Was Sting Really That Great?

[UltimateHitman]

Ok, to hit a few points people seem to be addressing. First off, nobody was saying Warrior was better than Sting, just that their popularity was around the same level at the time Warrior was on top. Different people, different styles, but popularity level about the same. Sounds about right at that time. Next is the whole Sting/Michaels thing. Puleeeze. Sting was somebody who was loyal and did what was good for the company, and/or to help other stars and didn't get involved in the backstage politics b.s. Either people are forgetful, or too young, to remember HBK's backstage politicking, whining, tantrums, not putting many people other than his buddies over, and when not liking something he either "lost his smile" or simply took his ball and went home to pout. Sting may have had personal demons too, but I don't remember ever hearing about them as openly as Shawn's, and don't think his interfered much with his professionalism at his job. Only thing that kept Shawn around was that people liked his on-screen character, and that kinda had Vinnie Mac by the short hairs. Eventually he had just been around long enough to have chipped that little niche out for himself. I do, actually, see a resemblance to Cena as somebody else mentioned too. Sting was the ultimate "good guy", the one w/the moral code that doesn't falter, the guy to "fight for what's good and right', uphold positive values, etc. etc. etc. and also had that "ultimate underdog" feel that Cena still has even though you knew he was the top face, the go-to guy, that he'll eventually overcome the odds, etc. etc. Doesn't make it any less interesting to watch. But to the topic at hand, I would have to say that Sting was/is deserving of his legacy. I was never a big Sting fan back in the day, I'll be honest. But I can look back and see how popular he was. Matter of fact, I just watched the first disc of The Essential Starrcade and saw a match w/the Great Muta that was pretty damn awesome. Sure, Muta's light years beyond many, but Sting was pretty damn good in his own right and if you can help make a match w/Muta look good w/out him having to carry you, that speaks highly of your in-ring ability. I also think the fact that he never went to WWE is a part of his overall legacy too as stated before me. Here you have a guy that has this legendary, iconic status and he has never set foot in a WWE ring. Not many people can claim that honor. One other thing about the Sting/Cena comparison which also shows Sting's appeal is that they do what's good for the company, don't let their egos keep others down, or get into all that political garbage behind the scenes. When you refer to Hogan, and even pre-born again Michaels, you think ego driven popularity. Sure they're popular and/or have lasted, but how much of that was just due to their own greedy manipulation? Not like Sting (and Cena) who got there simply by working hard and by popularity/connection w/the fans. That makes Sting (and Cena) not only professional wrestling icon/legends, but human being icon/legends as well and people obviously do appreciate that in a superstar along with the entertainment factor. At any rate, he had good feuds, good matches, good gimmick, good personality, and even though he wasn't the biggest dude he made his matches believable. And again, he wasn't a spotlight hog or around simply out of greed for greed's sake and was a good person/employee who didn't pull the spoiled brat backstage antics, so that might actually keep him from sticking out as much in people's minds and could be a factor in his being seen in a more reserved light. But make no mistake, just because he didn't mind taking a back seat for the good of the business as a whole, doesn't mean he was a back seat star by any means.

 

[Shakur..]

Sting has had his ups and downs in wrestling. I'd say around '92 - '93, Sting was one of, if not the, hottest stars in the world. I remember watching him up against Cactus Jack in a Falls Count Anywhere match. The match wasn't that long, but Sting made it look really good. The ending was awesome.

As I say, around that time he was really good, and could only get better! In-ring wise, he did! He got really good! He just got booked wrongly.

The thing I like Sting for was never betraying WCW so to speak. He never just left and jumped ship to WWF like many other wrestlers would. He stuck with it until the end. ALTHOUGH, WCW had spells in which booking wise they were TERRIBLE. Seriously. I think it was about '95 / '96 time when he was getting booked in matches over the US Title (which isn't a bad thing), but was up against the likes of Meng!

I mean in WWF, when he won king of the ring, Meng (Haku) was pretty good if I'm honest. But, Sting should've never been booked in those sort of matches.

In summary, in my eyes, it's plain disrespectful to say Sting wasn't as great as people make out, because he really was. His only real problem was getting booked wrongly and never entering the WWF/E. When he moved to TNA in the company's early days, he can't of looked that strong. I remember praying and hoping that Sting would one day turn up in WWE. Truth is, he just would not fit in!

Considering he's not been in the top company in the world, Sting is without a shadow of a doubt one of the best to ever stand inside the ring, hands down!

 

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

I don't know where exactly most wrestling fans rate Sting but here's where I would rate him.

On the top of the tree are Hogan and Austin for obvious reasons. Then I would put in guys like Flair, Rock and Cena. Flair and Rock were the second biggest draws of their generation and Cena is the biggest draw of a generation which is not comparable in popularity to the generation of Hogan or Austin. After that I'd probably put in HHH and Randy Savage as they were the main antagonists to Rock and Austin in Triple H's case and Hulk Hogan in Savage's case.

After that I would certainly put in both Undertaker and Sting due to their longlevity and their connection with the fans. Both are good draws but not great one and surely neither of them could ever claim to be the face of the company. In WWE's case Taker was never really forced to take up the challenge of being the face of the company while in Sting's case he became one due to there being no viable option when Flair left. I think there was a great chance to elevate him as the face of WCW after Starrcade 1997 but that just did not happen due to poor booking more than anything else. He was certainly good on the mic and could get the job done in the ring as well back in his prime. Even today I would say he is OK and could certainly hang in there with a better opponent. While neither of the two could be the face of the company, I would say that both Taker and Sting could certainly hold their own in a feud with the faces of the company.

So in the end I would say that Sting surely has a HOF worthy career. If you rate him in the same league as Hogan and Austin I would say that you are overrating him, but if you rate him where I do I would say he i not overrated at all.

 

[It's...Baylariat!]

Sting was lightning in a bottle. He had the look, charisma, the athleticism, and the ability to hang with guys like Flair, Anderson, Funk, Great Muta and others in his era. Sting is in the elite as far as wrestlers in my generation is concerned.

Not to mention instead of sticking with a totally 90's gimmick as the beach bum from Venice Beach, CA... he decided to change his character completely and to this day, it may be the most dramatic character change for any major wrestler in history. And it made him have sticking power. Sticking power many wrestlers never had.

To me Sting was great. And is one of my all time favorite wrestlers. Someone as diverse as he is should be a HOF'er.

 

[hatehabsforever]

I find it a little amusing that the question is was Sting great, as opposed to is Sting great. Granted he is supposedly gone from TNA, but I think we can all state with certainty that he will be back to oppose the Immortals in the not too distant future. Unless, of course, he is planning on jumping ship to the WWE to face the Undertaker at WM27 and join the WWE Hall of Fame I'm not so sure he should be discussed in the past tense quite yet.

Sting is good, there's no doubt about it, but I have never considered him to be truly great. Call me a WWE mark if you must, but I don't think you can truly define a guy as great, especially in the modern era, if they have not shown it in WWE, on the grandest stage of them all. I know people will list off the plethora of wrestlers he's faced in the past, as Lariat did, but those days were a long time ago. It's been quite a while since Sting showed me anything to earn him the description of great. People will disagree with me, and that's fine, but I really believe that for the most part, he's been a big fish in a little pond. Had he come to WWE when WCW folded and put his talents on display against the biggest names of that era (Undertaker, HBK, HHH, hell even Cena, etc.,) I think he would have been able to establish himself as a true great. But he didn't do so and because of this, in my mind, will always be seen as very good, but not great. And certainly not worthy of the WWE Hall of Fame, where he's never competed, not one single match, not one single day.