Sting

Shortly after Sting's arrival to World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in July 1987, Dusty Rhodes used the opening bout of their first pay-per-view, Starrcade '87, to showcase the young superstar. Sting partnered with Michael P.S. Hayes and Jimmy Garvin in a six-man tag team match against Eddie Gilbert, Rick Steiner, and Larry Zbyszko that ended in a 15-minute time-limit draw.

At *Clash of the Champions I* in March 1988, Sting challenged Ric Flair for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. The match ended in a draw after the 45-minute time limit expired and the ringside judges could not declare a winner. Sting lost to Flair in several non-televised rematches following the Clash and, later that year, battled other members of Flair's stable, the Four Horsemen. Sting teamed with Nikita Koloff at The Great American Bash in July 1988 to challenge Horsemen Tully Blanchard and Arn Anderson for the WCW World Tag Team Championship; Blanchard and Anderson retained the titles when the match ended in a 20-minute time-limit draw.

Rhodes continued to book Sting in title matches throughout the year against both WCW United States Champion Barry Windham and WCW Television Champion Mike Rotunda. In the fall of 1988, Sting was attacked by Hawk and Animal of The Road Warriors after a televised match. Rhodes himself teamed with Sting to challenge the Road Warriors for the tag team championship at Starrcade '88 that December. Rhodes and Sting got the win by disqualification, allowing the Road Warriors to retain the titles.

Sting returned to singles matches in 1989, starting the year off by wrestling Flair to a one-hour draw in Atlanta's Omni on New Year's Day. After a long push, Sting won his first title in WCW, when he defeated Rotundo for the WCW Television Championship at a live event in March. Sting defended the Television title actively but tended to face sub-par challengers such as The Iron Sheik. In mid-1989, The Great Muta challenged Sting at The Great American Bash. Sting got the three-count and was announced as the winner, but a replay showed Muta's shoulder was up at the count of two. WCW management decided to declare the title vacant. Sting and Muta battled in many rematches for the vacant Television title, but they always ended in a disqualification, giving neither man the championship. Eventually, Muta won a No Disqualification match against Sting at a live event in September by using a blackjack to get the win and the title.

In the main event of that year's Great American Bash, Flair defended the WCW World Heavyweight Championship against Terry Funk, who was a member of Gary Hart's J-Tex Corporation. After Flair got the victory, he was attacked by Funk's stablemate, Muta. Sting came to the aid of his old rival Flair, and the two feuded with Muta and Funk for the rest of the summer and fall, culminating in a Thunderdome Cage match between the two teams, which Flair and Sting won, at Halloween Havoc '89. The alliance with Flair resulted in Sting joining the newly reformed and now-face Four Horsemen along with the Andersons, Arn and Ole. Sting finished out the year by winning a four-man round-robin Iron Man tournament at Starrcade '89. In the final match of the night, Sting defeated Flair to accumulate the necessary points to win the tournament. The victory made Sting the number one contender for Flair's WCW World title, leading to tension within the Four Horsemen.

Sting was summarily dismissed from The Four Horsemen on February 6, 1990, at *Clash of the Champions X: Texas Shootout* after refusing to relinquish his title shot against Flair, thus restarting their rivalry. Later that evening, Sting suffered a legitimate knee injury while interfering in a steel cage match featuring the Horsemen. His injury forced the bookers of World Championship Wrestling to find a new opponent for Flair for the forthcoming WrestleWar pay-per-view event.

Lex Luger was chosen to challenge Flair at WrestleWar. During the match between Flair and Luger, Sting came down to motivate Luger to come back and beat Flair. Before this Sting and Luger had been at odds. When Luger was close to winning Sting was attacked by Ole Anderson. Luger opted to save the already injured Sting and ended up losing the match by count-out while assisting his friend. Despite the injury, Sting was still utilized on television and pay per views when necessary.

At the Capital Combat event in May, Sting was accosted by the Four Horsemen and thrown into a metal cage at ringside. In a promotional crossover, Sting was rescued by his buddy RoboCop. After Sting's recovery, Sting finally defeated Flair for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship on July 7, 1990, at The Great American Bash. Sting went on to feud with title contenders Flair and Sid Vicious. Vicious appeared to defeat Sting in a title match at the 1990 Halloween Havoc, but the "Sting" that Vicious 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 after the match was restarted.

During Sting's title run, a masked man known as The Black Scorpion would taunt and attack Sting on many occasions. This feud culminated in a final showdown between Sting and The Black Scorpion at Starrcade: Collision Course in December. The cage match ended with Sting pinning and unmasking the Scorpion, who turned out to be Flair in disguise.

