Sting

Steve Borden (March 20, 1959) is a retired American professional wrestler known by his ring name Sting.
As a singles wrestler, Sting has technically won a total of thirteen World Heavyweight Championships in various promotions, though only ten of these reigns are recognized as "World" title reigns by Pro Wrestling Illustrated. He has held the NWA World Heavyweight Championship two times, the WCW World Heavyweight Championship six times, and the TNA World Heavyweight Championship two times. He has also been inducted into both the WWE Hall of Fame and the TNA Hall of Fame.
== Professional wrestling career ==
Borden was hired to help recruit a fourth member of Powerteam USA, a professional wrestling stable headed by Red Bastien and Rick Bassman containing three other former bodybuilders while at his Gold's Gym in San Fernando Valley. After many failed to be recruited, Borden was given an offer to be the fourth member. At the time, Borden had little interest in wrestling, but Bassman constantly tried to recruit him in which Steve finally agreed. Borden trained under Red Bastien and Rick Bassman for ten weeks and debuted in November 1985 in the Continental Wrestling Association in Memphis as Flash Borden.
=== Universal Wrestling Federation (1985–1987) ===
Power Team USA disbanded in 1986, and two of the members, Borden and Jim "Justice" Hellwig (later becoming The Ultimate Warrior), formed a tag team known as the Blade Runners. Borden changed his name initially from Flash to Sting, while Hellwig became Rock. The Blade Runners, under the management of Eddie Gilbert, wrestled in the Universal Wrestling Federation based in Shreveport, Louisiana until Rock left the promotion in mid-1986. Left without a partner, Borden joined Hotstuff and Missy Hyatt in Hyatt International. He won the UWF Tag Team Championship twice with Gilbert in 1986 and a third time with Rick Steiner in 1987. Initially a heel wrestler, Sting turned face following a match against Terry Taylor in mid-1987, where former manager Gilbert interfered on Taylor's behalf, costing Sting the match. Following a two-on-one gang up, Gentleman Chris Adams cleared the ring and became instrumental in Sting's face turn when Adams asked if Sting was with him or against him in his feud with Taylor and Gilbert. It was during this period of working for Bill Watts that Eddie Gilbert publicly endorsed Borden by stating to a 'dirt sheet' that Sting would be a megastar in the future. Later that year, Sting was tabbed to win Gilbert's UWF Television title until Jim Crockett bought the company from Bill Watts. Booker Dusty Rhodes decided to put the belt on Terry Taylor to set up a feud with Nikita Koloff to unify the NWA and UWF Television titles. The decision was made to use unknown Shane Douglas as the transitional champion by Rhodes, who did not want to diminish Sting's growing stardom with a brief title run.
=== National Wrestling Alliance (1987–1991) ===
==== 1987–1989 ====
Rhodes decided to use the opening bout of Jim Crockett's first foray into pay-per-view, Starrcade '87, to showcase the young superstar, partnering Sting with Michael P.S. Hayes and Jimmy Garvin in a time-limit draw battle against Eddie Gilbert, Rick Steiner, and Larry Zbyszko. Having established himself as a rising star, Sting was one of the only UWF alumni to be pushed through the NWA. At the inaugural Clash of the Champions, Sting challenged Ric Flair for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. The match itself was booked as a 45-minute time-limit draw. Sting lost to Flair in several non-televised rematches following the Clash and later that year continued to battle against other members of the Four Horsemen. Sting teamed with Nikita Koloff at the The Great American Bash challenging Tully Blanchard and Arn Anderson for the NWA World Tag Team Championship; the match ended in a 20-minute time-limit draw. Rhodes continued to book Sting in title matches throughout the year against both NWA United States Champion Barry Windham and NWA Television Champion Mike Rotundo. In the fall of '88, Sting was attacked by The Road Warriors after a televised match. Sting was chosen as the most over face with the fans by Rhodes, who knew turning Hawk and Animal heel would be no easy task. Dusty Rhodes teamed with Sting to challenge for the tag team belts at Starrcade '88, defeating The Road Warriors by disqualification.
Sting then returned to singles matches in 1989, starting the year off on New Year's Day wrestling Ric Flair to a one-hour draw in Atlanta's Omni. After a long push, he finally won his first title in the NWA when he defeated Mike Rotundo for the NWA Television Championship. He defended the TV Championship actively but tended to face sub-par challengers such as the Iron Sheik. In mid 1989, The Great Muta was booked to challenge Sting on July 23 at The Great American Bash. The match was a classic Dusty Finish even though the "American Dream" had been fired months before. Sting got the three-count and was announced as the winner. A replay showed Muta's shoulder was up at the count of two and the NWA decided to declare the title vacant. Sting and Muta battled in many rematches, but they always ended in disqualification, giving neither man the championship. Eventually, Muta won a no disqualification match against Sting to win the title after using a blackjack to get the win. In the main event of The Great American Bash, Ric Flair faced Terry Funk. After Flair got the victory, he was attacked by Muta, who was a part of the J-Tex Corporation, only to have Sting come to his rescue. Sting and Flair feuded with Muta and Funk for the rest of summer and fall, culminating in a Thunderdome Cage match between the two teams at Halloween Havoc '89, which Flair and Sting won. The alliance with Flair resulted in Sting joining the Four Horsemen along with the Andersons, Arn and Ole.
Sting finished out the year winning the four-man round robin Ironman tournament at Starrcade '89. The night ended when he defeated Flair in the final match to accumulate the necessary amount of points needed to win. It also made Sting the number one contender for Flair's NWA World Title, which was the catalyst for the events that immediately followed.
==== 1990–1991 ====
Sting was summarily dismissed from the Horsemen on February 6, 1990 at Clash of the Champions X after refusing to relinquish an upcoming title shot at Flair, thus restarting their rivalry. Later that evening, Borden suffered a legitimate knee injury while interfering in a Steel Cage match featuring the Four Horsemen. Borden's injury forced WCW bookers to find a new opponent for Flair for the forthcoming WrestleWar pay-per-view. Sting also resumed his on-screen friendship with Lex Luger, about this time. Luger unsuccessfully challenged Flair for the title in a series of matches while Sting recuperated. Sting played a part in the finish of the match at WrestleWar, as Luger relinquished his chance to win the title in favor of helping Sting at ringside, who was in great peril at the hands of the other Horsemen. WCW officials wanted Flair to drop the title to Luger at WrestleWar, but he refused. Flair said that he had promised Sting that he would be waiting for him to get better, and would hold the belt until then. Flair felt that Sting, as the top face in the company, deserved the belt more than Luger, a man he held little regard for offscreen. At the Capital Combat event in May, Sting was accosted by the Four Horsemen and thrown into a metal cage at ringside and rescued by RoboCop.
