article

Steven James Borden (born March 20, 1959 in Omaha, Nebraska), better known by his ring name, Sting, is an American professional wrestler, currently wrestling for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA).

Sting has consistently been pushed as a main event wrestler since the the late 1980s. He is perhaps best known for his 14 year career with World Championship Wrestling (WCW), where he won the WCW World Heavyweight Championship on six occasions. He is one of the few prominent American professional wrestlers of the modern era to have never worked for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).

Career

While pursuing a career in bodybuilding in Southern California, Borden was recruited as the fourth member of Power Team USA, a professional wrestling stable headed by Red Bastien and containing Borden and three other former bodybuilders. Borden trained under Bill Anderson for 10 weeks and debuted in November 1985 as Flash Borden.

Universal Wrestling Federation (1986-1987)

Power Team USA disbanded in 1986, and two of the members, Borden and Rock, formed a tag team known as the Blade Runners. The Blade Runners wrestled in the Oklahoman Universal Wrestling Federation until Rock left the promotion in mid-1986. Left without a partner, Borden joined Hotstuff and Hyatt International, a stable headed by Eddie Gilbert and Missy Hyatt. He won the UWF Tag Team Championship twice with Gilbert in 1986, and a third time with Rick Steiner in 1987.

Jim Crockett Promotions (1987-1988)

In late 1987, the Universal Wrestling Federation was purchased by Jim Crockett Promotions, and Borden adopted the ring name Sting. Quickly rising through the ranks, Sting began a lengthy feud with then-NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair in 1988, with he and Flair wrestling one another to to a 45-minute time limit draw at the inaugural Clash of Champions. Sting lost to Flair in several untelevised rematches following the Clash and later that year got more involved in tag team matches against other members of the Four Horsemen and also challenging Barry Windham for the United States Championship. As 1988 ended, Sting teamed up with Dusty Rhodes at Starrcade'88 and defeated 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 Rotunda for the NWA Television Championship. He defended the TV Championship actively but tended to face sub-par challengers like Jack Victory, The Iron Sheik, and eventually lost the championship to The Great Muta (Keiji Mutoh) in one of the year's greatest feuds. Sting and Muta met on July 23 at the Great American Bash with Sting getting the win by pinfall but 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 would always end in disqualification giving neither man the championship. Eventually Muta won a no disqualification match against Sting to win the title after using a blackjack foreign object to get the win.

On the July 23 card where Sting and Muta faced each other the first time, Ric Flair faced Terry Funk in the main event and Flair was attacked by Muta after the match. Sting came to Flair's rescue which was an amazing surprise to fans given the history between Sting and Flair as fierce rivals the prior year. Sting and Flair feuded with Funk and Muta for the rest of the year in one of the NWA's most memorable feuds. When Flair re-formed the Four Horsemen in late 1989, Sting was quick to join Arn Anderson, Ole Anderson, and Flair.

World Championship Wrestling (1988-2001)

In November 1988, Jim Crockett sold Jim Crockett Promotions to Ted Turner, who renamed the promotion "World Championship Wrestling".

Sting was thrown out of the Four Horsemen on February 6, 1990 at Texas Shootout after demanding a title shot from Flair, thus restarting their rivalry. Later that evening, Sting suffered a knee injury while interfering in a steel cage match featuring the Four Horsemen. Sting's injury forced WCW bookers to find a new opponent for Flair for the forthcoming WrestleWar pay-per-view. Sting was eventually replaced by Lex Luger, who unsuccessfully challenged Flair for the title in a series of matches while Sting recuperated.

Upon his return, Sting and his allies, the Dudes With Attitudes, continued to feud with the Four Horsemen, and Sting finally defeated Flair for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship on July 7, 1990 at the New Revolution. He went on to feud with title contenders Lex Luger and Sid Vicious. Vicious appeared to defeat Sting in a title match at Halloween Havoc 1990, 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. His reign ended on January 11, 1991 when he was defeated by Flair. In the same month, WCW seceded from the National Wrestling Alliance, in the process recognising a WCW World Heavyweight Championship and a WCW World Tag Team Championship.

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. Sting engaged in many memorable 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, "Stunning" Steve Austin, Arn Anderson, Larry Zbyszko, and Bobby Eaton) in a brutal War Games match at WrestleWar in May of 1992.

