Full Career Retrospective and Greatest Moments for Sting

The operatic music. The dramatic entrance from the rafters. The black-and-white face paint inspired by The Crow. Fans everywhere were absolutely enthralled and captivated by the reborn Sting, who traded in bright-colored attire and over-the-top mannerisms to develop into one of the most enigmatic characters in all of wrestling.

An extremely loyal performer, Sting remained a staple of World Championship Wrestling throughout his career, never once jumping ship to WWE no matter how flattering Vince McMahon's offers may have been. The franchise player of Ted Turner's organization, he was, arguably, the greatest star ever produced by the promotion.

Whether he was taking the fight to Big Van Vader in some intense, physical ring wars or playing mind games with Hulk Hogan in an attempt to conquer the nWo, Sting was one of the most beloved stars of his generation.

On the July 14, 2014, episode of Monday Night Raw, a trailer for the upcoming WWE 2K15 video game featuring Sting aired for the first time. After decades spent avoiding Vince McMahon's promotion, the commercial was a historical change of course for the only iconic star from the Monday Night Wars never to work for McMahon.

The September 23 release of The Best of Sting and his inclusion in the aforementioned video game  has introduced the legendary competitor to a brand new audience. In celebration of his new business relationship with WWE, and in honor of one of the sport's most enduring characters, relive his greatest matches and moments with this trip down memory lane.

The Blade Runners

The 1980s were a time of hulking physiques, over-the-top appearances and characters that fit right in with the Saturday morning cartoon crowd. Rick Bassman, a promoter in California, approached both Steve Borden and Jim Hellwig about becoming professional wrestlers. He trained the two muscle-bound athletes for the squared circle and managed them briefly before the team began working for Jerry Jarrett's Continental Wrestling Association.

The fans in Memphis made it abundantly clear that it would take more than chiseled physiques to get over with them. At the time, impressive bodies were the only things the young athletes had going for them. Recognizing that they were not going to succeed as babyfaces, promoter Jerry Jarrett made the necessary adjustments, turning the team heel, renaming them the Blade Runners, dubbing Borden as "Sting" and Hellwig as "Rock."

It was the shot in the arm the team needed early in its development and helped earn the duo a spot in "Cowboy" Bill Watts' Universal Wrestling Federation. There, the team began cementing itself as one of the younger duos with potential. Sure, the team's in-ring work was far from adequate enough to hang with the top stars in the business, but the two men had a presence about them that helped them stand out.

Unfortunately, Vince McMahon's WWE came calling, and Hellwig jumped at the chance to move onto greener pastures. He would achieve superstardom as The Ultimate Warrior, a maniacal character so popular that he would become the first Superstar in six years to pin Hulk Hogan clean in a heavyweight title bout.

As for Sting, he remained a key piece in Watts' promotion, joining "Hotstuff" Eddie Gilbert's Hotstuff International with Missy Hyatt before making his first real surge as a babyface, aligning himself with "Gentleman" Chris Adams in his war with Gilbert.

It was that run that earned him recognition with the bigger companies and promotions in the United States, in particular Jim Crockett Promotions and booker Dusty Rhodes.

Breaking Out

Rhodes understood what he had in Sting the moment the bleach-blonde, face-painted star stepped foot in a NWA ring. He was energetic, exciting and had a unique look that fans took to almost immediately. That he was booked so strong right out of the gate only helped matters.

Less than one year into his run with the promotion, Sting was thrust into the heavyweight title picture, challenging Ric Flair for the NWA title in the main event of the inaugural Clash of the Champions. It was in that match that any doubts of Sting's eventual greatness would be erased. 

For 45 minutes, the Stinger hung with the greatest in-ring performer of his generation, Flair, who was accepted as the measuring stick in professional wrestling. So consistently great was the Nature Boy that anyone who shared the ring with him was expected to have a great match. Sting did, and as a result, he elevated his star in a single night.