After Borden's recovery, Sting finally defeated Flair for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship on July 7, 1990, at the Great American Bash. He went on to feud with title contenders Flair and Sid Vicious. Vicious appeared to defeat Sting in a title match at Halloween Havoc, but the "Sting" who he pinned was revealed to be an impostor, played by Horseman Barry Windham. The real Sting appeared soon after and pinned Vicious to retain his title when the match was restarted. During this time, Sting became distracted by a masked man known as "The Black Scorpion" who taunted and attacked Sting on many occasions. This feud culminated in a final showdown between Sting and The Black Scorpion at Starrcade: Collision Course. The Cage match ended with Sting pinning and unmasking the Scorpion, who turned out to be Ric Flair.
=== World Championship Wrestling (1991–2001) ===
Sting's championship reign ended on January 11, 1991, when he was defeated by Flair in a rematch from Starrcade. In the same month, WCW seceded from the National Wrestling Alliance, in the process recognizing a WCW World Heavyweight Championship and a WCW World Tag Team Championship. Sting then feuded with Nikita Koloff in the summer of 1991. He also took part in what many consider to be one of the best matches of 1991, teaming with Lex Luger to face the Steiner Brothers at the first SuperBrawl pay-per-view. That match had also triggered the feud with Koloff when he took a chain-shot intended for his partner Luger (who had been feuding with Koloff at the time). In August 1991, Sting defeated Steve Austin to win a tournament for the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship . At Starrcade '91 Sting went on to win the first ever Battlebowl in which he received a Battlebowl championship ring. At the end of 1991, Sting became embroiled in a feud with the Dangerous Alliance, headed by manager Paul E. Dangerously. The stable targeted Sting because he was the so-called "franchise" of WCW, and vowed to destroy both him and the promotion that he was the face of, although he was also being targeted by Luger, who had once again turned heel and as WCW Champion viewed Sting as a threat. Sting engaged in many matches with Dangerous Alliance members, especially "Ravishing" Rick Rude, who was the group's main star. It was during this feud that he won the first of his six WCW World Heavyweight titles, defeating Lex Luger at SuperBrawl II on February 29, 1992. The feud ended when Sting and his allies, named Sting's Squadron (consisting of himself, Ricky Steamboat, Dustin Rhodes, Barry Windham, and Nikita Koloff) defeated the Alliance (Rude, Austin, Arn Anderson, Larry Zbyszko, and Bobby Eaton) in a WarGames match at WrestleWar in May 1992.
Near the end of Sting's battles with the Dangerous Alliance, the seeds were sown for what arguably became one of the most famous feuds of his career. In April 1992, he defended his WCW World title at The Omni in Atlanta against the 450-pound Big Van Vader. During the match, Vader splashed Sting, cracking three of his ribs and rupturing his spleen. Sting recovered and defended his title against Vader at The Great American Bash in July, dropping the belt to him after missing a Stinger Splash (hitting his head on the ringpost in the process), and receiving a powerbomb. After beating Cactus Jack in a Falls Count Anywhere match at Beach Blast and WCW newcomer Jake Roberts in a "Spin the Wheel, Make the Deal" match at Halloween Havoc, Sting again faced Vader in the "King of Cable" tournament final at Starrcade, where Sting was victorious. The Sting-Vader feud continued into 1993, with Vader defeating Sting in a bloody Strap match at SuperBrawl III. Sting exacted revenge by beating Vader for the World title on March 11 in London, England, but lost it back to him six days later in Dublin, Ireland. Sting then teamed with WCW newcomer Davey Boy Smith to beat the team of Vader and Sid Vicious at Beach Blast, in a match that was set up by a mini-movie that saw an evil midget blow up Sting's boat. At the end of the year, Sting was one of the first people to congratulate the newly returned Ric Flair after his title victory over Vader at Starrcade. Sting feuded with Vader and Rude through the first half of 1994, defeating Vader in a match for the vacant NWA World title (referred to as the WCW International World Heavyweight Championship) at Slamboree after Rude was forced to vacate due to his suffering a career-ending injury against Sting in Japan. Soon afterward, Flair turned heel and defeated Sting in a title unification match at Clash of the Champions XXVII. Sting spent the second half of '94 and most of 1995 teaming with new arrival Hulk Hogan in his battles against the 3 Faces of Fear and later against the Dungeon of Doom.
In October 1995, Flair convinced Sting to team with him in a tag match against Arn Anderson and Brian Pillman at Halloween Havoc, as Anderson and Pillman had attacked Flair earlier in the night. Flair was unable to come out for the first part of the match and Sting fended off both Anderson and Pillman alone. Finally, Flair came out, but eventually turned on Sting and reformed the Four Horsemen with Anderson, Pillman, and later Chris Benoit. Sting closed out 1995 by feuding with the Horsemen. His alliances with Hogan and Randy Savage led the Horsemen to attack them as well.
==== 1996–1998 ====
The first part of 1996 had Sting teaming with Lex Luger (who had returned to WCW in September 1995 on the debut episode of WCW Monday Nitro) to win the WCW World Tag Team title from Harlem Heat (Booker T and Stevie Ray). The reign was highlighted by the face Sting usually oblivious to the cheating tactics of Luger (a tweener) which became the means by which they usually retained the title. When Luger became temporarily unavailable in March 1996, Harlem Heat member Booker T teamed up with Sting on one occasion to successfully prevent the title from changing hands. A rematch between Harlem Heat and the team of Luger and Sting then came the following night, in which a mutual respect was displayed between Sting and Booker T. Harlem Heat eventually won the title back on the June 24, 1996 edition of WCW Monday Nitro. Sting also received a World title shot against The Giant at Slamboree, but lost after accidental interference from Luger.
In the summer of 1996, Sting was the first to stand up to The Outsiders (Kevin Nash and Scott Hall). They had a match at Bash at the Beach with Sting being joined by Randy Savage and Lex Luger. The Outsiders announced they would have a third man in their corner as well. In the opening minutes of the bout, Hall and Nash's partner was nowhere to be seen, but the WCW contingent's 2 on 3 advantage was short lived as Luger had to leave the match early due to an injury. Sting and Savage fought against Nash and Hall until the arrival of Hulk Hogan, who was apparently about to back up the WCW wrestlers until he attacked Savage with his Leg drop finisher in a swerve. The three subsequently formed the New World Order (nWo) at the end of the match, which was ruled a no-contest. The nWo introduced an impostor Sting (played by Jeff Farmer), which led the crowd to believe that Sting had turned his back on WCW during a WarGames match at Fall Brawl. When the real Sting returned he was upset by the fact that many wrestlers believed that he had in fact betrayed WCW despite his denials, that he himself felt betrayed, and so he left WCW by declaring himself a "free agent." He began appearing in the rafters at WCW events; his new silent persona, complete with corpse paint, a trench coat, and longer hair replacing his spiked haircut, which was quite obviously inspired by The Crow. He was joined in the rafters on a few occasions by Randy Savage, but Savage eventually joined the nWo. He also began using a baseball bat as his signature weapon. The nWo, in turn, began to paint Farmer's face in the same fashion to try to continue the confusion, becoming known as nWo Sting. While appearing on a WCW/nWo merchandise special on QVC Sports in late 1999, Sting admitted that Scott Hall initially suggested the idea of painting his face like The Crow. Sting continues to use this type of face paint, occasionally with different designs and the use of color. In an unusual loyalty test, Sting confronted WCW wrestlers in the ring and shoved them a few times with his bat until they were provoked enough to advance on him, at which point he drew the weapon back into a more threatening stance, causing them to stop. He would then hand the bat to the offended wrestler and turn his back, offering them a chance at retaliation. When the wrestler declined, Sting would nod, retrieve the bat, and leave the ring. Following the eventual revelation of his loyalty to WCW, he began coming to the aid of many of these wrestlers (often at the end of a television taping) during group battles with the nWo.
