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| BORN MARCH 20, 1959 |
6 FEET, 2 INCHES | BIG BROWN EYES LIKE A BABY COW |
His colorful face paint, piercing war cry and signature Stinger Splash electrified fans both young and old... he boasted one of the largest and most loyal fanbases of any in-ring personality in history.
⠀steve borden, better known as STING, began his wrestling career at the end of 1985, teamed alongside jim hellwig (who would go on to become the ultimate warrior). sting quickly made a name for himself and only two years later, he was performing in the National Wrestling Alliance at starrcade '87! he went on to win the NWA world championship title for the first time after beating ric flair at the great american bash 1990.
look at me, ma!
⠀throughout the early 90's he had feuds with wrestling giants like nikita koloff, rick rude, and big van vader. it wasn't until 1996 that sting confonted the NWO with a new style of face paint and an entirely new demeanor... crow sting was born from the idea that scott hall had in the locker room. after this exchange, sting would not speak another word on the microphone for over a year.
"i’m not saying to rip off 'taker, but rip off 'taker." — scott hall
sting with booker t, 2000
⠀throughout the rest of the 90's until after the turn of the century, sting dominated syndicated wrestling as the franchise of World Championship Wrestling until the company's eventual demise. millions of wrestling fans would attend his matches over the years, he accumulated a total six reigns as the WCW World Heavyweight Champion, even making more pay-per-view appearances than any other wrestler in the promotion—proving him to be just that: the franchise. after WCW's sale to the World Wrestling Federation in 2001, sting was one of the few wrestlers who did not find a home in WWE. after a short stint with the World Wrestling All-Stars, he found his home at jeff jarrett's Total Nonstop Action. after a long and arduous feud with jarrett, at bound for glory he recaptured the NWA world championship title...
...16 years since first winning it in 1990.
⠀sting continuted to work great matches with great opponents like samoa joe, kurt angle, and christian cage. eventually he entered the main event mafia stable, manned by fellow veteran wrestlers with extensive title wins amassed throughout their respective careers. in 2009, at bound for glory, AJ styles defeated sting in a bout that was voted TNA's match of the year.
⠀over the course of 2010 he feuded with hulk hogan's newest alliance, immortal. by the spring of 2011, after hogan and eric bischoff usurped TNA from company president dixie carter, he started acting a bit... off. the insane icon was born! dubbed affectionately "joker sting" by fans, he did some of my personal favorite character work (and some of his favorite, too!) during his feud with hogan and company. the character of joker sting shows off his's range as a performer and actor—and it's just plain fun to watch.
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⠀sting continued work in TNA until his departure in 2014, when he moved to... WWE? most fans regard his run in WWE as... squandered, at best. dogshit at worst. his first six months were largely him being used as a glorified merch salesman—advertising figures and video games... after a short feud with triple h, he eventually made it to his first and only wrestlemania appearance at WM 31. after match interference by the NWO and DX, sting lost to triple h. no one saw that coming...
⠀after a botched powerbomb by seth rollins, resulting in a neck injury, sting was out of the ring (for now). he was inducted into the WWE hall of fame class of 2016 and after a 31 year long, gold-covered career, he announced his retirement during his acceptance speech. by 2019, it appeared that sting's contract with WWE had ended.
an unsatisfying end to a legendary career. if only there was a dragon to chase...
⠀it's 2020. you're sitting at home on the couch—a practiced meditation after almost a year of lockdowns. winter is here—it's cold outside, you've got a blanket around you and a bowl of potato chips in your lap. you're watching this young and budding wrestling promotion—All Elite Wrestling— on TBS. the bell rings after a particularly ragged-looking tag team match and the arena lights shut off. the sound of electric guitar and pipe organ ring through your living room, winter imagery on your tv screen."hmm" you think, popping another chip into your mouth. walking out is sting, snow falling over him. you can't believe it! you drop your bowl of chips onto the floor and your dog runs to eat a few before you notice.
⠀so far in aew, sting has teamed with darby allin, working entertaining tag matches with his newfound protégé. he's taken some big bumps too, considering his age! going through tables isn't what your average 63 year old man does! though sting has never found himself to be average. in march of 2022, a year and three months after his aew debut, sting published a beautiful piece entitled The Man They Call Sting on the players' tribune chronicling the highs and lows of his career—the lows being a struggle with substance abuse, feelings of misery, and what he calls "spiritual emptiness". i have so much respect for him for overcoming his struggles and being sober for 26 years!
⠀in october of 2023, sting announced on an episode of dynamite that his true retirement match would be at the revolution pay-per-view on march 3rd, 2024. with special guest ric flair at ringside, ricky steamboat as timekeeper (two people ever-present throughout sting's career), and both of sting's sons dressed in his old-school gear, sting and darby allin defeated the young bucks in the greensboro coliseum. sting retired undefeated after winning 29 matches straight in aew i hope his true retirement is satisfying to him; a career as accomplished as his should have that ending... the ending where you catch the dragon you've chased for nearly 40 years. he deserves it, after all he's given to professional wrestling.
thank you, sting.
That’s the secret of wrestling, if there is one...You have to give them everything you have—with every fiber of your being. Because you’ll get it back, tenfold.
