding the physical NWA Championship belt, defended what was billed as the "World Heavyweight
Championship" against Sting and Angle. Angle was the victor of said contest by making Sting
submit, who had technically just pinned Cage, and was announced as the new "TNA World
Heavyweight Champion".[35] The Impact!following the event, the title was labelled as the "TNA World
Heavyweight Championship" and was vacated due to the controversial finish of the match. [36] A
tournament was then held for the title which culminated in a King of the Mountain
match at Slammiversary.[36] Sting lost his qualifying match with Samoa Joe after Christopher
Daniels interfered. Sting instead faced Daniels on June 17 at Slammiversary, which he ultimately
won.[37]
After his feud with Daniels, Sting began teaming up with his former enemy, Abyss who had recently
turned face. Together, the two went on to defeat A.J. Styles and Tomko on July 15 at Victory Road.
[38]
While trying to help Abyss to win a match against A.J. Styles, Sting and Abyss were attacked
by Christian's Coalition. Abyss was pulled under the ring and Sting was slammed into broken glass
by Tomko, before Abyss emerged bleeding badly and was slammed into the broken glass and
thumbtacks.[39] The following week, Sting and Abyss got revenge by defeating Christian Cage and
A.J. Styles in a ladder match, in the process earning a contract that allowed them to pick the type of
match between Abyss and Christian at Hard Justice. It was announced via TNA mobile that Abyss
had selected "Doomsday Chamber of Blood" match. Sting's team won, with Abyss pinning A.J.
Styles to become the number one contender for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship.[40]
On the August 30 edition of Impact!, Sting defeated A.J. Styles, Christian Cage, and Samoa Joe in a
four-way match to become the co-holder of the TNA World Tag Team Championship with Kurt Angle.
Yet after only thirteen days, Sting and Angle lost the titles to Adam "Pacman" Jones and Ron "The
Truth" Killings at No Surrender.[41] During the match, Karen Angle claimed that Sting had slapped her,
which led to a falling out between Sting and Kurt Angle and on the first two-hour edition of Impact!,
Kurt Angle was shown via satellite (kayfabe) stalking and assaulting Sting's son Garrett. It was
announced that Sting would face Kurt Angle for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship at Bound
for Glory. The match was billed as return to his roots for Sting, who enjoyed enormous popularity
and success in the Atlanta-based World Championship Wrestling earlier in his career. On October 14
at Bound for Glory, Sting overcame interference by both Karen Angle and Kevin Nash to defeate
Angle and win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship.[42] On October 16, at the tapings of the
October 25 episode of Impact!, Sting lost the championship back to Angle after Kevin Nash
interfered on Angle's behalf.[43] Sting then challenged Angle to a tag team rematch at Genesis. Angle
was forced to Kevin Nash as his partner, while Sting's partner was a mystery until during the event
where his partner was revealed to be Booker T. In the match, whoever scored the pinfall would win
the TNA World Championship, which Angle won after pinning Sting to retain the TNA World
Heavyweight Championship.[44] This would be the final TNA appearance of Sting in 2007 as he would
take some time off to be with his family.
On the March 20 edition of Impact!, after a brawl between members of both Team Cage and Team
Tomko, a promo aired at the end of the show indicating that Sting would return the next week on the
first-ever liveImpact! episode. Sting then made his official return on March 27, announcing that he
would be a part of Team Cage for the Lethal Lockdown match at Lockdown. Later on the show, he

teamed with members of Team Cage (Christian Cage, Kevin Nash, Rhino, and Matt Morgan) and
defeated Team Tomko (Tomko, A.J. Styles, James Storm, and Team 3D) in a 5-man tag team match.
Morgan was added when James Storm attacked Sting with a glass bottle after the match. Sting,
however, later gained revenge by defeating Storm when Morgan threw him his baseball bat. Morgan
then ripped off his referee shirt and revealed a Team Cage shirt, thus becoming the fifth member. At
Lockdown, Team Cage defeated Team Tomko when Rhino Gored Storm to get the pinfall.[45] After the
tag titles were vacated, Jim Cornette held a Deuces Wild Tag Team Tournament to determine new
champs. Four teams were already in the Sacrifice finals, while Cornette named eight wrestlers as
the "Egotistical 8". Sting's partner was James Storm and on May 11 at Sacrifice, they came up short
due their inability get along, and towards the end, Sting attacked Storm and walked out. [46] Sting was
not seen after that except in an interview which talked about his career and his eventual retirement.