After nearly six months of uncertainty and mystery, Sting finally showed his true colors as a face by single-handedly taking out the entire nWo at Uncensored in March 1997. The pay-per-view had drawn to a close and the nWo were celebrating with their new found partner, NBA star Dennis Rodman, when Sting rappelled down over 70 feet from the roof of the arena via zip-line and began his historic battle against the nWo in which he ended up giving the Scorpion Death Drop to the principal members of the nWo: The Outsiders, Randy Savage, and WCW World Champion Hollywood Hogan. After this attack, he frequently rappelled from the rafters or even came up through the ring to attack unsuspecting nWo members and employ decoy Stings to play mind games during the closing segments of WCW Monday Nitro. Sting's appearances to fight the nWo at the end of almost every WCW Monday Nitro helped to keep and widen the ratings gap between WCW and the WWF throughout the summer. On-screen commissioner James J. Dillon tried many times to get Sting to return to wrestling by making contracts to fight various nWo members, but Sting ended up tearing up the contracts because there was only one man he wanted: Hollywood Hogan.
Sting and Hogan finally met at Starrcade for the WCW World Championship, with Sting winning controversially due to a decision by special guest referee Bret Hart when he reversed the decision made by referee Nick Patrick after Hogan pinned Sting after what he believed to be a "fast count." The match was restarted and Sting made Hogan submit to the Scorpion Deathlock. It was heavily rumored that Sting was supposed to get a "clean" victory in the match, but in the days leading up to the match, Terry Bollea (Hogan), invoking his "creative control" clause in his contract, changed his stance on the outcome from a "clean" finish to a tainted finish that didn't weaken his character. The compromise ended up being the controversial ending of the match. The next night on WCW Monday Nitro, Hogan protested the decision which led to a rematch. The rematch met with the same result and later in the week on the inaugural episode of WCW Thunder, on-camera commissioner J.J. Dillon held the title up and forced Sting to surrender the belt. It was during this situation that Sting said his first words on camera in a year and a half. Upon handing over the belt, he told Dillon, "You've got no guts!" and then turned to Hogan and said, "And you....You're a dead man!" Sting eventually recaptured the title with help from "Macho Man" Randy Savage at SuperBrawl VIII. He went on to have successful title defenses against the likes of Scott Hall, Diamond Dallas Page, and Kevin Nash before losing the title to Savage at Spring Stampede in April 1998, due to interference from Nash.
In the end, Sting amassed three victories over Hulk Hogan, while Hulk Hogan has never been able to defeat Sting. Sting is one of only four wrestlers that have defeated Hulk Hogan without losing to him. Brock Lesnar, Goldberg, and The Rock are all undefeated against Hogan, although Hogan has pinned Sting in a tag team match on Nitro, and he pinned The Rock in a tag team match on Raw. However, Sting has the highest amount of victories over him.
Later in 1998, nWo split up owing to differences between Hogan and Nash. Nash formed the tweener group known as the NWo Wolfpac. Months later, debate arose as to whether Sting would join one of the factions. Sting made an entrance, sporting the black and white shirt, only to reveal his true stance with the Wolfpac. Soon after, he changed his white face paint to red as well as his ring attire accordingly. Sting held the tag team titles as part of Nash's stable. He and the Giant won the titles at Slamboree. When the team split, Sting was allowed to choose Nash as a partner as a result of his victory at The Great American Bash in Baltimore. Throughout the summer, Sting, along with fellow nWo Wolfpac members Nash, Lex Luger, and Konnan feuded with Hogan's heel faction, nWo Hollywood. Soon after, Sting engaged in a feud with Bret Hart, as a result of Hart's (kayfabe) betrayal after claiming to respect Sting as a result of their similar finishing holds, the Sharpshooter and the Scorpion Deathlock. After suffering (kayfabe) injuries as the result of a bat attack by Hart during a match at Halloween Havoc, Sting disappeared from WCW Television for several months. During this time, the nWo recombined and went fully heel again after The Fingerpoke of Doom incident in 1999. Afterward, Sting left the stable and went out on his own once more.
==== 1999–2001 ====
In 1999, Sting once again won the WCW World Heavyweight Championship on Monday Nitro against Diamond Dallas Page, but lost it back to him only a little over an hour and a half later in the Main Event in a four-way match set up by Kevin Nash (the fourth participant was Bill Goldberg). Page pinned Nash, allowing him to win the title without beating the champion. This unsuccessful title defense ended the shortest title reign in WCW history. Sting teased turning heel by first attacking Hulk Hogan (who had once again become a face at this point) at Fall Brawl, hitting Hogan with his baseball bat several times en route to regaining the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. Sting's heel turn and subsequent attitude change did not go over well with the fans. They still cheered him despite the fact that he was supposed to be the bad guy. He retained against Hogan at Halloween Havoc after Hogan arrived to the ring in street clothes and merely laid down for a 3-count, but promptly lost an unsanctioned defense to Bill Goldberg at the end of the night. Sting was stripped shortly thereafter (due to an attack on referee Charles Robinson), and returned to face. He was given the opportunity to regain the title in a tournament, but lost to Bret Hart in the semi-finals. He then began a feud with former partner Luger.
In 2000, Sting had an intense feud with the newcomer Vampiro. Vampiro set him alight in a "Human Torch Match" (in actuality, it was a stuntman who actually jumped off although it was presented as if he fell), but came back to even the score with Vampiro. He was "injured" by Scott Steiner in 2000, leaving WCW TV for good. However, he returned for the last episode of Monday Nitro, on March 26, 2001 and defeated his longtime rival Ric Flair, embracing in a sportsmanlike fashion at the end of the contest. Fittingly, this was the last WCW match ever, and the final match between Sting and Flair, ending a 13-year, on-again/off-again feud.
=== World Wrestling All-Stars (2002–2003) ===
Sting returned to professional wrestling in late 2002, touring Europe with the World Wrestling All-Stars (WWA) throughout November and December. His first match with the WWA was on November 28, 2002 in Dublin, and saw Sting team with Lex Luger to defeat Buff Bagwell and Malice. On December 6 in Glasgow, Scotland, Luger defeated Sting in a match for the vacant WWA World Heavyweight Championship following interference from Jeff Jarrett. On December 13, 2002 in Zürich, Switzerland, Sting defeated Luger to become the WWA World Heavyweight Champion.