Sting's first world championship reign ended January 11, 1991, when Flair defeated him in a rematch from Starrcade. Sting then took part in what many consider to be the best match of 1991, teaming with Luger to face The Steiner Brothers at the SuperBrawl I pay-per-view for the world tag-team titles. The Steiners won by pinfall after Nikita Koloff, who had been feuding with Luger, interfered in the match by swinging a chain at Luger but hitting Sting instead. Consequently, Sting feuded with Koloff throughout the summer of 1991. In August 1991, Sting defeated Steve Austin to win a tournament for the vacated WCW United States Heavyweight Championship. Sting held the title for 86 days before losing it to Rick Rude at *Clash of the Champions XVII*.

At Starrcade '91, Sting won the first-ever Battlebowl battle royal, for which he received a Battlebowl championship ring. Sting then 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 the Alliance vowed to destroy both Sting and the promotion he was the face of. At the same time, Sting was 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 Rude, who was the group's biggest star. It was during this feud that Sting won the first of his six WCW World Heavyweight Championships, defeating Luger on February 29, 1992, at SuperBrawl II. The feud ended when Sting formed Sting's Squadron, consisting of allies Ricky Steamboat, Dustin Rhodes, Windham, and Koloff, and 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 became arguably one of the most famous feuds of Sting's career. Sting defended his WCW World title on April 12, 1992, at The Omni in Atlanta against the 450-pound Big Van Vader. During the match, Vader splashed Sting, cracking three of Sting's ribs and rupturing his spleen. Sting recovered and defended his title on July 12 against Vader at The Great American Bash, dropping the belt to Big Van Vader after missing a Stinger Splash, hitting his head on the ring post, and receiving a powerbomb. After beating Cactus Jack in a Falls Count Anywhere Match at Beach Blast and WCW newcomer Jake Roberts in a Coal Miner's Glove match at Halloween Havoc, Sting defeated Vader, who had lost the WCW World Heavyweight Championship in August, in the "King of Cable" tournament final at Starrcade.

The Sting-Vader feud continued into 1993, with Vader, who was again WCW World Heavyweight Champion, defeating Sting in a bloody Strap match at SuperBrawl III. Sting exacted revenge by beating Vader for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship on March 11 in London, England, but lost it back to Vader six days later in Dublin, Ireland. Sting then teamed with WCW newcomer Davey Boy Smith to beat the team of Vader and Vicious at Beach Blast in a match that was set up by a mini-movie in which an evil midget blew up Sting's boat. At the end of 1993, Sting was one of the first people to congratulate Flair after his WCW World Heavyweight Title victory over Vader at Starrcade.

Sting feuded with Vader and Rude through the first half of 1994. Sting won the WCW International World Heavyweight Championship from Rude in April. Sting defeated Vader for the vacant WCW International World Heavyweight Championship at Slamboree. Soon afterward, Flair defeated Sting in a title unification match at *Clash of the Champions XXVII*, turning heel in the final moments of the match when Sensuous Sherri turned on Sting and took Flair's side. Sting spent the second half of 1994 and most of 1995 teaming with new arrival Hulk Hogan in his battles against Kevin Sullivan's Three Faces of Fear and its successor stable, The Dungeon of Doom.

At The Great American Bash 1995, Sting defeated Meng to win another tournament for the WCW United States Championship. Sting defeated Meng in a rematch for the title at Bash at the Beach 1995. Sting was on the first-ever *Monday Nitro* in a match where Flair defeated Sting by disqualification as a result of a run-in by Arn Anderson to attack Flair. At Fall Brawl, Sting teamed with Hogan, Luger, and Randy Savage to defeat the Dungeon of Doom, consisting of Kamala, Zodiac, Shark and Meng, in the event's WarGames match. In October 1995, Flair convinced Sting to team with him in a match against Anderson and Brian Pillman at Halloween Havoc. Anderson and Pillman had attacked Flair earlier in the night, rendering Flair unable to come out for the first part of the match. Sting fended off his opponents until Flair emerged. Later in the match, Flair turned on Sting and reformed the Four Horsemen with Anderson and Pillman, later adding Chris Benoit to fill out the group.