Sting at Bound for Glory IV

On July 13 at Victory Road, Booker T faced Samoa Joe for the TNA World Heavyweight
Championship. During the match, Sting tried to talk sense into Joe, as he was brutally beating
Booker T, and was potentially heading towards a disqualification.[47] Joe rebuked him, and Sting
struck him with his trademark black baseball bat.[47] Over the coming weeks, the feud between Joe
and Booker intensified, with episodes ending with Booker T or Sharmell striking Samoa Joe with
Sting's trademark bat as Impact! went off the air, leading to a question of whether Sting
had turned on Samoa Joe and became a heel. Although still receiving a face reaction from the fans,
Sting sided with Booker T. On August 10 at Hard Justice, Sting attacked A.J. Styles after he and Kurt
Angle wrestled a Last Man Standing match.[48] Sting later announced why he attacked Joe and Styles
by saying that the younger generation needed to learn about respecting veterans like Angle, Booker,
and himself. He declared that he wouldn't retire until he had accomplished this mission. This led to
mixed fan reactions, and sparked a feud between him and TNA World Heavyweight Champion
Samoa Joe, as well as Jeff Jarrett who arrived to aid Samoa Joe and A.J. Styles by giving them his
guitar as Sting had done with his bat.
The Main Event Mafia (20082009)
Main article: The Main Event Mafia

Sting with The Main Event Mafia

On October 12 at Bound for Glory IV, Sting challenged Samoa Joe for the TNA World Heavyweight
Championship and was successful in claiming the title, after Kevin Nash returned and hit Joe with
Sting's baseball bat.[49] On October 23, Sting joined The Main Event Mafia (Kurt Angle, Booker
T, Sharmell, Kevin Nash, Scott Steiner, and himself) and by doing so, he fully turned heel for the first
time in years, although Sting did not participate in sneak attacks and was cheered by the crowd,
making him more a tweener (neutral character). Sting went on to successfully defend the title against
AJ Styles on November 9 at Turning Point, The TNA Front Line in an eight-man tag team match with
the Main Event Mafia on December 7 at Final Resolution, Rhino on January 11 Genesis, Kurt Angle
and both members of Team 3D in a four-way match on February 8 atAgainst All Odds, and against
Angle on March 15 at Destination X.[50][51][52][53] At Lockdown 2009, Sting lost the World Heavyweight
Championship to Mick Foley inside the Six Sides of Steel, ending his reign at 189 days (his longest
world title reign for any organization).[54] On May 24 at Sacrifice, Sting defeated Kurt Angle to become
the new Godfather of the Main Event Mafia.[55] On June 21 at Slammiversary, Sting defeated Matt
Morgan in a singles match, thus preventing Morgan from joining the Main Event Mafia. [56] On the
following episode of Impact!, Sting's fellow Main Event Mafia members attacked him, removed him
from the group, and Kurt Angle reclaimed his role as Godfather. The following week, Sting took his
revenge upon the Mafia, when he attacked every member of the group and stole Angle's world
heavyweight championship belt, becoming a fully fledged face as a result. On July 19 at Victory
Road, Sting was defeated by new Main Event Mafia member Samoa Joe in a singles match after the
debuting Taz interfered on Joe's behalf.[57] On August 16 at Hard Justice, Sting unsuccessfully
challenged Angle for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship in a triple threat match, which also
included Matt Morgan.[58] On September 20 at No Surrender, Sting lost a five-way match for the TNA
World Heavyweight Championship that also included A.J. Styles, Hernandez, Kurt Angle, and Matt
Morgan. Instead of pinning Angle, he opted to attack Morgan, to allow Styles to pin Angle and
become the new World Heavyweight Champion.[59] As a token of gratitude, Styles offered to give him
a title shot at the following month's PPV Bound for Glory in a match billed as possibly being Sting's
retirement match.[60] At the PPV, Styles defeated Sting to retain his title, ending Sting's undefeated
streak at Bound for Glory. After the match he announced that he didn't know whether he would
continue his career or not, Saying that "the way you fans are reacting right now, makes me wanna
stay forever!"[61] At the end of the year the match was voted the match of the year by the fans of TNA.
[62]

Deception and the Insane Icon (20102012)

Sting with red face paint in July 2010

On the January 4, 2010, live-three-hour, Monday night edition of Impact! Sting returned to the
Impact! Zone appearing in the rafters of the arena.[63] Sting reappeared two months later on March 8,
appearing as he was going to help a bloodied Hulk Hogan and Abyss during a match at the
beginning of the show against A.J. Styles and Ric Flair. Instead he swung his baseball bat on Hogan
and Abyss, turning Sting heel as a result.[64] He was later defeated by the debuting Rob Van Dam.
Sting would continuously attack Van Dam with his bat after the match, completing his heel turn by
attacking security guards and Hulk Hogan.[64] On the March 22 edition of Impact! Sting was
announced as the captain of Team Flair in the annual Lethal Lockdown match, where they would
meet Team Hogan, captained by Abyss.[65] At Lockdown Team Flair (Sting, Desmond Wolfe,Robert