Sting toured Australia with the WWA in May 2003. On May 21, he successfully defended the WWA World Heavyweight Championship against Rick Steiner and Shane Douglas in Sydney. On May 23 in Melbourne, he retained the title in a match with Disco Inferno, despite interference from Chris Sabin and Konnan. On the last ever WWA show, on May 25 in Auckland, New Zealand, Sting lost the WWA World Heavyweight Championship to NWA World Heavyweight Champion Jeff Jarrett in a championship unification bout following interference on Jarrett's behalf by Rick Steiner. This last show aired on pay-per-view in the United States on June 8, 2003.
=== Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2003–2014) ===
====Debut and sporadic appearances (2003–2005)====
In 2003, Sting signed a contract committing him to four appearances with the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) promotion. He debuted in TNA on the June 18 one year anniversary show, teaming with Jeff Jarrett to defeat A.J. Styles and Syxx Pac. Following this, Borden engaged in a comprehensive series of sitdown interviews with Mike Tenay, discussing his career and his faith. Sting returned to TNA on November 5, 2003, defeating Jarrett by disqualification in a match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. On November 12, Sting teamed with A.J. Styles to defeat Jarrett and Lex Luger. He made his final TNA appearance of 2003 on December 17, defeating Jarrett in a non-title match.
On March 24, 2004, Borden was interviewed once again by Mike Tenay as part of the promotion for his direct-to-video biographical film, Sting: Moment of Truth, and on March 31, he returned to the company one night only as the special guest enforcer for the main-event, a 4 Way match between Abyss, A.J. Styles, Raven, and Ron Killings, which Raven won.
On December 11, 2005, at Turning Point, as Jeff Jarrett stood in the ring celebrating his victory, the lights in the arena went out as images of a scorpion—Sting's symbol— appeared on the arena screens, along with the date "January 15, 2006." Spotlights then illuminated the ring, revealing a chair bearing Sting's signature trench coat, boots, and a black baseball bat in the center of the ring. His return to TNA was officially announced one minute after midnight on the January 1, 2006 episode of Impact!.
====Return and feud with Jeff Jarrett (2006)====
At Final Resolution, Sting and Christian Cage defeated NWA World Heavyweight Champion Jeff Jarrett and Monty Brown after Sting pinned Jeff Jarrett following the Scorpion Death Drop. His heavily promoted return was greeted with chants of "welcome back" and "you've still got it" by the Orlando, Florida audience. TNA later revealed that Final Resolution was "by far the most-purchased TNA pay-per-view event in company history, breaking all previous numbers". On the January 28, 2006 episode of Impact!, Sting made his Spike TV debut and first appearance on national television in almost five years, coming to the ring at the end of the show to make a "major announcement." Sting noted that he had never had a chance to properly say goodbye to his fans. He then announced that Final Resolution had been "his goodbye", before thanking the TNA management and the fans. Sting then dropped his bat, with a spotlight appearing over it, and left the ring, shaking hands with various TNA wrestlers on his way up the ramp. With Sting gone, the storyline continued with Jeff Jarrett and Eric Young worrying that Sting had not actually retired and sending Alex Shelley to California to videotape Sting at home. Sting discovered Shelley filming, then walked up to Shelley's car and told him that he was going to show up at Destination X and confront Jeff Jarrett as "Steve Borden." Clad in "street clothes" and without face paint Borden returned at Destination X, saving Christian Cage and Rhino as they were attacked by Jarrett's Army. He placed Jarrett in the Scorpion Deathlock, but was attacked by the debuting Scott Steiner shortly thereafter. In his first cable television match in five years, Sting defeated Eric Young on the April 13, 2006 episode of Impact!. After being attacked by Jarrett, Steiner, and America's Most Wanted. Sting was saved by A.J. Styles, Ron Killings, and Rhino, who he announced as his teammates in his Lethal Lockdown match with Jarrett's Army. At Lockdown, Sting, A.J. Styles, Ron Killings, and Rhino (billed as "Sting's Warriors") defeated Jarrett, Steiner, and America's Most Wanted after Chris Harris tapped out to the Scorpion Death Lock. Following Lockdown, Sting proceeded to seek out partners to help him defeat Jeff Jarrett and Scott Steiner for good. After bringing out Lex Luger, Buff Bagwell, and Rick Steiner as options, he settled on Samoa Joe. At Sacrifice, Sting and Samoa Joe defeated Jarrett and Steiner when Joe pinned Jarrett with a Muscle Buster. Still having proven unsuccessful at putting Jarrett away, Sting defeated Scott Steiner by disqualification to earn as spot in the King of the Mountain match at Slammiversary. Due to a confrontation with Christian Cage during the match, Sting was distracted, allowing crooked referee Earl Hebner to knock over the ladder both were on, sending both to the floor and allowing Jarrett to win. At Victory Road in July, a four-man Number One Contender match was held for a shot at Jeff Jarrett for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. During the match, Jeff Jarrett, disguised as a cameraman came into the ring with a bottle of gasoline and squirt it into Sting's eyes. Sting was taken by security into the back and as a result, taken out of the running for the number one contender match. As it continued as a 3-man contest, Sting returned to the ring with his head wrapped in bandages. After performing the Scorpion Death Drop on Scott Steiner, Sting pinned Steiner and won the number one contendership. After a confrontation with Christian Cage in the ring right after the match, they both shook hands, and Cage showed his respect for Sting. On August 13, 2006 at Hard Justice, however, Sting failed to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship losing to Jeff Jarrett after Christian Cage turned heel and hit Sting with Jarrett's guitar. On the August 17, 2006 edition of Impact!, Sting stated that he wanted a rematch with Jeff Jarrett at Bound for Glory, TNA's biggest pay-per view of the year. Jarrett accepted the match, with the implication that Sting put his career on the line, a stipulation Sting accepted. Sting then retreated to train for what could have been his final match. Meanwhile, Impact! began showing videos of Sting going through a so-called transformation with many biblical references. On October 22, 2006, in a Title vs. Career match at the Bound for Glory PPV, Sting returned debuting his new look, a hybrid of his surfer, Crow, and nWo Wolfpac styles, looking much leaner physically. He went on to claim his second NWA World Heavyweight title when Jarrett submitted to the Scorpion Deathlock marking the first major championship title Sting had won since 1999. With that victory, Sting became the oldest NWA World Heavyweight Champion of the TNA era, as well as the only person to ever win the title both before and after the inception of TNA.
====Various feuds (2006–2008)====
He lost the title to "The Monster" Abyss at Genesis by disqualification after pushing aside the referee and pushing Abyss into a stack of tables covered in barbed wire. In the weeks following Genesis, Sting's feud with Abyss continued as he tried to get in Abyss' head by telling him he was being used by his satanic manager James Mitchell. Abyss was visibly affected by this, but remained by Mitchell's side. Sting's former friend Christian Cage and his bodyguard Tomko were also thrown in the mix, with Cage claiming he knew a dark secret in Abyss' past. The three finally met in a Three Way match for the NWA World Heavyweight title at Turning Point, with Abyss retaining the title. After Turning Point, Sting continued to try to convince Abyss he was nothing but a machine for Mitchell, and he got so far into Abyss that Abyss grabbed Mitchell by the throat, almost chokeslamming him on an edition of Impact!, but ultimately convinced himself not to.
