Who is Better: HBK vs. Sting

[klunderbunker]

In the spirit of the tournament, I ask this: who is better, Sting or Shawn?

Sting is the biggest homegrown star in WCW history. he never worked for Vince and is a legend anyway. He's been around over twenty years and is a big star even today. He was involved in one of the biggest angles in wrestling history and had many classics with Foley, Flair and Vader.

HBK is perhaps the best in ring worker ever. He had classic after classic and won tons of titles. However, to say he was a weak draw is putting it mildly. He's Mr. Wrestlemania and put on perhaps the best big matches ever.

So I ask simply, who is better between these two? Use whatever criteria you want, but I want to know who is best overall.

 

[hatehabsforever]

Easily Shawn Michaels and it's not even close. Simply because he's proven himself in the biggest organization of all, on the grandest stage of them all. All of Sting's accolades have come in secondary organizations such as WCW or TNA. Until you prove yourself in the big times, your accomplishments have to be viewed as less significant.

That's not to say that Sting was not good, because he was (past tense). But he has to have proven it at the highest level against the top pro wrestlers of his era, which he has not. Just like you cannot compare a CFL'er to an NFL player, or a AAA baseball player to a MLB star, or a AHL player to a NHL calibre star, you cannot compare Sting to HBK, you are not comparing apples to apples if you do so.

I question how Sting's legacy would have played out had he come to the WWF/WWE in his heyday and faced the top echelon of his profession, rather than staying in the minor leagues for us all to wonder "what if." Maybe he would have accomplished just as much, maybe even more.

But maybe not, and now we'll never know. So there's no comparison. The Heartbreak Kid in a landslide.

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

Easily Shawn Michaels and it's not even close. Simply because he's proven himself in the biggest organization of all, on the grandest stage of them all. All of Sting's accolades have come in secondary organizations such as WCW or TNA. Until you prove yourself in the big times, your accomplishments have to be viewed as less significant.

That's not to say that Sting was not good, because he was (past tense). But he has to have proven it at the highest level against the top pro wrestlers of his era, which he has not. Just like you cannot compare a CFL'er to an NFL player, or a AAA baseball player to a MLB star, or a AHL player to a NHL calibre star, you cannot compare Sting to HBK, you are not comparing apples to apples if you do so.

I question how Sting's legacy would have played out had he come to the WWF/WWE in his heyday and faced the top echelon of his profession, rather than staying in the minor leagues for us all to wonder "what if." Maybe he would have accomplished just as much, maybe even more.

But maybe not, and now we'll never know. So there's no comparison. The Heartbreak Kid in a landslide.

That's a total joke right there. Sting has faced and beaten Vader, Flair, Hogan, Luger, Cactus Jack, and countless other great wrestlers. Sting was the face of WCW for over a decade and at its peak something HBK could barely say. Shawn Michaels was good but Sting was just better.

 

[hatehabsforever]

That's a total joke right there. Sting has faced and beaten Vader, Flair, Hogan, Luger, Cactus Jack, and countless other great wrestlers. Sting was the face of WCW for over a decade and at its peak something HBK could barely say. Shawn Michaels was good but Sting was just better.

OK, Sting has beaten Vader which is something Michaels did not do (I don't think). But HBK has beaten Flair, and Hogan, and Foley, as well as countless others and he's done it in the big times. Beating Luger does little to impress me. Being the face of a second rate and ultimately defunct WCW organization doesn't really impress me either.

Shawn Michaels has faced a tougher roster over the tenure of his career than has Sting in my opinion. And he's done it in organizations that actually had an audience. HBK has held up to the pressures, the schedules, the travel, the stress, etc., that accompany the WWE for a long time; Sting has never proven himself to be mentally tough enough or good enough to have done so. I'm not saying he wasn't, I'm just saying he's never stepped up to the plate and proven it. Without having done so, you cannot put him in the same class as Shawn Michaels.

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

OK, Sting has beaten Vader which is something Michaels did not do (I don't think). But HBK has beaten Flair, and Hogan, and Foley, as well as countless others and he's done it in the big times. Beating Luger does little to impress me. Being the face of a second rate and ultimately defunct WCW organization doesn't really impress me either.

