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STING
Steve Borden was born on
March 20, 1959 in Omaha, NE. In 1985, he started
his career as part of a group of four
bodybuilders known as Powerteam USA and they
were trained by Rick Bassman. One of the men was
the Ultimate Warrior. They went to Memphis
together as the Bladerunners. Sting’s name was
Flash in Tennessee and he became Sting when they
moved to the UWF. Sting became one of the top
stars in the UWF before it was sold in 1987.
A New Superstar:
Sting became a star at the first Clash of
Champions when he fought Ric Flair to a 45
minute draw. He was a top face in the company
and won the Crockett Cup with Lex Luger. In
1989, he became Ric Flair’s partner in their
feud against the Great Muta and Terry Funk. In
early 1990, Sting became a member of the Four
Horsemen but he was quickly kicked out for
signing for a match against Flair for the title.
Ruptured Patella and
The Black Scorpion:
On the night he was kicked out of the
Horsemen, Sting injured his knee while trying to
enter a steel cage to get to Ric Flair. After
being out of action for almost half a year, he
beat Ric Flair in his return to become the new
champ. His first title reign was marred by some
of the worst booking ever as he feuded with the
Black Scorpion. He lost the title back to Flair
in January 2001.
How did WCW Stay in
Business so Long?:
Sting regained the title from his former
friend Lex Luger. He then feuded with the
Dangerous Alliance and Big Van Vader. Around
this time, Sting starred in three very expensive
vignettes featuring Cheetum the 1- eyed-midget
who taunted Sting about his opponents Jake
Roberts & Vader and later blew up his boat. In
addition, it seemed that everyone who teamed
with Sting would eventually turn on him.
The NWO:
When WCW was invaded by the NWO, Sting was
the best chance to save WCW. The NWO created a
fake Sting that fooled his partners and the
fans. Sting was upset that everyone thought he
turned bad and he underwent a strange
transformation. Gone was the short-haired
surfer-dude in bright spandex. Sting returned as
mysterious figure. He looked like the Crow and
spent most of the year in the rafters with a bat
and his bird.
Starrcade 97:
Sting faced Hogan at Starrcade 97 in the
most anticipated match in the company’s history.
The ending is still a baffling mystery to fans
to this day as there was supposedly a fast count
that caused the match to be restarted. The NWO
soon split into two factions and Sting joined
the good-guy Red and Black Wolfpack. In 1999,
Sting tried a heel turn but the fans wouldn’t
accept him as a bad guy.
The End of WCW:
In 2000, Sting feuded with Vampiro and was
later injured by Scott Steiner. He wasn’t seen
from again until the final Nitro match when he
beat Ric Flair in a re-match from the very first
Nitro. Without a doubt, Sting is the most famous
wrestler of this era to have never worked for
Vince McMahon. During the end of his WCW run, he
became born again and has written a book and
made a DVD about the experience called Sting:
Moment of Truth.
Post WCW:
Since the sale of WCW, Sting has wrestled
sporadically for the World Wrestling Allstars
and for TNA in matches usually featuring Jeff
Jarrett. In 2006, Sting signed a one year deal
to wrestle for TNA. That deal has been extended
and he went on to win the NWA World Championship
from Jeff Jarrett at the company's biggest show
to date, Bound for Glory.
NWA & WCW Title
History:
NWA World Championship
7/7/90 Great American Bash – Ric Flair
10/22/06 Bound for Glory - Jeff Jarrett
WCW World Heavyweight Title
2/29/92 Super Brawl – Lex Luger
3/11/93 – Vader
12/28/97 Starrcade – Hulk Hogan
2/22/98 Super Brawl – Hulk Hogan
4/26/99 – Diamond Dallas Page
9/12/99 Fall Brawl – Hulk Hogan
(Sources: PWI Almanac,
Obsessed with Wrestling.com & The Real Sting.com)
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