As 2007 came along, Sting continued his feud with Abyss while trying to recapture the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. At Final Resolution, Sting faced off against Abyss and Christian Cage for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship but failed to win back the championship. On the January 24, 2007 edition of Impact!, Sting revealed after going through public records that Abyss shot his own father three times in the back, sending him into a coma. During the ensuing brawl throughout the Impact! Zone between Sting and Abyss, James Mitchell burned Sting's face with a fireball, sending Sting to the hospital. Sting, however, returned to defeat Abyss at Against All Odds in a "Prison Yard" match, and also would once again defeat Abyss at Destination X in a "Last Rites" match. On the March 22 edition of Impact!, Sting teamed with his enemy Abyss to face Christian Cage and A.J. Styles. During the match, Mitchell returned with a woman who Abyss recognized. Abyss then left with Mitchell and the woman, leaving Sting alone to fight Cage and Styles. The following week on Impact!, during a meeting between Sting and James Mitchell, it was revealed that the woman was Abyss' mother, and that she was the one who had actually shot Abyss' father, but Abyss took the blame to protect his mother. Later in the night, it was announced Abyss was added to the Lethal Lockdown match at Lockdown as part of Team Cage while Sting ended up joining Team Angle. At Lockdown, Sting (with the help of Jeff Jarrett) pinned Abyss to win the match and in the process end their bitter rivalry.
Due to his win, he was supposed to be facing Christian Cage for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship at Sacrifice, but the next week on Impact!, Kurt Angle challenged Sting for his number one contendership. After Team Cage interfered in the match, it was revealed that at Sacrifice there would be a three-way match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship between Sting, Kurt Angle, and Christian Cage. In the match, Sting tapped out to the Ankle Lock while pinning Cage (technically making him the first superstar to pin or force Cage to submit in TNA), so the title was vacated. After Christopher Daniels attacked Sting near the end his King of the Mountain qualifying match with Samoa Joe costing him the match, he began a short feud with "The Fallen Angel." At Slammiversary, Sting defeated Daniels with the Scorpion Death Drop.
After his feud with Daniels, Sting began teaming up with his former enemy, Abyss (who had recently turned face). Together at Victory Road, they defeated A.J. Styles and Tomko. While trying to help Abyss to win a match against A.J. Styles, Sting and Abyss were attacked by Christian's Coalition. Abyss was pulled under the ring and Sting was slammed into broken glass by Tomko, before Abyss emerged bleeding badly and was slammed into the broken glass and thumbtacks. The next week, Sting and Abyss got revenge by defeating Christian and A.J. Styles in a ladder match, in the process earning a contract that allowed them to pick the type of match between Abyss and Christian at Hard Justice. It was announced via TNA mobile that Abyss had selected "Doomsday Chamber of Blood" match. Sting's team won, with his partner Abyss pinning A.J. Styles to become the number one contender for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship.
On the August 30 edition of Impact!, Sting defeated Joe, AJ, and Christian in a Four-Way match to become the co-holder of the TNA World Tag Team Championship with Kurt Angle. Yet after only thirteen days, Sting and Angle lost the titles to Adam "Pacman" Jones and Ron "The Truth" Killings at No Surrender. During the match, Karen Angle claimed that Sting had slapped her. This led to a falling out between Sting and Kurt Angle and on the first two-hour edition of Impact!, Kurt Angle was shown via satellite (kayfabe) stalking and assaulting Sting's son Garrett. It was announced that Sting would face Kurt Angle for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship at Bound for Glory. The match was billed as return to his roots for Sting, who enjoyed enormous popularity and success in the Atlanta-based World Championship Wrestling earlier in his career. At Bound for Glory, Sting overcame interference by both Karen Angle and Kevin Nash to pin Kurt Angle after a Scorpion Death Drop to win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. Sting lost the championship back to Kurt Angle on the October 25 edition of Impact (taped October 16). During the match, Kevin Nash came out and got a chair and sat down to watch; while outside of the ring, Kurt pushed Sting on to Kevin, and Sting turned around and gave Nash a right hand shot, which led to Nash interfering on Angle's behalf, which led to Angle winning the match and the title. Sting then challenged Angle to a rematch at Genesis in a tag team match. Angle was forced to Kevin Nash as his partner, while Sting's partner was a mystery until during the event where his partner was revealed to be Booker T. In the match, whoever scored the pinfall would win the TNA World Championship. Kurt Angle retained the TNA World Championship by pinning Sting. This would be the final TNA appearance of Sting in 2007 as he would take some time off to be with his family.
On the March 20 edition of Impact!, after a brawl between members of both Team Cage and Team Tomko, a promo aired at the end of the show indicating that Sting would return the next week on the first-ever live Impact! episode. Sting then made his official return on March 27, announcing that he would be a part of Team Cage for the Lethal Lockdown match at Lockdown. Later on the show, he teamed with members of Team Cage (Christian Cage, Kevin Nash, Rhino, and Matt Morgan) and defeated Team Tomko (Tomko, A.J. Styles, James Storm, and Team 3D) in a 5-man tag team match. Morgan was added when James Storm attacked Sting with a glass bottle after the match. Sting, however, later gained revenge by defeating Storm when Morgan threw him his baseball bat. Morgan then ripped off his referee shirt and revealed a Team Cage shirt, thus becoming the fifth member. At Lockdown, Team Cage defeated Team Tomko when Rhino Gored Storm to get the pinfall. After the tag titles were vacated, Jim Cornette held a Deuces Wild Tag Team Tournament to determine new champs. Four teams were already in the Sacrifice finals, while Cornette named eight wrestlers as the "Egotistical 8". Sting's partner was James Storm. At Sacrifice, they came up short due to not being able to get along, and towards the end, Sting slammed James on the mat and walked out. Sting was not seen after that except in an interview which talked about his career and his eventual retirement.
====Main Event Mafia (2008–2009)====
At Victory Road, Booker T faced Samoa Joe for the TNA World Title. During the match, Sting tried to talk sense into Joe, as he was brutally beating Booker T, and was potentially heading towards a disqualification. Joe rebuked him, and Sting struck him with his trademark black baseball bat. Over the coming weeks, the feud between Joe and Booker intensified, with episodes ending with Booker T or Sharmell striking Samoa Joe with Sting's trademark bat as Impact! went off the air, leading to a question of whether Sting had turned on Samoa Joe and became a heel. Although still receiving a face reaction from the fans, Sting sided with Booker T. At Hard Justice, Sting attacked A.J. Styles after he and Kurt Angle wrestled a Last Man Standing match. Sting later announced why he attacked Joe and Styles by saying that the younger generation needed to learn about respecting veterans like Angle, Booker, and himself. He declared that he wouldn't retire until he had accomplished this mission. This led to mixed fan reactions, and sparked a feud between him and TNA World Heavyweight Champion Samoa Joe, as well as Jeff Jarrett who arrived to aid Samoa Joe and A.J. Styles by giving them his guitar as Sting had done with his bat.
