One More Match

Steve Borden aka Sting once said, ~The only thing for sure about Sting is nothin's for sure.~ The Franchise. The Icon. The Legend. It's those 3 labels that truly personify a man who has had a stellar 30 year career in the sport of professional wrestling. I think it's safe to say Sting is considered a fan favorite among pro wrestling fans in general who have most definitely witnessed a metamorphosis when it concerns his character. For it is an awe inspiring situation indeed to be in some way as a fan part of a legacy in which you basically grew up watching his humble beginnings to the point where he ends up in the one place or should I say company he's never been at. Essentially, it's been a dream that has finally come true for many of the lil' Stingers out there including myself.

As I said before, if you're a pro wrestling fan in general you then know Sting's humble beginnings in UWF(Universal Wrestling Federation) in the mid 80's where he would team up with the late future WWE Hall of Famer Jim Hellwig otherwise known as The Ultimate Warrior. In any case, the two formed a tag team called The Blade Runners and they would achieve relative success as tag team partners until Hellwig left for what was once deemed as WWF. The man called Sting would eventually join the NWA(National Wrestling Alliance) in the late 80's and experience stellar success becoming the face of the company, whereby led him to become a rising star. A rising star that would see him feuding with the likes of The Great Muta, Road Warrior, Mike Rotunda, The 4 Horsemen, and most importantly The Nature Boy Ric Flair.

Without a doubt, Ric Flair is primarily responsible for putting Sting on the map and propelling his career to new heights. As a matter of fact, it was at The Great American Bash in July of 1990 where he would find himself winning for the first time the NWA World Heavyweight Championship against the dirtiest player in the game. Of course, his on and off feuds with Flair would go so far as having The Nature Boy assume the identity of a mysterious masked figure called The Black Scorpion and utilizing the voice of fellow one time horsemen Ole Anderson. Unfortunately, his efforts failed when Sting unmasked him at a December Starcade aptly titled Collision Course. Ultimately, its fitting that when Vince McMahon bought WCW in 2001 it would be Sting that Ric Flair named his greatest rival to be his final opponent to wrestle one last time.

Let me ask you this question to all you Stinger fan out there, if you had to pick a persona that best describes him which would you choose? Personally speaking, I chose The Crow Sting because for a better part of a year he didn't talk and would mainly be found high among the rafters eerily looking down from above. True, the Hollywood Hogan and the NWO were mainly responsible in transforming him from a guy who wore the colorful face paint to donning the scary face paint of the black and white. Yet, what made his character so intriguing and fun to watch during that time was his sneak attacks from behind on wrestlers who were doubting his loyalty to WCW plus so much more. Fortunately, for true Sting fans he showed his true loyalty on March 16,1997 at Uncensored when he descended from the rafter and destroying the NWO including Hollywood Hogan.

In retrospect, it took a better part of 13 years for pro wrestling fans like myself to turn back into little kids again as Sting finally debuted at WWE's Survivor Series. Hey, reactions on YouTube ranged from shock to all out screaming for joy that the one guy who has never stepped foot in WWF/WWF finally did. If you think about it, pro wrestling fans are sadly a jaded bunch because of our seen/heard that mentality and our passion for bringing back the past like The Attitude Era. However, when someone like the Stinger shows up it's such a surreal moment because it's the one seemingly last surprise we never expected to happen. Of course, from what I read his deal is to make 6 appearances with his final appearance being at Wrestlemania 31. In the end, whether it's against Taker or Triple H I will be tuning in and watching as a Stinger fan when he wrestles one more match for the final time.