Shawn Michaels has faced a tougher roster over the tenure of his career than has Sting in my opinion. And he's done it in organizations that actually had an audience. HBK has held up to the pressures, the schedules, the travel, the stress, etc., that accompany the WWE for a long time; Sting has never proven himself to be mentally tough enough or good enough to have done so. I'm not saying he wasn't, I'm just saying he's never stepped up to the plate and proven it. Without having done so, you cannot put him in the same class as Shawn Michaels.

Shawn Michaels beating Flair fifteen to twenty years past his prime is not impressive and HBK has never beaten Hogan.

WCW going out of business doesn't hurt Sting one bit. When WCW was kicking WWE's ass who was one of the top faces of WCW? It was Sting. When the Attitude Era was going strong, HBK was out with a back injury for four years. During Sting's tenure, WCW wasn't a second rate organization or HBK wouldn't have been one of the worst drawing champions of all time.

 

[harrythem]

I'd pick HBK every time as even when he was a nobody he still had some serious ability in the ring where as Sting, when he started, had to be carried.
Also would pick HBK for his work ethic as well as Sting has spent a lot of time over the years phoning it in and, IMO, being downright rude to fans (case in point he refused to do a WCW tour of England shortly before they closed because of ring rust even though he'd only been off tv, by his own choice to complain about how he was being booked, yet quite happily came over here for a boat load of money to do a 5 minute crap-fest with Lex Luger for the WWA shows)
Promo skills as well have to go to HBK. Admittedly when he joined the MEM in TNA Sting finally seemed to grasp how to deliver an amazing promo but, for a main event guy, they've sure been average over the years.
And, overall, as a main event level talent HBK beats Sting. When they were given their first respective titles neither of them could draw that well but HBK sustained as a money drawing headliner much longer then Sting did (Sting kinda peaked and went downwards after Starrcade 97).

Sting was good, no doubts, but not on HBK's level.

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

I'd pick HBK every time as even when he was a nobody he still had some serious ability in the ring where as Sting, when he started, had to be carried.
Also would pick HBK for his work ethic as well as Sting has spent a lot of time over the years phoning it in and, IMO, being downright rude to fans (case in point he refused to do a WCW tour of England shortly before they closed because of ring rust even though he'd only been off tv, by his own choice to complain about how he was being booked, yet quite happily came over here for a boat load of money to do a 5 minute crap-fest with Lex Luger for the WWA shows)
Promo skills as well have to go to HBK. Admittedly when he joined the MEM in TNA Sting finally seemed to grasp how to deliver an amazing promo but, for a main event guy, they've sure been average over the years.
And, overall, as a main event level talent HBK beats Sting. When they were given their first respective titles neither of them could draw that well but HBK sustained as a money drawing headliner much longer then Sting did (Sting kinda peaked and went downwards after Starrcade 97).

Sting was good, no doubts, but not on HBK's level.

You conveniently forget to mention HBK's early years where he was a whiny brat and would rather forfeit a title rather than drop it to somebody. You forgot how HBK didn't want drop the title to Austin but the Undertaker was going to kick his ass so he did the job. HBK has never been a big draw and never been a great promo guy.

 

[harrythem]

no i didn't forget when he was a shit backstage, I was talking about WORK ETHIC and I took into account that, even when he was a shit, he still put on quality matches and that was a major difference between the two, even if we didn't like the result we could very rarely moan about the quality of a HBK performance yet Sting put little to no effort in from early 1998 onwards (and was quite often phoning it in for years before that. Like when he won the WCW International Title and showed the fans how important that title was by basically celebrating like he'd farted after winning it).

Mania 14 (HBK Vs Austin) had a 2.3 buy rate where as the biggest Sting ever drew as a main eventer was a 1.9 for a storyline that was, at the time, 6 months in the making and for a company that was drawing much higher ratings then Raw at the time. Looking at some of the other events HBK has main evented:
Wrestlemania 20 (Benoit Vs HHH Vs HBK). Summerslam (Hogan Vs HBK) Mania 23 (HBK Vs Cena) Mania 25 (HBK vs Taker) Mania 26 (HBK Vs Taker)
I think it's safe to say they've all drawn around the million buys, which disproves the HBK not being a big draw. Again, when he was first on top in 1996 he wasn't a draw, no arguement, but he has proven to be a draw over a longer and more successful period then Sting ever was.