At Bound for Glory IV, Sting challenged Samoa Joe for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship and was successful in claiming the title, after Kevin Nash returned and hit Joe with Sting's baseball bat. On October 23, Sting joined The Main Event Mafia (Kurt Angle, Booker T, Sharmell, Kevin Nash, Scott Steiner, and himself) and by doing so, he fully turned heel for the first time in years, although Sting did not participate in sneak attacks and did not get crowd pops, making him more a tweener (neutral character). He successfully defended the championship for 189 days, his longest world title reign for any organization. During this title reign, Sting made successful title defenses against the likes of AJ Styles, Rhino, Kurt Angle, and both members of Team 3D. At Lockdown 2009, he lost the title to Mick Foley inside the Six Sides of Steel. At Sacrifice, he pinned Kurt Angle to become the new Godfather of the Main Event Mafia. However, on the episode of Impact! following Slammiversary, Sting was attacked by his fellow Main Event Mafia members. The following week, he took his revenge upon the Mafia, when he attacked every member of the group and stole Angle's world heavyweight championship belt, becoming a fully fledged face as a result. At Victory Road, Sting faced Samoa Joe in a singles match. Later in the match, Tazz made his TNA debut and helped Joe beat Sting. Sting then went on to challenge for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship in a triple threat match with Matt Morgan and Kurt Angle at Hard Justice. At No Surrender, Sting lost a five-way match for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship that also included Angle, Styles, Hernandez, and Matt Morgan. Instead of pinning Angle, he opted to attack Morgan, to allow Styles to pin Angle and become the new World Heavyweight Champion. As a token of gratitude, Styles offered to give him a title shot at the following month's PPV Bound for Glory in a match billed as possibly being Sting's retirement match. At the PPV, Styles defeated Sting to retain his title, ending Sting's undefeated streak at Bound for Glory. After the match he announced that he didn't know whether he would continue his career or not, Saying that "the way you fans are reacting right now, makes me wanna stay forever!" At the end of the year the match was voted the match of the year by the fans of TNA.
====Deception (2010)====
On the January 4, 2010, live-three hour, Monday night edition of Impact! Sting returned to the Impact! Zone appearing in the rafters of the arena. Sting reappeared two months later on March 8, appearing as he was going to help a bloodied Hulk Hogan and Abyss during a match at the beginning of the show against A.J. Styles and Ric Flair. Instead he swung his baseball bat on Hogan and Abyss, turning Sting heel as a result. He was later defeated by the debuting Rob Van Dam. Sting would continuously attack Van Dam with his bat after the match, completing his heel turn. On the March 22 edition of Impact! Sting was announced as the captain of Team Flair in the annual Lethal Lockdown match, where they would meet Team Hogan, captained by Abyss. At Lockdown Team Flair (Sting, Desmond Wolfe, Robert Roode and James Storm) were defeated by Team Hogan (Abyss, Jeff Jarrett, Rob Van Dam and Jeff Hardy). On May 3, Sting explained his actions to Hogan and was later attacked from behind by Jeff Jarrett. At Sacrifice Sting assaulted Jarrett prior to their match and then dragged him in to the ring, where he managed to score a pinfall in seconds over his bloodied opponent, leaving him injured. On the following edition of Impact! the TNA Championship Committee ranked Sting number one in the rankings and as a result he was granted a shot at Rob Van Dam's World Heavyweight Championship at Slammiversary VIII. Sting then attacked Eric Bischoff with his baseball bat, biting the hand that fed him. Sting later promised that he would reveal the motives behind his actions after winning the World Heavyweight Championship. At Slammiversary VIII Jeff Jarrett made his return and cost Sting his title match against Rob Van Dam. After assaulting Jarrett from behind on the June 24 edition of Impact!, TNA president Dixie Carter suspended Sting for 30 days without pay the following week. Sting returned from his suspension on the August 5 edition of Impact!, wearing his nWo Wolfpac red face paint, and helping Kevin Nash, who had backed him up during his suspension, beat down Jarrett, Eric Bischoff and Hulk Hogan. On the September 2 edition of Impact! Sting defeated Jarrett in a singles match, after an interference from Nash. After the match Samoa Joe aligned himself with Jarrett and Hogan and drove Sting and Nash away. At No Surrender Joe and Jarrett defeated Sting and Nash in a tag team match, after Jarrett hit Sting with his own baseball bat. On the September 16 edition of Reaction, Sting and Nash were joined by D'Angelo Dinero, who claimed to have gotten inside information from Bischoff's secretary Miss Tessmacher, that would suggest that Sting and Nash were right about Hogan and Bischoff being up to something.
At Bound for Glory Sting, Nash and Dinero faced Jeff Jarrett and Samoa Joe in a handicap match, after Hulk Hogan, who was slated to team with Jarrett and Joe, was forced to pull out due to a back surgery. At the end of the match Jarrett abandoned Joe, and Sting, Nash, and Dinero tried to tell Joe this was what they were saying all along. Joe fought them anyway and ended up pinned by Nash. At the end of the event it was revealed that Sting had been right about Hogan and Bischoff all along, as they turned heel with Jarrett and Jeff Hardy as Abyss's "they", and in the process turned Sting, Nash and Dinero back to being faces. On the following edition of Impact!, Sting and Nash refused to join Hogan, Bischoff and their new group, Immortal, and walked out on TNA and Dixie Carter, noting that they had tried to warn her that Hogan and Bischoff would try to take over the company for their own gain, but she hadn't listened, meaning Sting was never a true villain his entire heel run. Borden's contract with TNA expired at the end of 2010.
====Insane Icon (2011–2014)====
Sting returned to TNA on February 24, 2011, at the tapings of the March 3 edition of Impact!, where he appeared as a surprise challenger and defeated Jeff Hardy to win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship for the third time. On March 13 at Victory Road, Sting successfully defended the title against Hardy in a No Disqualification rematch that lasted ninety seconds. The following month at Lockdown, Sting successfully defended the title against Mr. Anderson and Rob Van Dam in a three–way steel cage match. In May, Sting was allowed to pick his number one contender and chose Van Dam, whom he went on to defeat at Sacrifice. The following month at Slammiversary IX, Sting lost the TNA World Heavyweight Championship to Mr. Anderson, following outside interference from Eric Bischoff.