Sting would work with the like of Barry Windham, the Road Warriors, Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard. It was in those matches that he continued to learn and develop as an in-ring talent while simultaneously moving closer and closer to the top prize in the company.

His rivalry with legendary Japanese competitor The Great Muta over the NWA World Television Championship earned him rave reviews and demonstrated a Sting ready to take that one last step toward greatness.

To Be The Man, He Beat The Man

At Great American Bash in July 1990, Sting finally exorcised the demon that was Flair and captured the WCW Heavyweight Championship in what was a crowning achievement for the young man. After experiencing a rapid ascension up the ladder, a failed stint with the reformed Four Horsemen faction, a crippling knee injury and one of the worst crossover angles of all time involving RoboCop, Sting came through it smelling like roses, some new hardware around his waist and the love and support of the WCW fans behind him.

During the course of his first title reign, he would knock off the likes of Sid Vicious and Barry Windham before being confronted and challenged by a mysterious, enigmatic star known as the Black Scorpion. For weeks, fans debated who the newcomer under the black mask was. As it turned out, it was Flair, leading to one of the most anticlimactic reveals of all time.

After years of his and Flair's paths intersecting, it only made sense that Sting's first run as champion would come to an end at the hands of the Nature Boy, which it did at Starrcade in December 1990.

The Rogues Gallery

Despite a rapid turnover in bookers and presidents of the company, Sting was the one constant, the star whoever was in charge knew they could center the entire product around. It was during the early 1990s that Sting, as the top babyface in the company, worked a plethora of heels, the first being evil yuppity manager Paul E. Dangerously and his Dangerous Alliance.

The program culminated in a huge War Games match at the WrestleWar pay-per-view in May 1992. It was a Match of the Year candidate that blew off one of the biggest programs in the industry.

From there, he would feud briefly with the incoming Jake "the Snake" Roberts, who entered the promotion on the heels of a great run as a villain in WWE. Unfortunately, Roberts' demons, coupled with complete incompetence by WCW's creative staff to properly book the second-generation star, led to a disappointing run for the future Hall of Famer.

One of his greatest adversaries reared his ugly head next as Big Van Vader stepped to the plate to challenge for the company's top championship. A massive competitor with deceptive speed and agility, Vader presented Sting with his greatest challenge to date.

He pummeled Sting, brutalizing him with a stiff offense and overwhelming him with his considerable athleticism. At Great American Bash 1992, he finally ended Sting's run as the top dog in WCW, capturing the title and further adding fuel to what was an intensifying fire between the two.

The two competitors would go on to engage in one of the greatest rivalries in company history. The quality of the matches improved every time, with even their lesser efforts proving to be better than most everything else on the card.

The Dark Avenger

The rise of the New World Order in 1996 took the wrestling world by storm. Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall had declared war on WCW, vowing to put the company out of business and take over the entire industry. The rapidly expanding faction threatened the very existence of the company.

No matter who jumped ship to the black and white, however, WCW and its fans could rest comfortably knowing that they still had Sting on their side. He was the franchise, and he would ultimately ensure that WCW would live long and prosper.

Then, just prior to Fall Brawl in September 1996, it appeared as though the unthinkable had happened. Sting emerged from inside a limousine and attacked long-time friend Lex Luger from behind. The assault shook the industry and all hope appeared lost.

As it turned out, the attacker was a fake. A phony. A fraud. He was a look-alike hired by the nWo to play mind games with WCW and create dissension within the company. It succeeded. Luger and the Four Horsemen questioned Sting's loyalty to WCW.

At Fall Brawl, Sting casually walked to the ring, laid out every member of the nWo and walked away, leaving Luger and the Horsemen to fend for themselves. The following night on Nitro, Sting told WCW to "stick it," echoing Hogan's words from months earlier when he made his shocking defection to the nWo.

