Goodbye Sting.... (Pro Wrestler)

[SUPERECWFAN1]

Normally I'd have posted this in the Pro Wrasslin thread but well....this is something kinda hard for me to just post there. Sting (Steve Borden) made it known tonight he will finally retire in 2024. Its one of those long times we knew was coming as Sting was in his mid 60s now (even though he gets around great and looks like he's 50).




When I 1st started watching pro wrestling in the mid/late 1980s there was 2 good guy heroes I latched onto. One was Hulk Hogan in the WWF. The other was ...STING in Crockett/WCW.

His career wise when we sit and think was very magical timing from a tragedy that happened in 1987. See ...Sting wasn't supposed to be made. No , Steve Borden was just in some promotion as a middling bad guy when Crockett bought UWF. The guy who was supposed to face Ric Flair was supposed to be a man named Magnum TA.

Dusty Rhodes needed a young star to one day unseat Ric Flair. He saw that in Steve Borden with his wild makeup and his appeal to children. The look , the energy and his ability shined.





Ric Flair would face Sting once in 1988 as a test...45 minute match and knew...Steve Borden could legit carry the company. He was good enough in ring and all he needed was to be built up for it. Which in 1989 Flair as booker began doing to get him to that.

In the 1990s Sting became the FRANCHISE for WCW. Times would change , people would leave and return. Sting would morph his character in the Crow type we saw. But he would never leave and always stand by the company. Which he would til the very end.

Along the way Borden became hugely respected behind the scenes. Wrestlers would discuss how much of a pro Sting was behind the scenes in WCW. There is a home video where one young wrestler in 1992 (Marcus Bagwell) and he detailed how much of a help Borden was to him behind the scenes.

Sting's reputation has always been golden. How he carried himself and how respected. Even when WCW folded , in TNA he would work for them awhile. Good guy and bad (his Joker Sting is a guilty pleasure for a lot of us) Sting was always considered one of the best.

In his 50s , Sting moved so good still. I and many dreamed of an Undertaker match but alas it would never happen. Once in the WWE , Sting was hurt by an accident on a move he took outside the ring taking a table bump and later he'd collapse in ring.

But his legend grew with his determination to put someone over and help them. In the match he had Seth Rollins roll him up in a pin as he barely could move and win. Because Sting loves the business and he made sure he kept his promise to Rollins to lose.

It seemed like Sting was done. He had served his time in pro wrestling and gave us fans over near 30 years of enjoyment. So if anyone deserved to retire and be happy it was Borden. In that time he'd do spots on ESPN joking about his retirement in character.

5 years would pass and then one December day...in 2020 ...the man came back.





Sting would walk out on AEW and decide he had some more left in his tank. He didn't like how his career had seemingly ended in WWE back years earlier and felt he had more to give.

Which he did...even though he competed in tag team matches and didn't do a lot. People still would pop seeing him walk out and for us it was a nice thing. He'd wrestle on and team with Darby Alin at times.

Sting would admit he was there to give Darby Alin "the rub" ala how Dusty Rhodes had done him when he was becoming a big star. Teaming with him to get him over more with fans. Sting was about giving back.

Tonight he announced he will do his final match at AEW Revolution in 2024. His time is over...we won't see a man like Sting anymore. Thanks for the memories growing up man.

[JBatmanFan05]

When I 1st started watching pro wrestling in the mid/late 1980s there was 2 good guy heroes I latched onto. One was Hulk Hogan in the WWF. The other was ...STING in Crockett/WCW.

It's funny how different it was for me. Started watching at around the very same time, and not a soul I knew in my northern midwest town, in my neighborhood, no one watched or perhaps had any access to Crockett/WCW/NWA. We kids only had WWF and only watched WWF for whatever reasons (perhaps just mainstream popularity). I was all Hogan and until 1991 had little or even no idea who Ric Flair was, let alone Sting.

That being said, and all that aside, I have grown to be a huge fan of both Sting and Ric Flair and NWA/Crockett/WCW.