 

[hatehabsforever]

Shawn Michaels beating Flair fifteen to twenty years past his prime is not impressive and HBK has never beaten Hogan.

WCW going out of business doesn't hurt Sting one bit. When WCW was kicking WWE's ass who was one of the top faces of WCW? It was Sting. When the Attitude Era was going strong, HBK was out with a back injury for four years. During Sting's tenure, WCW wasn't a second rate organization or HBK wouldn't have been one of the worst drawing champions of all time.

But it's not a question of beating Flair, or Hogan, or even Vader. HBK has consistently faced whoever was at the peak of his profession whenever they were in the same organization as him. It's not HBK's fault that Flair wasn't in the WWF when he was there (for the most part). Of course HBK never beat Hogan, Hogan never put anyone younger than himself over. Hogan's ego would never allow a young Michaels to beat him. If you have any doubts about Hogan's ego, check out TNA 2010.

And when you talk about WCW kicking WWE's ass, you must be talking about the brief 82 week time when WCW was exceeding WWE because of the nWo, not because of Sting. This is like talking about the Boston Marathon and getting excited because some sprinter starts out fast, gets in over his head, and gets surpassed by a more dominant marathoner. WCW's ass kicking was a brief snippet of time, and it had little to do with Sting. It had to do with the parade of former WWE guys coming over and bringing the WWE audience with them. And this was unimpressive because they couldn't sustain it.

Of course Michaels was whiny in his early days. It's called youth: we all make mistakes because we're young and think we have all the answers. He grew up, something such guys as Hogan or Angle haven't done, but that's getting off topic. I think it's borderline silly to suggest HBK was never a draw, that's a IWC generated fallacy. And it's downright ludicrous to suggest Michaels couldn't cut a promo. Look at his final months and his promos with Taker. Look at his speech on his final Raw. Beats the hell out of anything Sting ever did on t he mic. Let's face it, Sting is not really known for his mic skills, he's known more for standing quietly in the rafters, or appearing and disappearing in darkness.

Finally, you cannot punish Michaels because he was out with an injury during the Attitude Era. Rather you should praise him for battling back and reasserting himself into the wrestling world, something which Sting was either unable or unwilling to do in the WWE.

 

[Raiden]

That's a total joke right there. Sting has faced and beaten Vader, Flair, Hogan, Luger, Cactus Jack, and countless other great wrestlers.

That's kayfabe. If Hornswoggle beats tomorrow Hulk Hogan, your logical conclusion would be that Hornswoggle is better than everybody who didn't get a win over Hogan ? Please.....

Shawn Michaels is the best overall wrestler of all time in my book. Sting isn't even close. He surely is a big name, but he will never reach HBK's great performances in the ring or at the microphone.

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

That's kayfabe. If Hornswoggle beats tomorrow Hulk Hogan, your logical conclusion would be that Hornswoggle is better than everybody who didn't get a win over Hogan ? Please.....

Shawn Michaels is the best overall wrestler of all time in my book. Sting isn't even close. He surely is a big name, but he will never reach HBK's great performances in the ring or at the microphone.

HBK sucks on the microphone especially the latter part of his career. Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock were great mic workers because they got the crowd fired up and were emotionally invested in their promos. HBK just puts people to sleep. Sting has had plenty and plenty of great performances but I guess that's discredited because he never worked in the WWE. I suppose all the great Japanese wrestlers can't be considered the best since they worked mainly in Japan. There is great wrestling outside the WWE in case you didn't know.

 

[hatehabsforever]

HBK sucks on the microphone especially the latter part of his career. Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock were great mic workers because they got the crowd fired up and were emotionally invested in their promos. HBK just puts people to sleep. Sting has had plenty and plenty of great performances but I guess that's discredited because he never worked in the WWE. I suppose all the great Japanese wrestlers can't be considered the best since they worked mainly in Japan. There is great wrestling outside the WWE in case you didn't know.

That's ridiculous to suggest that HBK sucked on the mic, especially the latter part of his career. Quite the opposite, his promos were excellent. Intense when necessary, comical when appropriate (sometimes too much so in terms of DX), but always high quality.

