TNA: Is This How We Want to Remember Our Wrestling Idol Sting?

I remember he was the coolest wrestler I had ever seen to that point, replacing Kerry Von Erich as the one guy I would put my faith in as the future of wrestling.

The face paint was awesome, better than the Road Warriors and that guy called Ultimate Warrior. I was not aware that he had once called Warrior his tag team partner in the CWA and UWF promotions. And yes, like most guys in the business (see Stone Cold Steve Austin) that make it big, he started out as a heel and later turned face.

Yes, that is how I remember the man they call Sting when I was a teenager and could not wait to see World Championship Wrestling every week. But when I saw him at Clash of the Champions in 1988, I started to fully appreciate his work as the savior of a company that was in need of new talent and new faces to bridge the gap between the older generation (Dusty Rhodes, Nikita Koloff, Ric Flair) and the newer stars (Lex Lugar, The Steiners).

Today, however, I am not sure who that man is. I am speaking as the fan more so than the writer. The man who tried with all his might to save WCW and lead the charge against the NWO is a changed man. Maybe it is age (something like that) or maybe it is writing (something like that). But it is a big deal to me and this is the reason why.

Sting represents all that wrestling encompasses. He is good, he is evil, he is new-aged bad that makes him cool. He is part actor, part character. He is the conscience of the business and he is the growing perception that wrestlers hang on way too long before unlacing the boots for the last time. He is not in Ric Flair’s category (yet) in terms of waiting too long to slip off into the squared-circle sunset, because he can still wrestle and is not embarrassing himself to the point you do not want to watch.

But you would like to know what is going on in that mind, and if the face paint has in some way affected him to the point he can no longer think straight.

I would still like to think it is the writing.

Sting’s recent actions on TNA have me to believe a few things. First, that he is championing the cause for what is good with the brand and what he wants to see from IMPACT. That maybe he really does hate the concepts established by Eric Bischoff and that he believes him to be a “cancer” or a “disease.” Remember, it was Sting who fought with Bischoff’s Wolf Pac and then against them for the good of the company back in the late 1990s.

Second, he has taken on so many personas in his career that he is trying to branch out again into something cool at the moment. The “crow” theme in 1997 was brilliant and it kept ratings up and also helped keep the “heel is cool” shtick going. Sting did not wrestle during that year, but he was the centerpiece of the puzzle.

Third, he does have a history with Hulk Hogan and wants Hogan to change face for the good of all those Hulkamaniacs out there that saw him as a youngster and have grown into adults. The exchange last week was classic. It was real and it was brilliant.

I am not sure which of the three causes make sense, but I do know the face change (or so it seems) over the past few weeks got out of control this week. Face painting Hogan and Mr. Anderson and then Bischoff was cool and “Sweeeeeeet,” but the abuse to Bischoff was a little off and then when he faced Abyss and then beat him with Abyss’s own barbed-wire glove, well that was off the chain.

Wrestling for the most part is not real. But when your heroes go down a path you thought was a great idea (the gimmicky Joker) and then see a character that is not the one you are fond of, your perception is changed. I could not help but think of the kids in the Impact Zone watching this and thinking the same thing. And as a 40-year-old wrestling fan, I have to say I did not like it.

I am curious how the next few weeks play out. Sting faces Anderson on July 14th in a title defense match and he is also working an angle with Hogan where it is assumed they will meet in the ring. But the lone wolf, self-imposed bad guy who is still good but wants to show his unusually bad side in a way that is not like the man who wears the outfit, has got to change or be tempered.

Yes, he is 52 years old and yes, he can still wrestle. And yes, he can draw money (the most important thing in the business), but a drastic change like this is over the top even for wrestling and more important, even me.