Roode and James Storm) were defeated by Team Hogan (Abyss, Jeff Jarrett, Rob Van Dam and Jeff
Hardy).[66] On May 3, Sting explained his actions to Hogan and was later attacked from behind by Jeff
Jarrett.[67] At Sacrifice Sting assaulted Jarrett prior to their match and then dragged him in to the ring,
where he managed to score a pinfall in seconds over his bloodied opponent, leaving him injured.
[68]
On the following edition of Impact! the TNA Championship Committee ranked Sting number one in
the rankings and as a result he was granted a shot at Rob Van Dam's World Heavyweight
Championship at Slammiversary VIII. Sting then attacked Eric Bischoff with his baseball bat, biting
the hand that fed him.[69] Sting later promised that he would reveal the motives behind his actions
after winning the World Heavyweight Championship. [70] At Slammiversary VIII Jeff Jarrett made his
return and cost Sting his title match against Rob Van Dam. [70] After assaulting Jarrett from behind on
the June 24 edition of Impact!, TNA president Dixie Carter suspended Sting for 30 days without pay
the following week.[71][72] Sting returned from his suspension on the August 5 edition of Impact!,
wearing his nWo Wolfpac red face paint, and helping Kevin Nash, who had backed him up during his
suspension, beat down Jarrett, Eric Bischoff and Hulk Hogan. [73] On the September 2 edition
of Impact! Sting defeated Jarrett in a singles match, after an interference from Nash. After the match
Samoa Joe aligned himself with Jarrett and Hogan and drove Sting and Nash away.[74] At No
Surrender Joe and Jarrett defeated Sting and Nash in a tag team match, after Jarrett hit Sting with
his own baseball bat.[75] On the September 16 edition of Reaction, Sting and Nash were joined
by D'Angelo Dinero,[76] who claimed to have gotten inside information from Bischoff's secretary Miss
Tessmacher, that would suggest that Sting and Nash were right about Hogan and Bischoff being up
to something.[77]
At Bound for Glory Sting, Nash and Dinero faced Jeff Jarrett and Samoa Joe in a handicap match,
after Hulk Hogan, who was slated to team with Jarrett and Joe, was forced to pull out due to a back
surgery. At the end of the match Jarrett abandoned Joe, and Sting, Nash, and Dinero tried to tell Joe
this was what they were saying all along. Joe fought them anyway and ended up pinned by Nash. At
the end of the event it was revealed that Sting had been right about Hogan and Bischoff all along, as
they turned heel with Jarrett and Jeff Hardy as Abyss's "they", and in the process turned Sting, Nash
and Dinero back to being faces.[78] On the following edition of Impact!, Sting and Nash refused to join
Hogan, Bischoff and their new group, Immortal, and walked out on TNA and Dixie Carter, noting that
they had tried to warn her that Hogan and Bischoff would try to take over the company for their own
gain, but she hadn't listened, meaning Sting was never a true villain his entire heel run. [79] After
Impact!, Sting took hiatus from TNA television. Borden's TNA contract had expired at the end of
2010.[80]

Sting battling Mr. Anderson in the crowd at Slammiversary IX

After a four-month hiatus, Sting returned to TNA on February 24, 2011, at the tapings of the March 3
edition of Impact!, where he appeared as a surprise challenger and defeated Jeff Hardy to win the
TNA World Heavyweight Championship for the third time.[81][82] On March 13 at Victory Road, Sting
successfully defended the title against Hardy in a No Disqualification rematch that lasted ninety
seconds. According to word from backstage, the match was planned to last longer, but Sting,
believing that Jeff was in no shape to perform from looking at him, deliberately ended the match
early, and was later heard agreeing with a fan's claim that the match was "bullshit". [83] The following

month atLockdown, Sting successfully defended the title against Mr. Anderson and Rob Van Dam in
a threeway steel cage match.[84] In May, Sting was allowed to pick his number one contender and
chose Van Dam, whom he went on to defeat at Sacrifice.[85] The following month at Slammiversary
IX, Sting lost the TNA World Heavyweight Championship to Mr. Anderson, following outside
interference from Eric Bischoff.[86]
Over the next few weeks, Sting displayed a more maniacal character similar in look and style
to Heath Ledger's portrayal of the Joker from the 2008 film The Dark Knight.[87][88]On the July 14
edition of Impact Wrestling, Sting, now dubbed as the "Insane Icon", regained the TNA World
Heavyweight Championship from Mr. Anderson, after Fortune and Kurt Angle, disguised as his clown
minions, attacked each member of Immortal, preventing them from interfering in the match. [89][90] He
would go on to lose the title to Kurt Angle on August 7 at Hardcore Justice, after Angle hit him with a
chair brought to the ring by Hulk Hogan.[91] Sting continued tormenting head members of Immortal
with his strange new personality, and on the August 18 edition of Impact Wrestling, his longtime rival
Ric Flair made his return to TNA and challenged him to a match. Sting agreed to put his career on
the line in the match in exchange for Flair promising to deliver him his long-awaited match with
Hogan, should he be able to defeat him.[92] On the September 1 edition of Impact Wrestling, Sting
received a rematch against Angle for the World Heavyweight Championship, but was defeated
following interference from special enforcer Hulk Hogan and the rest of Immortal. [93] On September 11
at No Surrender, Hogan once again cost Sting the TNA World Heavyweight Championship in a
three-way match, which also included Mr. Anderson.[94] On the September 15 edition of Impact
Wrestling, Sting defeated longtime rival Ric Flair to earn the right to face Hogan atBound for Glory.[95]
[96]
On the October 6 edition of Impact Wrestling, after being exposed for his false claim of retiring and
his secret ridicule of the fans, a furious Hogan impulsively agreed to hand TNA back to Dixie Carter,
should Sting manage to defeat him at the pay-per-view.[97] On October 16 at Bound for Glory, Sting
defeated Hogan to bring Dixie Carter back to power. After the match, Hogan turned on Immortal and
helped Sting overcome the odds in his battle with the stable. [98] On the following edition of Impact
Wrestling, Carter placed Sting in charge of the program.[99] Sting returned to the ring on the
December 22 and February 9, 2012, editions of Impact Wrestling, where he teamed up with Jeff
Hardy to defeat TNA World Heavyweight Champion Bobby Roode and Bully Ray both times.[100][101] On
March 18 at Victory Road, Sting was defeated by Roode in a non-title No Holds Barred match. [102] On
the following edition of Impact Wrestling, Sting announced his resignation from the general manager
position, and handed the position over to Hulk Hogan. He later stated that he believe that Hogan
could properly run TNA without the influence of Bischoff. [103] On March 29, Dixie Carter announced
that Borden had signed another contract extension with TNA.[104] Sting returned to TNA on the May 24
episode of Impact Wrestling, attacking Bobby Roode.[105] The following week, Sting defeated Roode
in a non-title lumberjack match to earn a shot at his World Heavyweight Championship. [106] On June
10 at Slammiversary, Sting was announced as the first person inducted into the TNA Hall of
Fame the following October.[107] Later, in the main event of the evening, Sting unsuccessfully
challenged Roode for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship, after being hit with a beer bottle.
Afterwards, Sting attacked Roode and dropped him on the entrance ramp with a Scorpion Death
Drop.[107]
Final feuds (20122014)