And yes, with all due respect, I would largely discredit Sting's performances if they were outside of the WWE. I don't doubt that there's great wrestling outside of the WWE (although I don't tend to watch any of it personally). But dispute it all you like, the WWE is the upper echelon of the world of professional wrestling and if you haven't proven yourself there, you really haven't proven yourself at all. You can be a great athlete in the CFL or in Arena Football, but to be considered one of the greats, you have to have shown excellence and had success in the NFL. Regardless of what's happening in Japan, or Mexico, or the indies, or TNA, to be truly one of the best, you had to put up or shut up in the WWF/WWE. Sting either could not or would not and that will forever limit his legacy in pro wrestling.

In stark contrast, HBK did it consistently against the who's who of pro wrestling over 20 years. In singles or tag team. Face or heel. Young brash and cocky as well as experienced and mature. I'm not even that much of a HBK mark myself, but you have to give credit where credit is due. HBK over Sting by a mile.

 

[Reddannihilation]

.
I question how Sting's legacy would have played out had he come to the WWF/WWE in his heyday and faced the top echelon of his profession, rather than staying in the minor leagues for us all to wonder "what if." Maybe he would have accomplished just as much, maybe even more.

But maybe not, and now we'll never know. So there's no comparison. The Heartbreak Kid in a landslide.

You've posted about 800 ******ed things in this thread, but this is the funniest, so it just has to be addressed: Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, DDP, Randy Savage, Kevin Nash, Goldberg, Scott Hall, Lex Luger, Curt Hennig, Bret Hart and Scott Steiner were minor league stars were they? If those guys are the minor leagues then the only people in the major league must be Austin and...Austin.

Sting's legacy trounces HBK. In the nWo's dominating begining Sting was one of the few faces people still cheered. Sting's rivalry with the 4 horsemen was only topped by the one between Flair and Dusty Rhodes. Sting carried WCW for years before Hogan and Co. showed up and even when they were there he was still one of the most identifiable wrestlers in the world. When sting gained his Crow gimmick he not only revitalised his own career but finally gave people a believable enemy for the nWo.

Sting, unlike Michaels, didn't have a reputation backstage as a prick. Sting didn't have a gang of friends to help bully his way into the main event. When Hogan came to WCW and essentially usurped Sting's spot backstage did Sting go around complaining about it to everyone who would listen? No. When HBK had to job to Hulk he decided to act in the most unprofessional manner possible (see: summerslam hogan vs michaels).

Sting and HBK are both legends but Sting did more for wrestling than Michaels did. Sting had a much better attitude toward his colleagues and he was far more willing to do the job for younger stars and he was a better man inside and outside the ring. Sting beats Michaels hands down.

 

[TakeAChance]

Despite Michaels reputation, HBK has to get the nod here. Sting was good, but in my mind HBK sticks out while Sting merely has a few moments. HBK was always the better "performer" and if the two were both on tv at the same time I would be watching the HBK segment.

 

[Raiden]

HBK sucks on the microphone especially the latter part of his career. Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock were great mic workers because they got the crowd fired up and were emotionally invested in their promos. HBK just puts people to sleep. Sting has had plenty and plenty of great performances but I guess that's discredited because he never worked in the WWE. I suppose all the great Japanese wrestlers can't be considered the best since they worked mainly in Japan. There is great wrestling outside the WWE in case you didn't know.

He's not at the same level as Stone Cold or The Rock, but to say that he sucked on the mike it's pretty shame.

And Stins isn't discredited, he is considered an icon by all the old school fans, but compared to Shawn Michaels he achieved his peak only during 90's, Shawn Michaels had two great decades in 90's and 2000's.

I suppose all the great Japanese wrestlers can't be considered the best since they worked mainly in Japan. There is great wrestling outside the WWE in case you didn't know.

Same shitty conclusion ? Nobody said that.

You're saying that Sting is better than Shawn Michaels because he defeated all those great wrestlers and that it's not a valid argument. Like i said, if Hornswoggle beats Hulk Hogan, Goldberg, Bret Hart and Steve Austin that doesn't make him better than the superstars who didn't beat all this guys.