Over the next few weeks, Sting displayed a more maniacal character similar in look and style to Heath Ledger's portrayal of the Joker from the 2008 film The Dark Knight. On the July 14 edition of Impact Wrestling, Sting, now dubbed as the "Insane Icon", regained the TNA World Heavyweight Championship from Mr. Anderson, after Fortune and Kurt Angle, disguised as his clown minions, attacked each member of Immortal, preventing them from interfering in the match. He would go on to lose the title to Kurt Angle on August 7 at Hardcore Justice, after Angle hit him with a chair brought to the ring by Hulk Hogan. Sting continued tormenting head members of Immortal with his strange new personality, and on the August 18 edition of Impact Wrestling, his longtime rival Ric Flair made his return to TNA and challenged him to a match. Sting agreed to put his career on the line in the match in exchange for Flair promising to deliver him his long-awaited match with Hogan, should he be able to defeat him. On the September 1 edition of Impact Wrestling, Sting received a rematch against Angle for the World Heavyweight Championship, but was defeated following interference from special enforcer Hulk Hogan and the rest of Immortal. On September 11 at No Surrender, Hogan once again cost Sting the TNA World Heavyweight Championship in a three-way match, which also included Mr. Anderson. On the September 15 edition of Impact Wrestling, Sting defeated longtime rival Ric Flair to earn the right to face Hogan at Bound for Glory. On the October 6 edition of Impact Wrestling, after being exposed for his false claim of retiring and his secret ridicule of the fans, a furious Hogan impulsively agreed to hand TNA back to Dixie Carter, should Sting manage to defeat him at the pay-per-view. On October 16 at Bound for Glory, Sting defeated Hogan to bring Dixie Carter back to power. After the match, Hogan turned on Immortal and helped Sting overcome the odds in his battle with the stable. On the following edition of Impact Wrestling, Carter placed Sting in charge of the program. Sting returned to the ring on the December 22 and February 9, 2012, editions of Impact Wrestling, where he teamed up with Jeff Hardy to defeat TNA World Heavyweight Champion Bobby Roode and Bully Ray both times. On March 18 at Victory Road, Sting was defeated by Roode in a non-title No Holds Barred match. On the following edition of Impact Wrestling, Sting announced his resignation from the General Manager position, and handed the position over to Hulk Hogan. He later stated that he believe that Hogan could properly run TNA without the influence of Bischoff. On March 29, Dixie Carter announced that Borden had signed another contract extension with TNA.
Sting returned to TNA on the May 24 episode of Impact Wrestling, attacking Bobby Roode. The following week, Sting defeated Roode in a non-title lumberjack match to earn a shot at his World Heavyweight Championship. On June 10 at Slammiversary, Sting was announced as the first person inducted into the TNA Hall of Fame the following October. Later, in the main event of the evening, Sting unsuccessfully challenged Roode for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship, after being hit with a beer bottle. Afterwards, Sting attacked Roode and dropped him on the entrance ramp with a Scorpion Death Drop. On the June 14 episode of Impact Wrestling, Sting's speech about the events of Slammiversary was interrupted, when he was attacked by three masked assailants. Sting returned four weeks later, but this time both he and Hulk Hogan were attacked by the same group of masked men, who had dubbed themselves the "Aces & Eights". While Hogan was recovering from his storyline injuries suffered in the attack, and a legitimate back surgery, Sting reclaimed the role of interim General Manager. On October 13, Sting was officially inducted into the TNA Hall of Fame. The following day at Bound for Glory, Sting teamed with Bully Ray in a tag team match, where they were defeated by the Aces & Eights, following interference from a man who was afterwards unmasked as Ray's longtime partner, the returning Devon. As a result of their win, the Aces & Eights earned full access to TNA. On the following episode of Impact Wrestling, Sting defeated Devon via disqualification, following interference from the Aces & Eights. On the November 8 episode of Impact Wrestling, Sting was sidelined with a storyline injury, after being put through a table and beaten with a ball peen hammer by DOC, a member of Aces & Eights. Sting returned on the January 3, 2013, episode of Impact Wrestling, saving Kurt Angle and Samoa Joe from Aces & Eights before beating the group down with a baseball bat. Sting wrestled his return match the following week, defeating Aces & Eights member Mike Knox after he injured Kurt Angle. Three days later at Genesis, Sting gained his revenge on DOC by defeating him in a singles match.
=== World Wrestling Entertainment ===
Veteran professional wrestling journalist Bill Apter chronicled Sting's career in a piece for WWE.com on February 19, 2014, wherein he stated that Sting's "best days may still be yet to come". Amid speculation about a contract offer from the company, Sting appeared in a WWE Network production on April 15, 2014, sharing a story of his former tag team partner Warrior, who had recently died. This marked Sting's first non-archive appearance on a WWE-branded show, and his second for the promotion overall, having wrestled on the final episode of WCW Monday Nitro on March 26, 2001, shortly after the WWF (now WWE) acquired that company's assets and trademarks. Sting was a prominent contributor to the documentary film Warrior: The Ultimate Legend, which aired on the WWE Network on April 17. The following day, online retailer Zavvi announced a Sting Blu-ray from WWE Home Video, set for release in September.
On July 14, Sting appeared in a vignette on Raw to promote the upcoming WWE 2K15 video game, in which he was featured as the pre-order bonus character. That same day, WWE began selling official Sting merchandise. In an interview with the Daily Mirror the following evening, Borden confirmed that he is now "part of the WWE family", and lobbied for a match against The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXXI. The prospect of a live debut from Sting entered WWE storylines in the July 16 edition of Triple H's weekly sit-down interview with Michael Cole on WWE.com, where Cole asked Triple H if WWE fans would see Sting "in the flesh" on WWE television. He responded by mentioning other renowned wrestlers who would reportedly not appear for WWE, but did, and asserted: "Never say never if it's best for business".
On July 24, Borden made his first public appearance for WWE, in full Sting garb, as a surprise guest at the 2014 San Diego Comic-Con International. The event was held to announce WWE's upcoming line of Mattel action figures, in which the company's first ever Sting figure will appear. Prior to that appearance, Sting gave his first interview with WWE.com, which was released later that day. On August 4, WWE announced Sting as a guest on the WWE 2K15 "Roster Reveal" panel, which will take place on August 16 in Los Angeles.
====Debut and Feud with The Authority (2014-2016)====
On November 23 at Survivor Series, Sting made his WWE debut when he came out at the end of the main event of Team Cena vs. Team Authority and left Triple H down in the ring after a Death Drop to help Dolph Ziggler pin Seth Rollins to end The Authority.
On January 19 edition of Raw, Sting distracted The Authority again, allowing John Cena to retain his title shot at the Royal Rumble and also get Erick Rowan, Dolph Ziggler and Ryback rehired by WWE.
Sting and Triple H had a confrontation at the Fast Lane pay-per-view event on February 22 where Sting issued a challenge for WrestleMania 31 which Triple H accepted.
At WrestleMania 31, Sting would face Triple H in his very first match in WWE and at WrestleMania. Although, Triple H won after a sledgehammer shot with interference from both D-Generation X (who aided Triple H) and the New World Order (who aided Sting), the two competitors shook hands out of respect after the match.