Sting in January 2013

On the June 14 episode of Impact Wrestling, Sting's speech about the events of Slammiversary was
interrupted, when he was attacked by three masked assailants.[108]Sting returned four weeks later, but
this time both he and Hulk Hogan were attacked by the same group of masked men, who had
dubbed themselves the "Aces & Eights".[109] While Hogan was recovering from his storyline injuries
suffered in the attack, and a legitimate back surgery, Sting reclaimed the role of interim general
manager.[110] On October 13, Sting was officially inducted into the TNA Hall of Fame. [111] The following
day at Bound for Glory, Sting teamed with Bully Ray in a tag team match, where they were defeated
by the Aces & Eights, following interference from a man who was afterwards unmasked as Ray's
longtime partner, the returning Devon. As a result of their win, the Aces & Eights earned full access
to TNA.[112] On the following episode of Impact Wrestling, Sting defeated Devon via disqualification,
following interference from the Aces & Eights.[113] On the November 8 episode of Impact Wrestling,
Sting was sidelined with a storyline injury, after being put through a table and beaten with a ball-peen
hammer by DOC, a member of Aces & Eights.[114]
Sting returned on the January 3, 2013, episode of Impact Wrestling, saving Kurt Angle and Samoa
Joe from Aces & Eights before beating the group down with a baseball bat. [115] Sting wrestled his
return match the following week, defeating Aces & Eights member Mike Knox after he injured Kurt
Angle.[116] Three days later at Genesis, Sting gained his revenge on DOC by defeating him in a
singles match.[117] On the February 7 episode of Impact Wrestling, Sting teamed up with Bully Ray to
defeat Devon and DOC in a Tables match.[118] On March 10 at Lockdown, Team TNA, consisting of
Sting, Eric Young, James Storm, Magnus, and Samoa Joe defeated Aces & Eights, consisting of
Devon, DOC, Garett Bischoff, Mike Knox, and Mr. Anderson in a Lethal Lockdown match.[119] After
Bully Ray won the World Heavyweight Championship and revealed himself as the leader of Aces &
Eights later that night, Hulk Hogan blamed Sting as he had encouraged Hogan to give Ray the title
shot while also encouraging Hogan to support Ray's marriage with his daughter Brooke. Sting
proceeded to walk out on Hogan.[120][121][122] Sting returned on the April 25Impact Wrestling, saving
Hogan from an attack by the Aces & Eights.[123] The following week, Sting reconciled with Hogan and
became the number one contender to the TNA World Heavyweight Championship later that night
after defeating Matt Morgan.[124][125] On June 2 at Slammiversary XI, Sting unsuccessfully challenged
Bully Ray for the World Heavyweight Championship in a No Holds Barred Match after an
interference by Aces & Eights. Per stipulation, Sting would never get another World title opportunity
again.[126]
On the June 13 episode of Impact Wrestling, Sting noted that nobody in the back helped him during
his title match, but he would form a New Main Event Mafia to battle the Aces & Eights. [127] In the
following weeks, Sting would recruit Kurt Angle, Samoa Joe, Magnus, and Rampage Jackson as
members of the New Main Event Mafia.[128][129][130][131] Before Bound for Glory, MEM member Magnus
complained to Sting because his loses. Magnus told to Sting he had Flair to put him in the map, but
he had nobody, so Sting challenge him to a match at Bound for Glory. At Bound for Glory, Sting was
defeated by Magnus. On the October 31 episode of Impact Wrestling, Dixie Carter offered to lift the