Sting, unlike Michaels, didn't have a reputation backstage as a prick. Sting didn't have a gang of friends to help bully his way into the main event. When Hogan came to WCW and essentially usurped Sting's spot backstage did Sting go around complaining about it to everyone who would listen? No. When HBK had to job to Hulk he decided to act in the most unprofessional manner possible (see: summerslam hogan vs michaels).

Sting and HBK are both legends but Sting did more for wrestling than Michaels did. Sting had a much better attitude toward his colleagues and he was far more willing to do the job for younger stars and he was a better man inside and outside the ring. Sting beats Michaels hands down.

His bad attitude has nothing to do with his performance. If you are the best at what you do, why do you need to bring the attitude as negative point towards to his performance ? Do you watch wrestling for great matches that Shawn has put over his career or do you watch wrestling for his political backstage attitude ?

Hulk Hogan is a prick, but that doesn't mean that he is not the one who revolutionized the term of sports entertainment in professional wrestling.

 

[Reddannihilation]

if the two were both on tv at the same time I would be watching the HBK segment.

Funny story, back when they were on at the same time, more people were watching Sting's show.

If you are the best at what you do, why do you need to bring the attitude as negative point towards to his performance ? Do you watch wrestling for great matches that Shawn has put over his career or do you watch wrestling for his political backstage attitude ?

Well this one time, I was watching what should've been a great match and then oh right Michaels decided to be a cunt and over-sell every move his opponent was doing. Can't think why he'd be doing that, oh right because he wanted to be the 5th person to go up against Hogan and not lose. Here's a fun fact Shawn Michaels was never the face of the WWF/E he was a transitional wrestler from Bret Hart to Steve Austin. Sting was the franchise of WCW. And I'll take any of the matches between Flair and Sting during the late 80's early 90's over any match Michaels was involved in (and that includes the massivley overrated WM matches we got the past 2 years). HBK was good, Sting was better.

 

[Hulkamaniac]

It's a virtual dead heat, in my opinion. Michaels has a bigger legacy in the ring, but in wrestling overall, Sting's legacy is tremendous and unique. Nobody else is nearly as big a star as Sting without having the WWF/E marketing machine behind them. It's really impressive. He has always shown a strong ability to get over no matter his character. Further, he's among the most well-respected people by his peers as a person for his entire career, whereas Shawn Michaels was a ******** for most his Main Event run.

Hogan's ego would never allow a young Michaels to beat him.

Except for Kurt Angle, Brock Lesnar, and the Rock, just off the top of my head. Not to mention Ultimate Warrior and Undertaker (in Undertaker's first match!)

And when you talk about WCW kicking WWE's ass, you must be talking about the brief 82 week time when WCW was exceeding WWE because of the nWo, not because of Sting.

Yeah, one of those "brief" periods of nearly two years. What an insignificant amount of time where the WWE was nearly put out of business, by Vince's own admission. And that nobody else has ever done. So insignificant.

I think it's borderline silly to suggest HBK was never a draw, that's a IWC generated fallacy.

Actually, it's just a historical fact. There's a reason that Shawn Michales only has 4 top-level title runs, despite having a high profile run in an era where the title changes hands very frequently. His last title reign was in 2002, the same year that a 49 year old Hulk Hogan had the title put on him.

Let's face it, Sting is not really known for his mic skills, he's known more for standing quietly in the rafters, or appearing and disappearing in darkness.

Yeah, because Shawn Michaels legacy is on the microphone.

Finally, you cannot punish Michaels because he was out with an injury during the Attitude Era. Rather you should praise him for battling back and reasserting himself into the wrestling world, something which Sting was either unable or unwilling to do in the WWE.

Punish him? It's a simple fact that WWE business was bad, and then, during it's biggest boom period other then the 80's, Michaels wasn't a part of it. Sorry if facts bother you.

 

[Raiden]

Funny story, back when they were on at the same time, more people were watching Sting's show.



Well this one time, I was watching what should've been a great match and then oh right Michaels decided to be a cunt and over-sell every move his opponent was doing. Can't think why he'd be doing that, oh right because he wanted to be the 5th person to go up against Hogan and not lose. Here's a fun fact Shawn Michaels was never the face of the WWF/E he was a transitional wrestler from Bret Hart to Steve Austin. Sting was the franchise of WCW

It wasn't only Sting's show, it was nWo's show. . Also the midcard that provided great wrestling was solid and had a major role in beating WWF during mid 90's. So it wasn't all about Sting.