Sting defeated Flair on a subsequent *Nitro* with the Scorpion Deathlock, refusing to let go until Luger persuaded him to do so. Sting defeated Flair again at the World War 3 pay-per-view. Later in the night, Sting competed in the World War 3 battle royal for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, which was won by Savage. Sting's alliances with Hogan and Savage led the Horsemen to attack them as well. Sting's second U.S. title reign lasted until November 13, when he was defeated by Kensuke Sasaki in Japan. At Starrcade, Sting defeated Sasaki in a non-title match to win the World Cup of Wrestling for WCW. In the next match that night, Sting lost a Triangle match involving Flair and Luger; Flair won by count-out to become number one contender for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, which Flair won from Savage in the next match.

Early in 1996, Sting's appearance started to change: he grew longer, darker hair, replacing his blond flattop haircut, and he often wore black tights with a multi-colored scorpion, although he occasionally wore his colorful ones and maintained his colorful face paint. Sting teamed with his old friend Luger, despite Luger's standing as a heel. The duo beat Harlem Heat for the WCW World Tag Team Championship on the January 22 edition of *Nitro*. The team often retained the championship as a result of Luger's cheating tactics, to which Sting remained oblivious. When Luger was temporarily unavailable for WCW Uncensored in March, Harlem Heat member Booker T teamed up with Sting to successfully prevent the title from changing hands. Sting and Booker T developed a mutual respect that showed itself when Sting and Luger granted Harlem Heat a rematch. During the Tag title run, Sting received a World title shot against The Giant at Slamboree in May, but lost after accidental interference from Luger. Harlem Heat eventually won the titles back on the June 24 edition of *Nitro*.

In the summer of 1996, Sting was the first to stand up to The Outsiders: Kevin Nash and Scott Hall, whose alliances and agenda were unclear, and had been infiltrating and causing chaos at WCW events. Sting teamed with Luger and Savage to defend WCW against Hall, Nash, and a mysterious third Outsider to be revealed at the Bash at the Beach. Hall and Nash started the bout without their third partner, but the WCW's temporary three-on-two advantage was short-lived: Luger left the match after he was accidentally injured by a mistimed Stinger Splash. The two-on-two match continued while Hogan, who had been a fan favorite for nearly fifteen years, emerged at ringside. Hogan appeared ready to back up the WCW wrestlers until he attacked Savage with his leg drop finisher in one of wrestling's most famous swerves. The match was ruled a no-contest, and Hall, Nash, and Hogan declared a new world order in professional wrestling. The name stuck and Sting became one of WCW's stalwarts against the New World Order, or nWo for short.

As part of this, Sting and Luger went up to rivals and Four Horsemen members Ric Flair and Arn Anderson some time after Bash at the Beach and asked them to team with him, saying that they needed to put aside their differences for the good of WCW. Flair and Anderson agreed and the four wrestlers composed Team WCW for the annual WarGames match at Fall Brawl in September 1996. They would be facing the nWo's team of Hall, Nash, Hogan, and a fourth member yet to be determined. On the *Nitro* prior to the event, however, the nWo played a trick on WCW claiming that Sting was joining their side. A vignette was shown where the nWo had a recording of Sting's voice playing in its limousine as Luger was being lured into the parking lot. Once he was there a man dressed as Sting, attacked him and the crowd at home was led to believe that Sting had joined up with the nWo and would be their fourth man against what was now a three-man WCW team. Sting, however, was not at that edition of *Nitro* and showed up at Fall Brawl just as his teammates declared that they would face the nWo by themselves. Sting told Luger that he did not attack him, but Luger refused to believe him. Later, during the match, Sting entered as the fourth and final man for Team WCW, after the impostor Sting had entered for the nWo. Once in the ring, Sting immediately took out all four members of the nWo. He then stopped, turned to Luger, and angrily said to him, "Is that good enough for you right there? Is that proof enough?" Sting then gave Luger an obscene gesture and walked out of the match, leaving Team WCW at a four-on-three disadvantage which they did not overcome. The next night on *Nitro*, Sting came out unannounced during the middle of the show with no music or entrance pyrotechnics. He entered the ring and, with his back turned to the camera side of the audience, launched into an angry tirade about what had transpired over the last week.