lifetime ban so Sting can get another World title opportunity again by entering him first in a Battle
Royal Gauntlet match, which was won by Magnus as Sting attempted to eliminate Kazarian, and
Magnus eliminated the both of them.
Sting disbanded The Main Event Mafia after Aces & Eights disbanded, and while other members
began to chase their World Heavyweight Title dreams, Sting started a feud against Ethan Carter
III and Dixie Carter after they began humiliating TNA Legends, like Curry Man and Earl Hebner by
Carter. On the December 12 episode of Impact, Carter was confronted by Sting, and was issued an
option, either face Sting immediately, or enter the Feast or Fired match. Carter entered the Feast or
Fired match, and grabbed one of the briefcases. On the December 19 episode of Impact Wrestling,
the Feast or Fired briefcase revealed to contain a future World Tag Team Championship match, and
also led to the firing of Chavo Guerrero. On the January 16, 2014 edition of Impact Wrestling:
Genesis, Sting lost a match to Ethan Carter III due an interference from the World Champion
Magnus and subsequently challenged Magnus to a Title vs. Career match for the January 23, 2014
episode of Impact Wrestling-Genesis.[132] Sting lost, and his TNA contract was terminated as a result.
[133]

WWE
Introduction (2014)
Veteran professional wrestling journalist Bill Apter chronicled Sting's career in a piece for WWE.com
on February 19, 2014, wherein he stated that Sting's "best days may still be yet to come". [134] Amid
speculation about a contract offer from the company,[135] Sting appeared in a WWE
Network production on April 15, 2014, sharing a story of his former tag team partner The Ultimate
Warrior, who had recently died.[136] This marked Sting's first non-archive appearance on a WWEbranded show. Sting was a prominent contributor to the documentary film Warrior: The Ultimate
Legend, which aired on the WWE Network on April 17.[137] The following day, online
retailer Zavvi announced the WWE Home Video DVD and Blu-ray The Best of Sting, which was
released on September 23, 2014.[138] On July 14, Sting appeared in a vignette on Raw to promote the
video game WWE 2K15, in which he was featured as a pre-order bonus character in both his 'Crow'
and 'Surfer' (pre-1996) incarnations. That same day, WWE began selling official Sting merchandise.
[139]
On July 24, Borden made his first public appearance for WWE, in full Sting garb, as a surprise
guest at the 2014 San Diego Comic-Con International. The event was held to announce WWE's
upcoming line of Mattel action figures, in which the company's first ever Sting figure would appear.[140]
[141]
Prior to that appearance, Sting gave his first interview with WWE.com, which was released later
that day.[142] On August 4, WWE announced Sting as a guest on the WWE 2K15 "Roster Reveal"
panel, which took place on August 16 in Los Angeles.[143]
Feud with The Authority (20142015)

Sting at WrestleMania 31

On November 23, during the main event of Survivor Series, Sting made his first-ever appearance in
a WWE ring by attacking Triple H with a Scorpion Death Drop and also costing Team Authority the
match.[144] On January 19, 2015, Sting made his live Raw debut by appearing backstage during the
main event, then walking to the stage, causing a distraction and costing Authority members Big
Show, Kane and Seth Rollins their handicap match against John Cena; this win gave the recently
fired Dolph Ziggler, Ryback andErick Rowan their jobs back. Triple H challenged Sting to a face-toface confrontation on the January 26 episode of Raw. Sting accepted this challenge on the February
16 episode of Raw by sending a Sting doppelganger into the ring to scare Triple H, after airing a
vignette on the big screen accepting Triple H's challenge. Sting and Triple H had a confrontation
at Fastlane on February 22. Following physicality between the two, Sting pointed to
the WrestleMania 31 sign with his baseball bat, issuing a challenge for the event that was accepted
by Triple H.[145] On the March 16 episode of Raw, Sting made a surprise appearance and
helped Randy Orton fight off the Authority. Immediately following on the WWE Network, Sting spoke
for the first time in-ring.[146] He lost at WrestleMania 31 in a match involving interference from DGeneration X and New World Ordermembers, but shook hands with Triple H afterward.
Sting returned on the August 24 episode of Raw, interrupting WWE World Heavyweight
Champion Seth Rollins's statue ceremony by attacking Rollins before challenging Rollins for the title
by raising it over his head. Triple H then announced on the WWE Network that Sting would face
Rollins for the title at Night of Champions. Sting appeared on the tron throughout the September
7 Raw, tarnishing and ultimately destroying Rollins's statue by pushing it into a garbage truck. The
following week, Sting defeated Big Show by disqualification in his debut Raw match, as a
consequence of Rollins attacking Sting. John Cena then came to Sting's aid, which prompted Triple
H to book a tag team contest involving the four wrestlers: Sting and Cena won after Sting made
Rollins tap out to the Scorpion Deathlock. Sting suffered a legit neck injury during his championship
match against Rollins at Night of Champions, but was able to complete the bout in a losing effort. [147]
Injury and WWE Hall of Fame (20152016)
Sting said on the December 9 edition of Ric Flair's WOOOOO! Nation podcast that he required
surgery to correct cervical spinal stenosis, and is "lucky that a catastrophe didn't happen" in his
match with Rollins at Night of Champions.[148] It was announced on the January 11, 2016 edition
of Raw that Sting would be the first member of the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2016. He is the
second active WWE wrestler to be inducted - the first being Ric Flair.