Near the end of Sting's battles with the Dangerous Alliance, the seeds were sown for what would arguably come to be the most famous feud of his career. In April 1992, he defended his WCW World title at The Omni in Atlanta against a 450-pound bull of a wrestler named Big Van Vader. During the match, Vader splashed Sting, cracking three of his ribs. 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, and receiving a powerbomb. After beating Cactus Jack in a falls-count-anywhere match at Beach Blast and newcomer Jake "The Snake" 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. Once again, Sting endured a harsh beating, but this time emerged 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 up with newcomer Davey Boy Smith to beat the team of Vader and Sid Vicious at Beach Blast, a match that was set up by an atrocious 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 would feud 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 title) at Slamboree after Rude was forced to vacate due to his suffering a career-ending injury against Sting in Japan. Soon afterwards, Flair turned heel and defeated Sting in a title unification match at Clash of the Champions XXVII. Sting would spend the second half of '94 and most of 1995 teaming with new arrival Hulk Hogan in his battles against the Three Faces of Fear and, later, 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 would close out 1995 by feuding with the Horsemen. His alliances with Hogan and "Macho Man" Randy Savage led the Horsemen to attack them as well.

The first part of 1996 had Sting teaming with Lex Luger (who had returned to WCW in September of '95) to win the WCW World Tag Team titles from Harlem Heat. When Luger became temporarily unavailable in March of '96, Harlem Heat member Booker T teamed up with Sting on one memorable occasion to successfully prevent the titles from changing hands. A rematch between Harlem Heat and the team of Luger & Sting then came the following night, in which a mutual respect was displayed between Sting and Booker T. Harlem Heat eventually won the titles 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 stood up against The Outsiders (Kevin Nash and Scott Hall) (with the storyline implying that they were still tied to their previous employer, the WWF), and in an eventful match at Bash at the Beach 1996, Sting and Savage fought to a draw with Nash and Hall until the arrival of their third ally, who turned out to be Hulk Hogan; these last three eventually formed the nWo. The nWo soon introduced an imposter Sting (eventually nicknamed 'Stink' by some fans of the real Sting; he was played by Jeff Farmer, and later by Chris Harris), which led the crowd to believe that Sting had turned his back on WCW. When the real Sting returned he was upset by the fact that many wrestlers believed that he had in fact betrayed WCW, and so he left WCW. However, at certain events, he appeared mysteriously in the rafters; his new silent persona, complete with corpse paint, was quite obviously inspired by The Crow. He also began using a baseball bat as his signature weapon.

In what was apparently an odd means of testing loyalty, Sting would at first appear before certain WCW wrestlers in the ring and shove them a few times with his bat until they were provoked enough to advance on him, at which point he would draw 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 after a moment's pause, Sting would nod, retrieve the bat, and leave the ring. In more memorable developments, he would, in later weeks, begin coming to the aid of many of these wrestlers (often at the end of a television taping) during group battles with the nWo.

At the end of Clash of the Champions XXXV on August 21, 1997, during Sting's new entrance music, the following message was spoken to the nWo embedded in the melancholy music:

When a man's heart is full of deceit it burns up, dies, and a dark shadow falls over his soul.

From the ashes of a once great man has risen a curse, a wrong that must be righted.

We look to the skies for a vindicator, someone to strike fear into the black heart of the same man who created him.

The battle between good and evil has begun.

''Against an army of shadows comes the Dark Warrior, the purveyor of good, with a voice of silence, and a mission of justice.

This is Sting.

He would shortly return to WCW, showing his true colors and helping to fend off the nWo with a title match against "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan at StarrCade 1997, winning controversially due to a decision by special guest referee Bret Hart. He later lost the title to nWo member Randy Savage at Spring Stampede in April 1998, due to interference from Kevin Nash, who jackknife powerbombed him and placed Savage on him for the pin.

Later in 1998, nWo split up owing to differences between Hogan and Nash. Nash formed the nWo Wolfpac, which Sting joined two months later. Sting would go on to win the tag titles as part of Nash's stable. When nWo recombined and went fully heel again after the Fingerpoke of Doom incident that started 1999, Sting left the stable and went out on his own once more. he returned in April for Spring Stampede but was unsuccessful in winning the world belt at spring stampede.

Sting unsuccessfully tried to turn heel in 1999 when he defeated Hogan to win the World Title, but this heel turn was poorly received by fans and he was soon turned face once again. He then went on to defeat Lex Luger. In 2000, Sting had an intense feud with the newcomer Vampiro, which sparked Vampiro's popularity. He was "injured" by Scott Steiner in 2000, leaving WCW TV for good. However, he would return for the last episode of WCW Monday Nitro, on March 26, 2001 and defeated his long time rival Ric Flair in what turned out to be the very last WCW match ever.

Sting was one of the few high profile wrestlers in WCW who did not work for the WWF at any point throughout the 1990s, or 2000s and remained with WCW in the late 1990s and early 2000s when dozens of other wrestlers "jumped ship" to the WWF.