Sting would disappear from television before suddenly turning up in the rafters and the stands, watching the shows from a distance. Something was different about the star, though. He no longer wore the bright face paint. Instead, he sported long black hair and wore a mask of black-and-white face paint. He looked very much like the title character from the film The Crow as he watched Hogan and the nWo take over the company he once championed.

Then he began descending from the rafters and laying waste to stars of both WCW and the nWo on several occasions, creating doubt as to whom he really supported. When he finally left Hogan lying, it was clear that he was WCW forever and that he would return to the ring in an attempt to wrest control from the villainous invaders.

It took J.J. Dillon a while to figure out what Sting wanted, probably because all authority figures are idiots, but when he finally realized that the Icon wanted a match with Hogan, he booked the title bout for Starrcade 1997. After a year-long build, the contest had become the most anticipated in the entire sport.

Sting defeated Hogan, though not without controversy and some terrible booking by management. Still, Sting emerged from the darkness and avenged WCW on its biggest stage, giving fans a happy ending that should have made for the destruction of the New World Order.

But we know how that turned out.

The Vampiro Feud and the Death of WCW

WCW was in its dying days when Sting began feuding with young star Vampiro, who had made an impact during his short time with the company. Shrouded in darkness, his face painted like Sting's, Vampiro could have become the franchise of the promotion like Sting had been a decade earlier. Instead, the two competitors were stuck in a ridiculously overdone storyline involving fire, burials, and supernatural elements that had no business in the company.

For Sting, it was disappointing rivalry to close out WCW on. After years of supporting the company and staying loyal to those who made him a star, he was forced to partake in such a ludicrous program with a guy that could have been more than what he was.

On March 26, 2001, Sting returned to the ring after a lengthy hiatus and squared off with the legendary Ric Flair in the final match in both WCW and Monday Nitro history. He won and embraced his longtime rival, closing out that chapter of their careers.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling

On June 18, 2003, Sting returned to the ring for the first time since the end of WCW, debuting for Jeff Jarrett's TNA Wrestling promotion. He teamed with the second-generation star to defeat AJ Styles and Sean Waltman in a huge tag team main event. So successful was his stint with the company that he kept coming back.

What was originally meant to be a four-match deal turned into a decade-long run with Jarrett's company, during which he added to his spectacular legacy by working with some of the brightest stars of a new generation.

Matches with AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels, Samoa Joe and Abyss helped to elevate their stars while proving that Sting could work with anyone put in the ring with him. His feud with Abyss, in particular, was a violent one that forced Sting to dip into the bag and find the aggressive side of himself that he unleashed on Cactus Jack back in 1992 if he was to beat the younger, more dangerous competitor.

A four-time TNA champion, tag team champion and 2012 TNA Hall of Famer, Sting did as much to help the company gain a following and establish itself as the number-two promotion in the sport as anyone else. His name attached to the product lent it legitimacy and credibility in the industry. Without him, the oft-scrutinized promotion definitely would not still exist today.

Legacy

Sting is a Superstar with values. That may not seem like the most accurate of descriptions as fans watch him bash Abyss in the face with a two-by-four wrapped in barbed wire, but one must look beyond his ring work and at his career as a whole to understand the type of man Sting is.

When it was the cool thing to do to abandon ship, to go where the money was in the wrestling industry, he stayed true to those he believed in. He believed in WCW, he served as its franchise player and was the man that led the company through some truly dark days. Without him atop the company during the early 1990s, there may not have been a WCW for Eric Bischoff to head up and for the nWo angle to unfold.

His unwavering loyalty and his willingness to sign with an upstart promotion like TNA made him the face of that promotion for a decade, proving just how unselfish the veteran performer was.

Now associated with WWE, he can rest assured knowing that Vince McMahon, Triple H and others in power will do whatever it takes to preserve the great star's legacy through its expansive video library and unrivaled marketing machine.

Sting is undeniably an Icon, and he deserves every bit of recognition he gets at this point in his career. Hopefully, that recognition ultimately includes an induction into WWE's Hall of Fame sooner rather than later.