Legacy and influence

Sting is widely regarded as the greatest performer in WCW history.[149] Former rival Hulk
Hogan asserted that Sting should be mentioned in any conversation regarding the top 10 greatest
pro wrestlers of all time;[111]numerous outlets have placed him in such listings.[a] Sting also garnered
one of the largest and most loyal fanbases in the industry; [134] he was voted by Pro Wrestling
Illustrated readers as "Most Popular Wrestler of the Year" four times (a record shared with John
Cena),[16] for the years 1991, 1992, 1994 and 1997.[157] While acknowledging the superior television
ratings generated by stars such as Stone Cold Steve Austin andThe Rock, Cleveland.com critic Troy
L. Smith declared Sting to be "the most popular professional wrestler of all time" in fans' hearts.
[158]
Digital Spy writer Mayer Nissim commended Sting's ability to constantly evolve his gimmick while
fellow franchise players Hulk Hogan and John Cena largely failed to do so, in order to maintain
spectator interest.[159] Borden is known for his charity work,[160] once regarding his involvement with
theMake-A-Wish and Starlight Children's Foundations as his "most fulfilling activity".[2] His young
supporters are known as the "Little Stingers".[160]
With Ric Flair, Sting had one of the most definitive rivalries in WCW history; [161] former booker Kevin
Sullivan said: "If I needed to draw a rating, Sting and Flair always drew. It was like [Muhammad]
Ali and [Joe] Frazier".[159] The inaugural Clash of the Champions event in 1988, which aired opposite
the WWF's WrestleMania IV and was headlined by an NWA World Heavyweight
Championship match between Sting and Flair, drew a record-setting 5.6 rating on TBS.[162] Another
prominent rival of Sting's was Hollywood/Hulk Hogan: [150] the pair wrestled in the WCW World
Heavyweight Championship match main event of Starrcade 1997, which generated the biggest payper-view buy rate in the company's history.[163] Sting was also WCW's top merchandise seller for 1997
(second only to the WWF's Steve Austin overall).[164] Former WCW booker Mike Graham said that
Sting was a consistent television ratings success during the Monday Night Wars.[165] Conversely,
journalist Dave Scherer of PWInsider wrote that while Sting is "an all-timer for sure", he "didn't draw
huge" throughout his career.[166] Pro wrestling writer Dave Meltzer also said that Sting was not a
formidable draw; Steve Austin has taken exception to this notion. [167]
Prior to his signing with WWE, Sting's legacy was perpetuated by the organization. It hailed him as
"one of sports-entertainment's elite",[168] and ranked him at number one in listings of the greatest
wrestlers to never perform in WWE,[169] and the greatest stars in WCW history.[170] In 2013, the
company named Sting's WCW World Heavyweight Championship contest against Diamond Dallas
Page, on April 26, 1999, as the greatest match ever aired on WCW's flagship Monday Nitro program.
[171]
At Night of Champions 2013, WWE organized a viewer poll to determine the greatest United
States Champion of all time: Sting, a two-time champion, beat out the other four contenders
all WWE Hall of Famers in a landslide victory with 53% of the overall vote.[172]
Sting was the inaugural inductee into the TNA Hall of Fame. TNA president Dixie Carter credits Sting
with being the major wrestling superstar that TNA needed to establish itself. [173] The company
describes him as having had an "unparalleled career" and as being a legend who surpasses time. [174]
Sting was regarded by colleagues in WCW as a professional and well-respected locker room leader.
[175]
Prominent adversary Leon "Big Van Vader" White felt that Sting had unsurpassed athletic
prowess within the business, and "ranks right up at the top" as an in-ring performer.[159] Former rival
Diamond Dallas Page, commenting on Sting's entry into WWE in 2014, said: "[E]veryone there grew
up watching him... No one did it better than Sting, nobody". [176] Sting was a prominent influence on
industry veterans John Cena,[177][178] Kane,[179] Bill Goldberg,[180] Seth Rollins,[181] Goldust,[182] Tyson
Kidd[180] and A.J. Styles;[111] and was the favorite wrestler of Jeff Hardy,[177][183] Cody
Rhodes[184] and Shelton Benjamin[185] in childhood. Bray Wyatt has stressed that he "really would like
to take on" Sting, adding: "I have to have [that] before I die; I don't care if it happens outside a Waffle
House, somewhere."[186]
Sting was the only WCW World Heavyweight Champion to wear face paint. [187]