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, Ireland, and saw Sting team with Lex Luger to defeated Buff Bagwell and Malice. On December 6, 2002 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 Australasia with the WWA in May 2003. On May 21, 2003 he successfully defended the WWA World Heavyweight Championship against Rick Steiner and Shane Douglas in Sydney, Australia, and on May 23, 2003 in Melbourne, Australia 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, 2003 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, 2004, 2005-present)

In 2003, Sting signed a contract committing him to four appearances with the Nashville, Tennessee-based Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) promotion. He debuted in TNA on the June 18, 2003 one year anniversary show, teaming with Jeff Jarrett to defeat A.J. Styles and the returning Syxx Pac. Throughout July 2003, Sting engaged in a comprehensive series of sitdown interviews, 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 after Jarrett hit him with a chair. On November 12, 2003, 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, Sting 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 31st he returned to the company one night only as the special guest enforcer for the main-event, a 4 Way match between Abyss, AJ Styles, Raven and Ron "The Truth" Killings, which was won by Raven.

At TNA Turning Point 2005 on December 11, 2005, Jeff Jarrett defeated Rhino to retain the NWA World Heavyweight Championship following copious interference and cheating. As Jarrett stood in the ring celebrating his victory, the lights in the arena went out. Images of a scorpion — Sting's symbol — then appeared on the arena screens, along with the date "January 15, 2006" (the scheduled date of TNA Final Resolution 2006). Spotlights then illuminated the ring, revealing that a chair bearing Sting's signature trench coat, boots and black baseball bat had been placed in the center of the ring.

On the December 18 episode of TNA iMPACT!, Sting's entrance music played and a scorpion symbol once again appeared on the arena screen while Jarrett was in the ring. His return to TNA was officially announced one minute after midnight on the January 1, 2006 episode of iMPACT!. TNA later confirmed that he had signed a one year contract.

At TNA Final Resolution 2006, 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 TNA 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". After briefly recounting his professional wrestling career, Sting noted that he had never had a chance to properly say goodbye to his fans. He then announced that Final Resolution 2006 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. The last wrestler to shake hands with Sting was Christian Cage, who urged Sting not to leave. Sting responded by telling Cage that he loved him "like a brother" and then left the arena.

In subsequent weeks, Eric Young began claiming that Sting had not actually left TNA, and set up a further storyline, in which Alex Shelley taped Sting with his family. This violated many levels of kayfabe, because Sting was with his family, at his home, normally dressed (Shelley actually went to California to get the footage). Young, however, watched the footage along with Planet Jarrett, and claimed it proved he was coming back. At the end of the February 15, 2006 episode of iMPACT!, Young said that Sting was going to come back. While Sting was playing golf with his family he caught Alex Shelley taping him. An outraged Sting walked up to Shelley's car and told him that he was going to show up at TNA Destination X 2006, and confront Jeff Jarrett as "Steve Borden". Sting 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 and beaten down by the debuting Scott Steiner shortly thereafter.

In the next episode of iMPACT! there was an exclusive interview with Sting, which he stated that Jeff Jarrett had his army, and Sting will get his army. He also stated that Sting's returning to TNA, not Steve Borden. On the April 1, 2006 episode of iMPACT!, Sting attacked Jarrett's army, now claiming that he had an army of his own. In his first televised 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 TNA Lockdown 2006, 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.

After teasing Jeff Jarrett and Scott Steiner as to who his mystery partner at the TNA Sacrifice PPV would be for weeks, Sting chose Samoa Joe after Jarrett refused to choose for him.

At Sacrifice, Sting and Samoa Joe defeated Jeff Jarrett and Scott Steiner. However, after the match Jarrett and Steiner gave Sting a beatdown which included a shot from Jarrett's guitar. Samoa Joe walked up the ramp and ignored the attack, not coming to the aid of Sting.

The next Thursday on Impact Sting was up in the rafters as other TNA stars made an appearance to declare their desire to enter the King of the Mountain match to challenge for Christian's World title. Sting told Jarrett that he had unfinished business with him, to Samoa Joe, he made an enemy. And he also told Christian to watch out because he is coming for him.

On the June 8th episode of TNA Impact Sting won a King Of The Mountain qualifing match against Scott Steiner for TNA Slammiversary. The King of the Mountain match was ruled unofficial. Sting and Christian were on a ladder and Earl Hebner pushed the ladder over allowing Jeff Jarrett to claim the belt. The belt was later stripped from him, however, was returned on the June 30 episode of iMPACT! to Jarrett. On July 16, 2006 Sting won a numbers 1 contenders mach at TNA Victory road 2006.