Declaring he would visit "from time to time", Sting threw the microphone down and left the ring. On the October 21, 1996, edition of *Nitro*, Sting returned for the first time since the night after Fall Brawl. In a match where the impostor Sting was wrestling Mr. JL, Sting emerged wearing a trench coat and white face paint with black marks around his eyes. He went in the ring and attacked nWo Sting (who was still imitating Sting's old mannerisms at this point) with his new finisher, the Scorpion Death Drop inverted DDT, two jumping elbow drops, a Stinger Splash and a Scorpion Deathlock while the rest of the nWo came to ringside. Rather than intervene, they simply stood by and watched. After Sting was done, Ted DiBiase and Kevin Nash came into the ring and made Sting an offer to join the nWo and get back at WCW for betraying him. Sting, after a pause, first called out the nWo Sting as a "cheap imitation," before telling the nWo, "the *real* Sting may or may not be in your price range," and then concluded by saying "the only thing that's for sure about Sting is that nothing's for sure". With that, Sting left the ring and would not speak (on mic) on WCW programming again for over a year. After this a silent, almost ghostly Sting, carrying a baseball bat as a weapon, began appearing in the rafters at WCW events and began painting his entire face with black and white corpse paint. In retaliation, nWo Sting, who was still imitating the original, began painting his face this way as well.

In a series of unusual loyalty tests over the next months, Sting would confront a WCW wrestler in the ring and shove the wrestler several times with his bat until the wrestler was provoked enough to advance on him. Then Sting would draw the weapon back as if he were going to assault him, causing the wrestler to stop. Sting would hand the bat to the offended wrestler and turn his back, offering the wrestler a chance at retaliation. When the wrestler hesitated or declined, Sting would nod, retrieve the bat and leave the ring. In January 1997, a "blackballed" Randy Savage returned to WCW for the first time since Halloween Havoc and aligned himself with Sting as a "free agent" as he refused to join the nWo although WCW Vice President Eric Bischoff, also one of the leaders of the nWo, declared he would not be allowed back in WCW if he didn't. For the next few weeks, the two were seen in the rafters together and coming to the ring together. This story, however, petered out at SuperBrawl VII in February; Sting and Savage had come to the ring together to watch Roddy Piper face Hogan in a match for the WCW world title. As Sting left, Savage went to the ring and helped Hogan win the match, thus going back on his word and joining the nWo. Over the next couple of weeks, Sting would accompany the nWo, indicating that he too joined the group. However, at WCW Uncensored in March 1997, as the nWo celebrated a victory in the main event battle royal which guaranteed them title shots whenever they desired with their newest recruit, Dennis Rodman, Sting rappelled from the roof of the arena on a vertical zip-line. When Hall and Nash went to approach him, Sting attacked them and Randy Savage when he tried to intervene, revealing his allegiance to WCW.

In subsequent weeks, Sting frequently rappelled from the rafters or came up through the ring to attack unsuspecting nWo members, came to the aid of wrestlers once subjected to his loyalty test as they battled the nWo, and employed decoy "Stings" to play mind games with the nWo during the closing segments of *Nitro*. On-screen WCW commissioner James J. Dillon tried many times to get Sting to return to wrestling by making contracts to fight various nWo members. Sting, however, did not accept any of the contracts, often tearing them up in Dillon's face. A confused Dillon then asked Sting who he wanted on one edition of *Nitro*, and Sting went out to ringside, picked up a fan's sign, and pointed out one name on it: Hogan. Eventually, Sting got his wish and he and Hogan finally met in December at Starrcade for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. Nick Patrick, the referee for the contest, was supposed to execute a fast count on Sting while Bret Hart would come out to protest the decision and, since he had already served as the guest referee for the match between Larry Zbyszko and Eric Bischoff earlier that evening, order the match to be restarted and Sting would emerge victorious by forcing Hogan to submit to the Scorpion Death Lock. However, Patrick did not do his part properly and instead counted the pin at normal speed, which added an unintentional level of controversy to the finish.

The next night on *Nitro*, Hogan protested the decision claiming that Patrick's decision should have been considered final and a rematch was granted. The match ran over *Nitro's* allotted time slot and the finish was aired later in the week on the inaugural episode of *Thunder*. Similar to the Starrcade result, two different referees declared the two different men as the winner. Later that night, Dillon vacated the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, forcing Sting to surrender the belt. Sting responded with his first words (on mic) since October 1996 when he told Dillon, "You've got no guts!" Sting turned to Hogan and said, "And you... You're a dead man!".