Resistance to signing with WWE

Prior to his signing with WWE, Sting was widely considered the greatest wrestler never to perform
for the company.[188] He had "really good conversations" with the promotion during his career,[189] but
did not appear there until 2014, at the age of 55. His loyalty to WCW, even in its dying days, has
been noted.[5] That organization was purchased by the WWF (now WWE) in 2001, and Sting's
contract with its parent company AOL Time Warner expired in 2002, but he still refused to make the
jump, alternately attributing this to the WWF's creative usage of former WCW talents and negative
dealings with attorneys.[190] The company's onerous live schedule[12] and the content of its
programming[1] were also reported to have been factors. Sting has, however, downplayed rumors of a
difficult relationship with WWE.[189]
Rather than sign with the WWF in 2002, Sting performed for smaller promotions, becoming the
centerpiece of TNA by the mid 2000s. David Shoemaker of Grantland felt that while he had "some
good moments" with that company, it was a "lost decade" since WWE essentially dictates the history
of pro wrestling.[190] In 2015, Sting himself expressed regret over not signing with WWE sooner,
saying: "I should have done this a long time ago". [191] Nonetheless, his pre-WWE career included
"dream" matches against former WWF stars Hulk Hogan and Bret Hart in WCW,[192][193] as well as
bouts opposite names such as Ric Flair, Randy Savage,Kurt Angle and Mick Foley.[188] Sting often
wrestled Steve Austin in WCW; he had positive negotiations with WWE in 2003, with his proposed
debut angle being a confrontation with Austin at the conclusion ofWrestleMania XIX.[194] He was also
"very, very close" to making a deal with the company in 2011, which would potentially have involved
a match against The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXVII.[195] Although Sting twice wrestled Mark
Calaway's pre-Undertaker character, Mark Callous, at WCW live events in 1990, [196] WWE viewers
have long clamored for a televised Sting versus Undertaker match.[197]

Books

Sting: The Moment of Truth. Steve Borden with George King.

Thomas Nelson, 2004. ISBN 978-1404102118

Other media
Borden appeared in the music video for the song "Fire in the Hole" by Lz Rockit in 1989.
He starred in a pay-per-view only film titled The Real Reason (Men Commit Crimes) (1998).
Borden was featured in a Sprite commercial in 1999. He also appeared in three episodes of the
action-adventure series and Hulk Hogan vehicle Thunder in Paradise as the character Adam
"Hammerhead" McCall.[198]Borden made a guest appearance on Walker, Texas Ranger as biker and
drug dealer Grangus in the episode "Unsafe Speed". He also appeared in Ready to Rumble (2000)
as Sting. He also appeared in the Christian film, The Encounter and was featured as the lead actor
in the TV movie Shutterspeed. He makes a cameo appearance as Sting on an episode of Upright
Citizens Brigade. Borden played an outlaw biker in the film Revelation Road (2013).
In October 2015, WWE released a second Sting DVD titled Sting: Into the Light. The three-disc set
features a behind-the-scenes documentary with Sting himself as he prepares to step into a WWE
ring for the first time ever at WrestleMania 31.

Personal life
Borden was an anabolic steroid user in the 1980s.[199] He became a born-again Christian in August
1998, after confessing his adultery, and substance and alcohol abuse, to his then-wife.[199] He and
Sue divorced in 2010.[citation needed] Borden has two sons, Garrett Lee and Steve, Jr. and a daughter

named Gracie, who was born in 2000.[200] His elder son Garrett attends Azusa Pacific University,
where he plays college football as a running back.[201] Steven attended Kilgore College, where he
played tight end; on December 19, 2012, he committed to attend the University of Kentucky.[202] After
the 2015 NFL Draft Steven was invited by theKansas City Chiefs to try out for the team at their
rookie mini-camp.[203] Borden married his second wife, Sabine in 2015, shortly after WrestleMania 31.
[citation needed]

In wrestling

Sting setting up the Scorpion Death Drop on Bo Dallas

Sting performing the Stinger Splashon Mr. Anderson

Sting wields his signature bat atTriple H

Finishing moves

Scorpion Death Drop[5][204] (Inverted DDT, sometimes preceded

by a scoop lift) 1996present

Scorpion Deathlock[5][14][204][205]

Signature moves

Diving clothesline[206]

Diving DDT[206]

Diving splash[207]

Dropkick[205][208][209]

Inverted atomic drop[206][210]

Knife edge chop

Military press slam[205][211]

One-handed bulldog[206][209]

Powerbomb

Running leaping elbow drop

Slingshot crossbody

Sleeper hold[212]

Stinger Splash[204][206][210] innovated

Tombstone piledriver[208]

Vertical suplex,[206][208] sometimes from the top rope[205][210]

Nicknames

"The Franchise (of WCW)" (WCW/WWE)

"The Icon"[213] (TNA/WWE)

"The Insane Icon"[214] (TNA)

"The Man That They Call, Sting[215]

"The Stinger" (NWA/WCW/TNA/WWE)[5]

"The Vigilante" (WWE)[5]

Entrance themes

World Championship Wrestling

"Turbo Charged" (1989 1992)

"Man Called Sting" (1993 1996)[216]

"Crow/Sting" by Jimmy Hart (1996 1999)[217]

"Wolfpac Theme" by C-Murder and Jimmy Hart (1998; used

while a member of the nWo Wolfpac)[217][218]

"Seek & Destroy" (Live at Woodstock

1999) by Metallica (1999 2001)[219]

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling

"Slay Me" by Dale Oliver (January 1, 2006 January 23,

2014)[220]

"Main Event Mafia" by Dale Oliver (used while a member of

the Main Event Mafia)[221]

WWE

"Out from the Shadows" by Jim Johnston[222] (November

23, 2014 present)