Some essential Sting matches I'd recommend:
Sting vs Ric Flair Clash Of The Champions 3/27/88
Sting/Luger vs Steiners SuperBrawl 5/19/91
Sting vs Cactus Jack Beach Blast 6/20/92
Sting vs Big Van Vader SuperBrawl III 2/21/93
Sting vs Regal Great American Bash 6/16/96

[SUPERECWFAN1]

It's funny how different it was for me. Started watching at around the very same time, and not a soul I knew in my northern midwest town, in my neighborhood, no one watched or perhaps had any access to Crockett/WCW/NWA. We kids only had WWF and only watched WWF for whatever reasons (perhaps just mainstream popularity). I was all Hogan and until 1991 had little or even no idea who Ric Flair was, let alone Sting.

That being said, and all that aside, I have grown to be a huge fan of both Sting and Ric Flair and the NWA/Crockett/WCW.

Some essential Sting matches I'd recommend:
Sting vs Ric Flair Clash Of The Champions 3/27/88

I lived in an area where cable gave us WTBS and USA Network. Plus ESPN for AWA and WCCW. So we were able to watch a bit of stuff. My uncle and older cousins watched for years earlier and told me in the old days Angelo Poffo's ICW and another promotion would air in a syndicated channel at nights during the week too. They were gone by the time I watched.

[Jared]

Normally, I think wrestlers should go out their back. But Sting is one of the exceptions. It will presumably be a tag match, let him get one final victory. I would seriously consider giving him either the RoH or AEW tag belts. Having Sting in the lineage, even for one night only, instantly adds prestige to any title.

However, I would accept as an alternative, Ric Flair shows up just to betray Sting one more time!

[SUPERECWFAN1]

I'm a Sting fan , but given how he managed to lose to Rollins as planned years ago after a bad injury , I think Sting needs to lose to Darby Alin in a solo match. I knocked that there really isn't a story to Sting's retirement in the Pro Wrasslin thread. But I do think AEW has to pay off the Darby deal after years of teaming with him.

[Jared]

Sting has been adamant that he doesn't want to do a singles match, or wrestle against Darby.

A big reason his AEW run has worked is that is that tag matches cover for his age.

[krazijoe]

Just dont toss him into a TurnBuckle and he will have a good sendoff...Something will happen and then it will force Christian and Edge to take on Darby and Sting...

[SUPERECWFAN1]

Just dont toss him into a TurnBuckle and he will have a good sendoff...Something will happen and then it will force Christian and Edge to take on Darby and Sting...

From what Sting has claimed , it wasn't the turnbuckle deal that caused it. He claims his body felt weird after the power bomb through the table spot outside the ring minutes before the buckle bomb. (which makes you question ....why was 50+ year old Sting taking that bump through a table ?)

[choptop]

I just hope sting get 1 last championship before he go's out

[Jared]

why was 50+ year old Sting taking that bump through a table ?)

That's like asking why 60+ Sting has been jumping off things!

[exile001]

Sting is the lynch pin to one of my all-time favourite matches.

Arn Anderson & Brian Pillman vs Ric Flair & Sting from Halloween Havoc 1995.

I've seen it a hundred times and it never gets old.

[Riv86672]

However, I would accept as an alternative, Ric Flair shows up just to betray Sting one more time!

^^^That'd be SO boss!

Honestly any way he goes out will prob. be good for me, I’m not going to second guess.

I do remember the first time I ever saw him though, after randomly tuning in to wrestling on TV. He and Eddie Gilbert were being introduced as “every girl’s dream-Hot Stuff Eddie Gilbert, and every man’s nightmare-Sting”….:

As a little Riv, I just thought that was SO AWESOME.

[Alan2099]

(which makes you question ....why was 50+ year old Sting taking that bump through a table ?)

The leading cause of injury in older men is them forgetting they're not younger men anymore.

[Riv86672]

The leading cause of injury in older men is them forgetting they're not younger men anymore.

^^^I can vouch for that.

[BeastieRunner]

The leading cause of injury in older men is them forgetting they're not younger men anymore.

^^^I can vouch for that.

*Bends over to tie shoe*

*BeastieRunner is out for 6-8 weeks*