As 1998 began, the nWo began to splinter. Sting recaptured the vacant WCW World Heavyweight Championship in February at SuperBrawl VIII with the help of Savage, who was beginning to split from the nWo. Sting went on to successfully defend the title against the likes of Hall, Nash, and Diamond Dallas Page. Like Savage, Nash began to pull away from the Hogan-dominated nWo, and Nash helped Savage beat Sting for the championship at Spring Stampede in April. Nash and Savage officially split from the original nWo on May 4, forming the face group nWo Wolfpac, while Hogan's heel faction became identified as nWo Hollywood. The two nWo factions vied for Sting's allegiance, with Sting's friends The Giant joining nWo Hollywood and Luger joining nWo Wolfpac. Sting seemed to have joined nWo Hollywood when he appeared wearing a black and white nWo shirt, but he soon tore off the shirt to reveal the red and black of the nWo Wolfpac. Sting began wearing red and black face paint and tights as a member of nWo Wolfpac.

Sting and The Giant won the WCW World Tag Team Championship at Slamboree in May when Hall turned on his teammate Nash. Sting and The Giant also split, and the team was forced to vacate the title 18 days later. Sting then defeated The Giant at The Great American Bash in June to take control of the Tag Team titles and chose Nash as his partner. Throughout the summer, Sting and fellow nWo Wolfpac members Nash, Luger, and Konnan feuded with Hogan and nWo Hollywood. Sting also got involved in a feud with Bret Hart over their similar finishing holds, the Sharpshooter and the Scorpion Deathlock. Hart cost Sting and Nash the Tag titles by interfering in their match with Hall and The Giant on the July 20 *Nitro*. Sting and Hart squared off at Halloween Havoc, where Hart, the United States Champion, attacked Sting with a baseball bat, putting Sting out of action for several months.

Sting returned to *Nitro* in March 1999, sporting the black and white attire he debuted in 1996 and began to participate in more mic work. By this time, the nWo storyline had faded, and Sting was not aligned with any of its factions. Sting competed in the main event of April's Spring Stampede, a Four Corners match for the World Championship, against Hogan, DDP, and champion Flair. Savage served as special guest referee and delivered a diving elbow drop to help DDP win the match and the title.

Sting defeated Page on the April 26 edition of *Nitro* to win the WCW World Heavyweight Championship for the fifth time. Later that night, Sting defended the title in a four-way match featuring DDP, Goldberg, and a returning Nash. DDP pinned Nash, allowing DDP to win the title without directly beating Sting. Sting's 90-minute reign was only the second shortest WCW World Heavyweight Championship reign in WCW history. Sting lost to Rick Steiner in a Falls Count Anywhere match at The Great American Bash after he was attacked by Steiner's three pet dogs backstage and Steiner forced the referee to prematurely declare himself the victor, claiming his dogs had pinned Sting for him.

Over the next several months, Sting feuded with Goldberg, Rick Steiner, Sid Vicious, and Savage. Sting teamed with WCW World Heavyweight Champion Nash at the Bash at the Beach in July to take on Vicious and Savage of Team Madness. Savage pinned Nash and won the World title as a result. Hogan returned from injury on July 12 as a face to win the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. Sting defeated Flair on the July 19 edition of *Nitro* to become the on-screen president of WCW. Later that night, Nash turned heel by attacking Hogan during a title defense against Vicious. Sting remained president for just one week and used his power to book a main event pitting Hogan and himself against Nash and Vicious. Sting vacated the presidency the following week because he only wanted Flair out of the position rather than wanting the power for himself. Along with Goldberg, Sting and Hogan feuded with Nash, Vicious and Rick Steiner for the next month.

Sting began to question Hogan's trustworthiness and credibility in the weeks leading up to Fall Brawl. At the September pay-per-view, Luger brought a baseball bat to the ring and Sting used it to beat Hogan for his sixth and final WCW World Heavyweight Championship, turning heel for the first time in WCW. Sting's heel turn and subsequent attitude change did not resonate with the WCW fans. They still cheered Sting despite the fact he was supposed to be the villain (reminiscent of The Road Warriors' heel turn in late 1988). At Halloween Havoc, Sting retained the title against Hogan after Hogan entered the ring in street clothes and laid down for Sting to pin him. After the match, Sting sounded his disdain of the result and issued an open challenge for later tonight. Later that night, Sting lost an unsanctioned match to Goldberg, who accepted his open challenge and then attacked referee Charles Robinson. Sting was stripped of the title the next night for attacking the official.

Sting entered the 32-man tournament that was set up to award the vacant WCW World Heavyweight Championship. Sting defeated Brian Knobs, Meng, and Luger to reach the semi-finals to be held at WCW Mayhem. At the November event, Sting lost to Hart, the eventual winner of the tournament. After the match, Sting shook hands with Hart in a sign of respect, turning face again. Sting sought revenge against Luger the next month at Starrcade. Sting won by disqualification when Luger and Miss Elizabeth assaulted Sting with a steel chair and baseball bat, putting Sting out of action for some time. Sting ended his feud with Luger by defeating him in a Lumberjacks with Casts match at Uncensored the following March.