Watch the last DVD of Shawn Michaels. He explains the deal with Hulk Hogan, maybe you will understand.

In 1996 Shawn Michaels was the face of WWF, period. Transitional wrestler is the one who carries the spot for an injured or gone wrestler for a short period of time. They might win a championship belt, but they will drop it as soon as the biggest wrestler of the company will return to action. Some examples: Kurt Angle (2000), Chris Jericho (2001-2002), King Booker (2006), CM Punk (2008 and 2009). You can't compare their run with HBK's run in 1996.

Edit: This thread needs a poll

 

[Reddannihilation]

It wasn't only Sting's show, it was nWo's show. . Also the midcard that provided great wrestling was solid and had a major role in beating WWF during mid 90's. So it wasn't all about Sting.

Yes, who was the only face wrestler to constantly be cheered against the nWo? In the words of Tony Schiavone "It's Sting, it's STING!!"

Watch the last DVD of Shawn Michaels. He explains the deal with Hulk Hogan, maybe you will understand.

yeah Hogan didn't want to appear twice and didn't want to job to Michaels. Therefore act like a twat. Match was still terrible due to Michaels point and is the perfect example of his terrible attitude having an effect on a matches quality.

In 1996 Shawn Michaels was the face of WWF, period. Transitional wrestler is the one who carries the spot for an injured or gone wrestler for a short period of time. They might win a championship belt, but they will drop it as soon as the biggest wrestler of the company will return to action. Some examples: Kurt Angle (2000), Chris Jericho (2001-2002), King Booker (2006), CM Punk (2008 and 2009). You can't compare their run with HBK's run in 1996.

No, in 1996 Bret Hart was finishing up as the face of the WWF, he passed it on to a paper champion and during that same year Steve Austin started building towards becoming the true replacement to Bret Hart. What you just named are transitional champions, Michaels was a transitional wrestler. Someone you make your top face while you try to find someone actually worth building your company around. The same thing happened with Brock Lesnar, they built him up to be the face of the company but he ended up dropping off and being replaced by Cena. Michaels was never a top draw and he was never the true face of the WWF. He was a place holder.

 

[Ferbian]

I think while Sting has put on some amazing matches, he's a definite Icon of the business, and has achieved a lot of things as opposed to Shawn Michaels, while I think Shawn is the superior talent in the ring, and that is not even arguable.

Sting has the upper hand on the titles, something Shawn didn't need to come off as a legitimate legend, Shawn proved it every night throughout 26 years, it's 1 year longer than Sting has been grappling around in the ring, they're both icons, I can say that much, and both incredibly over with the crowd, in the end I do think although Shawn might be the superior talent, and should definitely go over in this one.. wait a minute, this isn't a WZT match-up.. oh well, now my argument for Shawn > Sting is prepared should it ever happen.

 

[Jsaturn14]

Alright, I am not going to lie and say that I don't have a biased opinion on this matter. All you gotta do is look at my sig and avi and you will see who I will be placing my vote for in this match-up. I am not going to vote based on bias though, but based on fact.

Fact One: The HBK of the last 8 years trumps anything Sting has ever done in his entire career. Think about the all-time great memorable matches that HBK has given us in the last 8 years alone. This is just a small sample right here:

Unsanctioned Match with HHH (Summerslam 2002)
First Elimination Chamber (Survivor Series 2002)
Three Stages of Hell with HHH (Armageddon 2002)
vs Chris Jericho (WrestleMania 19)
Last Man Standing Match vs HHH (Royal Rumble 2003)
Triple Threat vs HHH and Beniot (Wrestlemania 20)
Hell in a Cell Match vs HHH (Badd Blood 2003)
Team Austin vs Team Bischoff (Survivor Series 2003)
vs Kurt Angle (Wrestlemania 21)
vs Shelton Benjamin (Raw) (Who will ever forget that Super Kick at the end!?)
vs McMahon (Wrestlemania 22)
The God Match (Backlash 2006)
Hell In A Cell vs The McMahons & Big Show
The Royal Rumble Match 2007 (I will always believe that the ending to that match with HBK and Taker going at it for I believe to be 10 minutes will always be one of the three best endings to a Rumble ever)
vs John Cena (WrestleMania 23 & The Hour Long Match in London)
vs Ric Flair (WrestleMania 24)
His entire Feud with Chris Jericho in 2008
vs Undertaker (Wrestlemania 25)
Submission Match vs The Legacy (Breaking Point 2009)
vs Undertaker (Wrestlemania 26)

