STING

Intro:
Steve Borden was born on March 20, 1959 in Omaha, NE. In 1985, he started his career as part of a group of four bodybuilders known as Powerteam USA and they were trained by Rick Bassman. One of the men was the Ultimate Warrior. They went to Memphis together as the Bladerunners. Sting's name was Flash in Tennessee and he became Sting when they moved to the UWF. Sting became one of the top stars in the UWF before it was sold in 1987.

A New Superstar:
Sting became a star at the first Clash of Champions when he fought Ric Flair to a 45 minute draw. He was a top face in the company and won the Crockett Cup with Lex Luger. In 1989, he became Ric Flair's partner in their feud against the Great Muta and Terry Funk. In early 1990, Sting became a member of the Four Horsemen but he was quickly kicked out for signing for a match against Flair for the title.

Ruptured Patella and The Black Scorpion:
On the night he was kicked out of the Horsemen, Sting injured his knee while trying to enter a steel cage to get to Ric Flair. After being out of action for almost half a year, he beat Ric Flair in his return to become the new champ. His first title reign was marred by some of the worst booking ever as he feuded with the Black Scorpion. He lost the title back to Flair in January 2001.

How did WCW Stay in Business so Long?:
Sting regained the title from his former friend Lex Luger. He then feuded with the Dangerous Alliance and Big Van Vader. Around this time, Sting starred in three very expensive vignettes featuring Cheetum the 1- eyed-midget who taunted Sting about his opponents Jake Roberts & Vader and later blew up his boat. In addition, it seemed that everyone who teamed with Sting would eventually turn on him.

The NWO:
When WCW was invaded by the NWO, Sting was the best chance to save WCW. The NWO created a fake Sting that fooled his partners and the fans. Sting was upset that everyone thought he turned bad and he underwent a strange transformation. Gone was the short-haired surfer-dude in bright spandex. Sting returned as mysterious figure. He looked like the Crow and spent most of the year in the rafters with a bat and his bird.

Starrcade 97:
Sting faced Hogan at Starrcade 97 in the most anticipated match in the company's history. The ending is still a baffling mystery to fans to this day as there was supposedly a fast count that caused the match to be restarted. The NWO soon split into two factions and Sting joined the good-guy Red and Black Wolfpack. In 1999, Sting tried a heel turn but the fans wouldn't accept him as a bad guy.

The End of WCW:
In 2000, Sting feuded with Vampiro and was later injured by Scott Steiner. He wasn't seen from again until the final Nitro match when he beat Ric Flair in a re-match from the very first Nitro. Without a doubt, Sting is the most famous wrestler of this era to have never worked for Vince McMahon. During the end of his WCW run, he became born again and has written a book and made a DVD about the experience called Sting: Moment of Truth .

Post WCW:
Since the sale of WCW, Sting has wrestled sporadically for the World Wrestling Allstars and for TNA in matches usually featuring Jeff Jarrett. In 2006, Sting signed a one year deal to wrestle for TNA. That deal has been extended and he went on to win the NWA World Championship from Jeff Jarrett at the company's biggest show to date, Bound for Glory .

NWA & WCW Title History:
NWA World Championship
7/7/90 Great American Bash – Ric Flair
10/22/06 Bound for Glory - Jeff Jarrett

WCW World Heavyweight Title
2/29/92 Super Brawl – Lex Luger
3/11/93 – Vader
12/28/97 Starrcade – Hulk Hogan
2/22/98 Super Brawl – Hulk Hogan
4/26/99 – Diamond Dallas Page
9/12/99 Fall Brawl – Hulk Hogan

WCW International Title
4/17/94 Spring Stampede – Rick Rude
5/22/94 Slamboree – Vader

WCW Tag Team Title
1/22/96 – w/Lex Luger beat Harlem Heat
5/17/98 Slamboree – w/ The Giant beat Scott Hall & Kevin Nash
6/14/98 Great American Bash – beat The Giant and picked Kevin Nash as his new partner

US Title
8/25/91 – beat Steve Austin in the tournament final to win the vacant title
6/18/95 Great American Bash – beat Meng in the tournament final to win the vacant title

TV Title
3/31/89 – Mike Rotunda