The next night on RAW, Sting appeared on a WWE Network exclusive interview with Renee Young. He said that if WWE throws something his way, he will grab it. He then concluded the interview by giving a Scorpion Deathdrop to a returning Bo Dallas, after the latter interrupted him.
== Other media ==
Borden appeared in the 1998 film The Real Reason (Men Commit Crimes), the 2000 made-for-TNT film Shutterspeed, and the 2000 film Ready to Rumble. He has also made guest appearances in several television series, including Thunder in Paradise, Walker, Texas Ranger, The Nightmare Room, The Nick Cannon Show, and MADtv. In 2004, a direct-to-video biographical film entitled Sting: Moment of Truth was released. The scripted film features numerous wrestling personalities, with Sting reprising his role as a seasoned wrestler, and Donnie Fallgatter playing the role of Sting as a rookie wrestler. Borden has also hosted the Trinity Broadcasting Network's flagship program Praise the Lord on three separate occasions. On those programs Vince Russo, Shawn Michaels, and Lex Luger were among his guests.
In addition, there are two books that detail his career, Chad Bonham's Wrestling with God (2001) and a collaboration between Sting and George King entitled Sting: Moment of Truth (2004). Moreover, he has several DVDs and VHSs, including Sting: Deadly Venom, Sting: Unmasked, Sting: Back in Black, and Sting: Return of an Icon.
== Personal life ==
He became a born-again Christian in August 1998. Borden is married to Sue and the couple have two sons, Garrett (born 1991) and Steven (born 1992), and a daughter, Grace (born January 2000). His family are Pentecostal Christians. The Borden family is actively involved in Church on the Rock in Santa Clarita, California, where his brother, Jeff, is a senior pastor. His son, Garrett, attends Azusa Pacific University and plays on the football team.
== In wrestling ==
*Finishing moves
**Scorpion Deathlock
**Scorpion Death Drop
*Signature moves
**Stinger splash - Innovated
**Dropkick
**Military press slam
**One-handed bulldog
* Signature foreign object
**Black baseball bat
*Nicknames
**"The Icon"
**"Stinger"
**"The Insane Icon"
**"The Franchise of WCW"
**"The Vigilante"
*Tag teams and stables
**Blade Runners - with Blade Runner Rock
**Dudes With Attitude
**Freedom Fighters - with Justice
**The Four Horsemen
**Hot Stuff And Hyatt International
**Main Event Mafia
**Millionaire's Club
**nWo Wolfpac
**Powerteam USA
**Sting and Lex Luger
**Davey Boy Smith and Sting
*Entrance music
**"Castle Walls" by Styx (CWA/UWF; 1985-1989)
**"Fight For Your Right (To Party)" by Beastie Boys (UWF; 1986-1987)
** "Rattlesnake Whip" (JCP/WCW; 1987-1989)
**"Destruction" by Munetaka Higuchi (AJPW; 1989)
** "Turbo Charged" (WCW/NPWJ; 1989-1996)
**"Man Called Sting" by Jimmy Hart (WCW)
**"Sting Theme" by WCW and Jimmy Hart (WCW; 1996-1999)
**"Seek & Destroy (Live at Woodstock 1999)" by Metallica (WCW) (WCW; 1999-2001)
**"Stingellica" by Dale Oliver (TNA; 2003-2004)
**"Yours" by TobyMac (TNA; 2005-2006)
**"Slay Me" by Dale Oliver (TNA; 2006-2014)
**"Wolfpac Theme" by WCW and Jimmy Hart (WCW; 1998; Used while part of the nWo Wolfpac)
**"Main Event Mafia" by Dale Oliver (TNA; Used while part of the Main Event Mafia)
**"Sting Operation" by Jim Johnston (WWE)
==Championships and accomplishments==
*All Elite Wrestling
**AEW World Tag Team Championship (1 time) with Darby Allin
*National Wrestling Alliance
**NWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time) 1
**NWA World Television Championship (1 time)
**Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament winner (1988) - with Lex Luger
**NWA Iron Man Tournament winner (1989)
*Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
**NWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time) 1
**TNA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Kurt Angle
** TNA Inspirational Superstar of the Year (2007)
**TNA World Heavyweight Championship (4 times)
** TNA Match of the Year (2007) vs Kurt Angle at Bound For Glory, October 14, 2007
** TNA Match of the Year (2009) vs AJ Styles at Bound For Glory, October 18, 2009
** TNA Hall of Fame (Class of 2012)
*World Championship Wrestling
**WCW World Heavyweight Championship (6 times)
**WCW International World Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
**WCW United States Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
**WCW World Tag Team Championship (3 time) - with Kevin Nash (1), Lex Luger (1), and The Giant (1)
**Battle Bowl winner (1991)
**WCW King of Cable Tournament winner (1992)
**WCW European Cup winner (2 times) (1994, 2000)
*World Wrestling Entertainment
**Slammy Award for "This is Awesome" Moment of the Year (2014) - Debuting to help Team Cena defeat Team Authority at Survivor Series
**Slammy Award for Surprise Return of the Year (2015)
**WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2016)
* World Wrestling All-Stars
**World Wrestling All-Stars World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
*Universal Wrestling Federation
**UWF Tag Team Championship (3 times) - with Eddie Gilbert (2) and Rick Steiner (1)
*Pro Wrestling Illustrated
**Ranked #1 in the 1992 PWI 500
**Ranked #15 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI Years in 2003.
**Ranked #52 of the best tag teams of the PWI Years in 2003 with Lex Luger
**Most Improved Wrestler (1988)
**Wrestler of the Year (1990)
**Most Inspirational Wrestler (1990)
**Most Popular Wrestler (1991)
**Match of the Year (1991) - with Lex Luger vs. The Steiner Brothers (Rick and Scott Steiner)
**Most Popular Wrestler (1992)
**Most Popular Wrestler (1994)
**Most Popular Wrestler (1997)
**Comeback of the Year (2006)
*Wrestling Observer Newsletter
**Most Improved Wrestler (1988)
**Most Charismatic Wrestler (1988)
**5 Star Match: February 24, 1991, WarGames Match, WCW WrestleWar 1991 with Brian Pillman, and The Steiner Brothers vs. Ric Flair, Larry Zbyszko, Barry Windham and Sid Vicious
**Best Babyface (1992)
**Most Charismatic Wrestler (1992)
**5 Star Match: February 24, 1992, WarGames Match, WrestleWar 1992 with Nikita Koloff, Ricky Steamboat, Barry Windham, & Dustin Rhodes vs. Rick Rude, Steve Austin, Arn Anderson, Bobby Eaton, & Larry Zbyszko
**Match of the Year (1998) vs. Ric Flair
**Worst Worked Match of the Year (2011) vs. Jeff Hardy
1Sting is a 2 time NWA World Heavyweight Champion, however his first run as champion was while the title was commissioned by World Championship Wrestling, while his second title run was while the title was commissioned by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.
==See also==
*Legends with JBL: Sting
==External links==
* Sting profile at CAGEMATCH.net
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