To the person who said that HBK doesn't push the younger talent? Are you serious? Yes, during his younger days HBK was a dick and he was pretty damn selfish, but over the last eight years HBK has had only one title reign, and that was only for a month. No, instead over the last eight years HBK has been helping build up the likes of Batista, Randy Orton, Carlito, Chris Masters, Shelton Benjamin, and Legacy. Yeah, HBK pushes the younger talent.

Fact Two: The people that HBK and Sting have faced over their respective careers are too similar in greatness to be used for this argument in any way. Sting faced guys such as Hogan, Flair, Savage, Nash, Hall, Race, Rhodes, etc... But HBK faced guys like Angle, both Harts, Piper, Bulldog, HHH, Hogan, Flair, Hall, Nash, Jericho, Taker, etc.... Both guys had a good array of people that they faced during their respective primes.

Fact Three: This is where I make my vote. I am voting based on the fact that HBK is the greatest in-ring performer the wrestling world has ever seen. HBK is great on the mic when he needs to be, but he is phenomenal in the ring every single time he steps into the ring. You want proof as to who was better in the ring? Let's look at 1995, a single year yes, but a year in which both HBK and Sting were entering/in their primes. A year in which HBK was the first person to start a Royal Rumble and win it. A year in which HBK was stealing the show at Mania and having the best match on the card, and a year in which HBK and Razor had their epic Ladder Match rematch. I think we can safely say that HBK was having typical 4-5 star matches during 1995. So what was Sting doing during this time? Well, let's go to our resident review expert on this one: klunderbunker. Let's see here:

Bash at the Beach 1995: Sting vs Meng Grade: D
Fall Brawl 1995: Hulkamaniacs vs Dungeon of Doom Grade: D
Great American Bash 1995: Sting vs Meng Grade: D+
Slamboree 1995: Sting vs Big Bubba Rogers Grade: D
Halloween Havoc 1995: Arn Anderson/Brian Pillman vs Sting/Ric Flair Grade: B

That is just a small sample of his work on PPV that year, but as you can see, besides one B, it wasn't that good. Now people can complain and say "BUT LOOK AT HIS OPPONENTS! HE HAD SHIT TO WORK WITH!" Very True, but you know what the mark of a great, great, wrestler is? When they can take shit and turn it into gold. HBK was able to draw great matches out of Kevin Nash, and Psycho Sid. What could Sting do? Nothing. He was complacent with his shit, and just rode with it. HBK would have never settled for that. HBK never settles for shit, and that is what makes him a legend.

HBK>Sting. That is all she wrote.

 

[Reddannihilation]

Fact One: The HBK of the last 8 years trumps anything Sting has ever done in his entire career. Think about the all-time great memorable matches that HBK has given us in the last 8 years alone. This is just a small sample right here:

Ok so, this is not a fact it's your opinion. You have no factual basis that these matches are better than anything Sting did. It's opinion not fact.

Fact Three: This is where I make my vote. I am voting based on the fact that HBK is the greatest in-ring performer the wrestling world has ever seen. HBK is great on the mic when he needs to be, but he is phenomenal in the ring every single time he steps into the ring. You want proof as to who was better in the ring? Let's look at 1995, a single year yes, but a year in which both HBK and Sting were entering/in their primes. A year in which HBK was the first person to start a Royal Rumble and win it. A year in which HBK was stealing the show at Mania and having the best match on the card, and a year in which HBK and Razor had their epic Ladder Match rematch. I think we can safely say that HBK was having typical 4-5 star matches during 1995. So what was Sting doing during this time?

Again not a fact, HBK is not the most skilled in-ring performer. He had a limited moveset, was an inferior technician when compared to wrestlers like Benoit, Guererro, Malenko, Hart, Angle, etc.

