Sting: Wrestling Icon Or Tarnished Legacy

What can I say about Sting that hasn’t already been said. Men want to be him, women want to be with him… Wait, I’m getting confused with that dreadful Sable and the silliness she used to ramble on about before her matches (if I can call them that). And am I the only one that thought, for a fairly attractive woman, her “grind” looked more like something someone’s kooky alcohol fueled grandmother would do at a wake?

Let’s start again…

Sting. I merely say the name, and unless you’re a—plank on the underside of someone’s wharf in Lake Winnipesaukee, New Hampshire where they dock their canoe—you immediately know who I am talking about. The Icon, Stinger Splash, the Scorpion Deathlock. The man who is synonymous with WCW. The only other person who could pull off a Ric Flair’ish WOOOOO and convince you that he was worthy enough to utter such a catchphrase.

There is NO sports entertainer on the face of God’s green earth that has had as much impact, has been imitated as much,  had as much influence on others and the characters they developed into or for themselves, or who has been as successful in the ring WITHOUT having worked for the man some call the devil himself, Vincent Kennedy McMahon, than Sting. And if the rumors prove true, then it all may be coming to a screeching halt.

And I, for one, fully support it.

The Wrestling Observer (among other online websites) is reporting that Sting’s TNA contract will be running out at the end of the year, and at this point, there are no indications that he has any intention of re-signing with them. He’s come close to the unemployment office before, but many (including myself) are predicting that it could be the real deal this time.

So let the debate begin.

Assuming this is the end of the road, the immediate question is this: What is his place in the history of wrestling? Is Sting still truly worthy of being deemed an icon? When you take a good long look at his entire body of work, has Sting really earned all the accolades and praise heaped upon him?

Interesting question, fade out…. Fade back in… Let’s begin.

Sting’s career can basically be broken into about three “phases”. Early Sting, NWA/WCW Sting, and TNA Sting.

Early Sting (1985 to 1987) -The first phase of Sting’s career began in 1985 when he joined the CWA (Continental Wrestling Alliance) and shortly thereafter the UWF (Universal Wrestling Federation). During this time, he was introduced to another young and driven talent by the name of Jim Hellwig. Jim, as many of you educated wrestling minds would know, went on to become the Ultimate Lunatic (I mean the Ultimate Warrior… I just had the urge to call him a lunatic, for whatever reason… editor’s note: to avoid any charges of libel I’d like to openly state that I have NO information at hand, nor do I have knowledge that any information exists which would support my contention that he is in fact a lunatic… call it a gut feel).

Sting worked primarily as a tag partner with the future Ultimate Warrior sporting a surfer guy gimmick with his colourful face paint. They operated as a high energy team with lots of flash, and started getting over with the fans everywhere they were booked. Sting was the more naturally gifted of the two and it soon became evident that he was ready to move on to the next level. As a result, it was almost inevitable that in 1987, Sting made the decision to take the next step and continue his climb on the ladder of success.

NWA/WCW Sting (1987 to 2002)– The period of time between 1987 and 2002 saw Sting ultimately become the poster child of NWA/WCW. Often portrayed as a face and leader of the company, Sting was a prominent member of feuds with the various other top card members (first with guys like Larry Zbyszko, Mike Rotunda, and The Great Muta under the NWA banner, and subsequently performers including Flair, Hogan, Lugar, DDP, Vader, and Savage as part of WCW).

This was clearly Sting’s heyday.

Say what you want about WCW and how it ultimately died, but it’s important to note that as a wrestler, Sting still excelled in a tumultuous and often unstable environment. Right up until the point at which Vince McMahon purchased WCW, Sting was THE guy. After having left TV for a period of time, on March 26^th 2001, as WCW exhaled it’s last breath, Sting returned for the final episode of Nitro to defeat Ric Flair, effectively ending their on again off again feud which transpired over 13 years.

WCW was no more.

Sting did not have any interest in joining WWE. Evidently he was concerned about how he would be used (McMahon had a habit of bringing in performers who were big stars for other companies and having them job to his own talent), and also feared losing the right’s to the “Sting” brand.

TNA Sting (2002 to present) - Finally, I lump together the time he spent briefly with an outfit called World Wrestling All-Stars (2002-2003) and his tenure with what we all now know as TNA, as the third and (likely) final stage in his career. He’s maintained his Crow inspired black and white look that he adopted back in the WCW, although recently he has appeared in street clothes sans paint.

Sting has been paired with mid card talent as often as with the top dogs. His contract called for a drastically reduced schedule. When he DOES work with guys like Kurt Angle, Samoa Joe, Nash, and AJ Styles (guys TNA would typically consider to be some of their top tier talent), the matches are usually either 4 or 6 man tag matches in which he plays little part, or some match with a silly stipulation (Prison Yard match, Doomsday Chamber of Blood match, etc…).

It doesn’t help that we’re in another “era of Russo”. So to try and hold Sting 100% accountable for the story lines he is fed doesn’t seem entirely fair. I had a ton of respect for Sting back in the WCW days. He had memorable showings at Starcade 1997 with Hogan, he tore up the house with Savage in 1998 at Spring Stampede, his time limit draw with Flair at the first Clash of Champions was memorable. Further, his series of matches with Vader in 1992 were great, and his match with The Great Muta at The Great American Bash in 1989 was entertaining to say the least.

The problem for me is that in a lot of cases, when I think of Sting in terms of his great matches, most if not all of them end up dating back to the 1980’s or 1990’s. I have to scratch my head for anything in the last 10 years. His feuds within the last several years with guys like Jeff Jarrett, Abyss, and Christian Cage haven’t produced much in the way of highlight reel moments.

I think there is a universal agreement that his legacy would have been different had he been part of the WWE machine. Let’s face it, with the creative staff and marketing power, along with the brilliance and backing of Vince McMahon, Sting could have been THE guy (or certainly ONE of the guys consistently at the top of the card and, IMHO, at the same level as The Undertaker).

The Sting that’s been in the ring since about 2007 is clearly not the Sting I grew up with. And he would probably tell you the same thing. If you saw RVD’s first match in TNA where he pinned Sting in about 10 seconds, I nearly cried. It seemed like he checked his watch, and said “OK, I’ll do whatever you want just gimme my pay cheque”. And that’s really sad to see.

I get that he’s 51 years old now, so to compare his current work to his work twenty (or even ten) years ago seems almost unfair. But, for those of us who make up Generation X, we have likely seen all of Sting’s matches, and we’re less willing to give him a pass, and more expecting them to either perform and entertain, or get off my TV screen.

So begs the question: Where does Sting belong in the history books?

When you evaluate his career beside some of the generally accepted greatest performers of our time in the wrestling business such as Sean Michaels, Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Bret Hart, The Rock, and Steve Austin, how does he stack up? Is he still The Icon that is Sting, or have his credentials as a living legend (sorry Larry) been “revoked”?

In any event, I hope that if it is his time (and I do hope it is), that TNA gives him the proper sendoff he deserves. As he did with WCW, Sting has seemingly stayed true to TNA (rebuking the infrequent WWE advances) and has always done whatever they have asked of him.

I just hope that whoever is in control of Sting's career has the respect to send him out looking strong. He’s put over everyone they’ve asked him to. Enough already. The very least they can do on the way out is send him out as an ICON, because that is the way I want to remember him.