WCW officials Vince Russo and Eric Bischoff, in an attempt to save the fading company, rebooted the storylines on April 10, 2000, and declared all titles vacant. At Spring Stampede the following week, Sting advanced to the finals of the United States Championship tournament by defeating Booker T and Vampiro in the first two rounds. Vampiro cost Sting the championship in the finals against Scott Steiner, leading to an intense feud between Sting and Vampiro. Sting pinned Vampiro at Slamboree in May, and Vampiro beat Sting in a Human Torch match at The Great American Bash the next month. At Bash at the Beach, he returned wearing another Sting mask as men wearing cloaks and Sting masks carried him in a casket, and then he attacked Vampiro.

Sting went on to feud with Jeff Jarrett and then Scott Steiner. Steiner attacked and injured Sting in November 2000. Sting stayed off WCW programming until the final episode of *Nitro* on March 26, 2001. WCW had been purchased by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), and the final match in WCW history pitted Sting against his longtime rival Flair; the two had also competed on the very first edition of *Nitro* on September 4, 1995. Sting defeated Flair and the two embraced at the end of the contest.

In his first official appearance for WWE, Sting appeared in a WWE Network production on April 15, 2014, sharing a story of The Ultimate Warrior, who had recently died. On July 14, Sting appeared in a vignette on *Raw* to promote the video game *WWE 2K15*, in which he was featured as a pre-order bonus character in both his 'Crow' and 'Surfer' (pre-1996) incarnations. That same day, WWE began selling official Sting merchandise.

On November 23, 2014, during the main event of Survivor Series, Sting made his first-ever appearance in a WWE ring by attacking Triple H with a Scorpion Death Drop and also costing Team Authority the match. On January 19, 2015, Sting made his live *Raw* debut by appearing backstage during the main event, then walking to the stage, causing a distraction and costing Authority members Big Show, Kane and Seth Rollins their handicap match against John Cena; this win gave the recently fired Dolph Ziggler, Ryback and Erick Rowan their jobs back. Triple H challenged Sting to a face-to-face confrontation on the January 26 episode of *Raw*. Sting accepted this challenge on the February 16 episode of *Raw* by sending a Sting doppelganger into the ring to scare Triple H, after airing a vignette on the big screen accepting Triple H's challenge. Sting and Triple H had a confrontation at Fastlane on February 22. Following physicality between the two, Sting pointed to the WrestleMania 31 sign with his baseball bat, issuing a challenge for the event that was accepted by Triple H. On the March 16 episode of *Raw*, Sting made a surprise appearance and helped Randy Orton fight off the Authority. Immediately following on the WWE Network, Sting spoke for the first time in-ring. He lost at WrestleMania 31 in a match involving interference from D-Generation X and New World Order members, but shook hands with Triple H afterward.

Sting returned on the August 24 episode of *Raw*, interrupting WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins's statue unveiling ceremony by attacking Rollins before challenging Rollins for the title by raising the belt over his head. Triple H then announced on the WWE Network that Sting would face Rollins for the title at Night of Champions. On the August 31 episode of *Raw*, Sting appeared on the stage after Cena announced he would be getting his United States Title shot at Night of Champions against Rollins. Sting appeared on the tron throughout the September 7 *Raw*, defacing and ultimately destroying Rollins's statue by pushing it into a garbage truck. The following week, Sting defeated Big Show by disqualification in his debut *Raw* match, as a consequence of Rollins attacking Sting. John Cena then came to Sting's aid, which prompted Triple H to book a tag team contest involving the four wrestlers: Sting and Cena won after Sting made Rollins tap out to the Scorpion Deathlock. Sting suffered a legit neck injury during his championship match against Rollins at Night of Champions, but was able to complete the bout in a losing effort.

It was announced on the January 11, 2016 episode of *Raw* that Sting would be the first member of the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2016. On April 2, during his WWE Hall of Fame induction speech, Sting announced his retirement from professional wrestling. He appeared at WrestleMania 32, alongside his fellow 2016 inductees, the following night. In August 2016, Sting appeared on the WWE Network show *Legends with JBL* and talked about his career.

On the February 25, 2019 episode of *Raw*, Sting made his first appearance on WWE television since 2016, at the 70th birthday celebration of Ric Flair, but Flair was attacked by Batista before he could make it to the ring.