Well, let's go to our resident review expert on this one: klunderbunker. Let's see here:

Bash at the Beach 1995: Sting vs Meng Grade: D
Fall Brawl 1995: Hulkamaniacs vs Dungeon of Doom Grade: D
Great American Bash 1995: Sting vs Meng Grade: D+
Slamboree 1995: Sting vs Big Bubba Rogers Grade: D
Halloween Havoc 1995: Arn Anderson/Brian Pillman vs Sting/Ric Flair Grade: B

That is just a small sample of his work on PPV that year, but as you can see, besides one B, it wasn't that good. Now people can complain and say "BUT LOOK AT HIS OPPONENTS! HE HAD SHIT TO WORK WITH!" Very True, but you know what the mark of a great, great, wrestler is? When they can take shit and turn it into gold. HBK was able to draw great matches out of Kevin Nash, and Psycho Sid. What could Sting do? Nothing. He was complacent with his shit, and just rode with it. HBK would have never settled for that. HBK never settles for shit, and that is what makes him a legend.

Now this is the best part of your hilarious fanboyism. 1.) you use the "opinion" of another person to somehow give basis to your argument. More to the point you pick Michaels best year and compare it to one of Sting's worst. Let's have a slightly more fair comparison perhaps;

Shawn Michaels wins the Royal Rumble, the Rumble very rarely has any showing of technical ability, it's an over the top rope battle royale. Him winning does nothing to prove his in ring ability. HBK had a ladder match against Scott Hall, Scott Hall during the mid 90's was an excellent wrestler and one of the few wrestlers who never got a world title run who probably deserved it, yet according to you Scott Hall was clearly a terrible wrestler who needed HBK to carry him, just like Sting should have carried Meng

Then you go on to talk about Kevin Nash, once again Kevin Nash is so obviously a terrible wrestler in need of being carried by Michaels. I suppose you're going to tell me that Bret Hart was a terrible wrestler and the iron man match was all HBK's doing.

Anyway, beyond your mass amounts of one-sided opinion. You clearly have fuck all knowledge of Sting's accomplishments. There's no point even trying to explain it to you as you're so far up HBK's ass that you aren't going to listen to reason, but for the record try to present actual facts instead of biased opinions.

 

[MrHashasheen]

When HBK had to job to Hulk he decided to act in the most unprofessional manner possible (see: summerslam hogan vs michaels).

To be fair, that was because Hogan decided not to return the favor and since HBK had to do the match, he did it in a way to purposelly emberass Hogan for the refusal.

IMO, Sting was the far bigger star. Unlike HBK, he wasn't derailed in anyway for 4 years that nearly killed his career, and he was one of the few fighters against the hottest angle in professional wrestling. 80's and the 90's were Sting's. 2000s were HBK's by comparison, but he wasn't the face of WWE.

 

[Canadian Knight]

I would say Sting is the wrestler. Not because I do not like HBK one bit, but remember that everything he did he did by himself. Yes, WCW and TNA may have a hand in it but he never worked with Vince who takes his highest wrestlers and manages to make they extra famous.

Sting has been there for every match and can you say he has a bad match? Not that I can remember. HBK has (such as when he took on Cena several years ago). Sting's character has evolved to where at times he seemed to be like Undertaker for another wrestling organization, HBK has not.

HBK has had very good matches but does anyone remember how he got to some of these matches? On the way to face Undertaker the last time he acted like he lost someone very special when he lost the Rumble, thus losing his chance to face Undertaker. He has betrayed most of his allies in these storylines yet everyone trusts him. Yet I think at least Sting's storylines have usually made sense.

 

[Hulkamaniac]

To be fair, that was because Hogan decided not to return the favor and since HBK had to do the match, he did it in a way to purposelly emberass Hogan for the refusal.

Well, that's Shawn's story. Either way, even if it's true, it is HILARIOUS for Shawn Michaels, he of the most forfeited/vacated titles in WWE history, to get pissed about it. And he's lucky that Hogan WAS professional and didn't beat the shit out of him, because while Hogan is certainly no shooter, Michaels is among the biggest real life *****es in the business, and Hogan is a big fucking man.