Championships and accomplishments

A two-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion, Sting had one reign each in WCW and TNA

Sting's total of four reigns as TNA World Heavyweight Champion is the second most all time

Jim Crockett Promotions/World Championship Wrestling

NWA World Television Championship (1 time)[223]

NWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)1[224]

WCW International World Heavyweight Championship (2 times)

[225]

WCW United States Heavyweight Championship (2 times)[226]

WCW World Heavyweight Championship (6 times)[227]

WCW World Tag Team Championship (3 times)[228] with Lex

Luger (1), The Giant (1), and Kevin Nash (1)

Jim Crockett, Sr. Memorial Cup (1988) with Lex Luger

Iron Man Tournament (1989)

Battlebowl Battle Royal (1991)[229]

King of Cable Tournament (1992)[230]

European Cup (1994, 2000)[231][232]

Third WCW Triple Crown Champion

Pro Wrestling Illustrated

Comeback of the Year (2006, 2011, 2014)[233][234]

Match of the Year (1991) with Lex Luger vs. the Steiner Brothers at SuperBrawl

Most Improved Wrestler of the Year (1988)[235]

Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year (1990)[236]

Most Popular Wrestler of the Year (1991, 1992, 1994, 1997)[157]

Wrestler of the Year (1990)[237]

Ranked #1 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in

1992[238]

Ranked #15 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years"
in 2003

Ranked #52 of the top 100 tag teams of the "PWI Years" with
Lex Luger in 2003

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling

NWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)2[224]

TNA World Heavyweight Championship (4 times)[239]

TNA World Tag Team Championship (1 time)[240] with Kurt

Angle

Inspirational Superstar of the Year (2007)[241]

TNA Match of the Year (2007) vs. Kurt Angle at Bound for Glory,
October 14, 2007[241]

TNA Match of the Year (2009) vs. A.J. Styles at Bound for Glory,
October 18, 2009[62]

Universal Wrestling Federation

TNA Hall of Fame (Class of 2012)[107]

UWF World Tag Team Championship (3 times)[242] with Eddie

Gilbert (2) and Rick Steiner (1)

World Wrestling All-Stars

WWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[243]

Wrestling Observer Newsletter

Match of the Year (1988) vs. Ric Flair at Clash of the Champions I

Most Charismatic (1988, 1992)

Most Improved (1988)

Most Unimproved (1990)

5 Star Match (1991) with Brian Pillman, Rick Steiner, and Scott Steiner vs. Ric
Flair, Larry Zbyszko, Barry Windham, and Sid Vicious (February 24, WarGames
match, WrestleWar)

5 Star Match (1992) with Nikita Koloff, Ricky Steamboat, Barry Windham,
and Dustin Rhodes vs. Arn Anderson, Rick Rude, Steve Austin, Bobby Eaton, and Larry
Zbyszko (May 17, WarGames match, WrestleWar)

Best Babyface (1992)

Worst Worked Match of the Year (1995) vs. Tony Palmore at Battle 7

Worst Worked Match of the Year (2011)

vs. Jeff Hardy at Victory

Road (owing to Hardy's inebriation)[244]

WWE

Slammy Awards (2 times)

"This is Awesome" Moment of the Year (2014) Debuting

to help Team Cena defeat Team Authority at Survivor
Series

"Surprise Return of the Year" (2015) - as Seth Rollins'

statue, and attacks Rollins on Raw.

WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2016)

Won while the NWA World Heavyweight Championship was defended in World Championship Wrestling when WCW was part of the
National Wrestling Alliance. The same goes for any other NWA championship or honor won after November 1988.
2
Won while TNA obtained the sole rights to use the NWA World Heavyweight Championship through an agreement with the NWA.
1

Luchas de Apuestas
See also: Luchas de Apuestas record
Winner (wager)

Loser (wager)

Location

Event

Sting (career)

Jeff Jarrett(championship)

Plymouth Township, Michigan

Magnus (championship)

Sting (career)

Huntsville, Alabama

See also
Professional wrestling portal

The Blade Runners

The Main Event Mafia

Sting and Lex Luger

Notes
1.

Jump up^ See: [150][151][152][153][154][155][156]

1.

^ Jump up to:a b c d e f g h i "Sting". Canoe.ca. Quebecor Media.

RetrievedDecember 30, 2014.

2.

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119.Jump up^ "CALDWELL'S TNA LOCKDOWN PPV RESULTS 3/10:
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120. Jump up^ "CALDWELL'S TNA IMPACT RESULTS 3/14: Complete
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122. Jump up^ "CALDWELL'S TNA IMPACT RESULTS 3/28: Complete
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123. Jump up^ "CALDWELL'S TNA IMPACT RESULTS 4/25 (Hour 2):
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124. Jump up^ "CALDWELL'S TNA IMPACT RESULTS 5/2 (Hour 1):
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125. Jump up^ "CALDWELL'S TNA IMPACT RESULTS 5/2 (Hour 2):
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126. Jump up^ "CALDWELL'S TNA SLAMMIVERSARY PPV RESULTS
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127. Jump up^ "CALDWELL'S TNA IMPACT RESULTS 6/13: Complete
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