At Victory road 2006 Sting won a #1 contender 4 way match to go on and face Jeff Jarrett at TNA Hard Justice 2006. The other participants in the match were Christian Cage, Scott Stiner, and Samoa Joe.

Wrestling facts

  • Finishing and signature moves

Championships and accomplishments

  • PWI ranked him #1 in the 1992 PWI 500
  • PWI ranked him # 15 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI Years in 2003.
  • PWI ranked him # 52 of the best tag teams of the PWI Years with Lex Luger in 2003.
  • PWI Most Improved Wrestler (1988)
  • PWI Wrestler of the Year (1990)
  • PWI Most Inspirational Wrestler (1990)
  • PWI Most Popular Wrestler (1991)
  • PWI Most Popular Wrestler (1992)
  • PWI Most Popular Wrestler (1994)
  • PWI Most Popular Wrestler (1997)
  • PWI Match of the Year (1991) = Sting and Lex Luger versus Rick Steiner and Scott Steiner
  • 1988 Most Improved Wrestler
  • 1988 Most Charismatic Wrestler
  • 1988 Match of the Year (vs Ric Flair)
  • 5 Star Match: With Brian Pillman, Rick Steiner and Scott Steiner vs. Ric Flair, Larry Zbyszko, Barry Windham and Sid Vicious (February 24, 1991, WarGames Match, WarGames)
  • 1992 Best Babyface
  • 1992 Most Charismatic Wrestler
  • 5 Star Match: With Nikita Koloff, Ricky Steamboat, Barry Windham, & Dustin Rhodes vs. Rick Rude, Steve Austin, Arn Anderson, Bobby Eaton, & Larry Zbyszko (February 24, 1991, WarGames Match, WarGames)

Championship Succession

NWA World Heavyweight Championship Preceded by:
Ric Flair First Succeeded by:
Ric Flair NWA World Television Championship Preceded by:
Mike Rotunda First Succeeded by:
Vacated WCW World Heavyweight Championship Preceded by:
Lex Luger First Succeeded by:
Vader Preceded by:
Vader Second Succeeded by:
Vader Preceded by:
Hulk Hogan Third Succeeded by:
Vacated Preceded by:
Vacant Fourth Succeeded by:
Randy Savage Preceded by:
"Diamond" Dallas Page Fifth Succeeded by:
Diamond Dallas Page Preceded by:
Hulk Hogan Sixth Succeeded by:
Vacated WCW International World Heavyweight Championship Preceded by:
Rick Rude First Succeeded by:
Rick Rude Preceded by:
Vacant Second Succeeded by:
Ric Flair WCW United States Heavyweight Championship Preceded by:
Vacant First Succeeded by:
Rick Rude Preceded by:
Vacant Second Succeeded by:
Kensuke Sasaki WCW World Tag Team Championship Preceded by:
Harlem Heat First, with Lex Luger Succeeded by:
Harlem Heat Preceded by:
The Outsiders Second, with The Giant Succeeded by:
Vacated Preceded by:
Vacant Third, with Kevin Nash Succeeded by:
Scott Hall and The Giant

Outside of wrestling

Borden married Sue in the late 1980s, and the couple had two sons, Garrett and Steven, and a daughter, Gracie. In the late 1990s, the constant traveling that his wrestling career necessitated led Borden to begin drinking heavily and taking analgesics and muscle relaxants. This continued until August 1998, when Borden became a born-again Christian and simultaneously ended his substance abuse. Borden went on to become a church deacon, and would occasionally appear at religious wrestling shows hosted by fellow born-again Christians Ted DiBiase and Nikita Koloff.

Sting appeared in the 1998 film The Real Reason (Men Commit Crimes), the 2000 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 Upright Citizens Brigade, The Nightmare Room, The Nick Cannon Show and MADtv. In 2004, a biographical film entitled Moment of Truth about Sting's life was released direct-to-video. 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. Sting has also hosted the Trinity Broadcasting Network's flagship program Praise The Lord on two separate occasions.

Books

  • Bonham, Chad (2001) Wrestling With God, ISBN 1589199359
  • Sting and King, George (2004) Sting: Moment of Truth, ISBN 1404102116

References

External links

1959 births | American bodybuilders | American film actors | American professional wrestlers | American television actors | Born-again Christians | Living people | nWo | Omahans | The Four Horsemen

Sting (wrestler) | Steven James Borden | סטיב בורדן

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Sting (wrestler)".

Home Page • arts • business • computers • games • health • hospitals • home • kids & teens • news • physicians • recreation• reference • regional • science • shopping • society • sports • world