Sting: 1996-1997

[Boxer 0]

So watching all the old stuff with Sting, the fake Sting, the VERY slow build, the random attacks and his change from surfer Sting to Crow Sting it got my head scratching.

 

While I have to say it was some good stuff on TV, this guy was OVER. Would it be safe to say he was the most over guy in all of wrestling in 1997?

 

We all know what sabatoged him and made him look like an idiot, and that was Starrcade 1997. The question here is though, how much of a star would he have been if he actually kicked the crap out of Hogan and won the title clean at that show.

 

Also, what were your favorite Sting moments during that period where all he did was attack people.

 

I think in the end, is it safe to say that THIS is WCW's biggest mistake ever? Forget the fingerpoke, if this Sting push went as is, we could be talking about Sting in the same light as Rock and Austin of the attitude era?

 

Also, another question, was he doing house shows or anything to keep in shape or did he really collect like 15 months worth of pay between war games 96 and starrcade 97 while doing absolutely NOTHING?

 

I leave, with one of my favorite Sting moments:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJQoR6WpCS8...feature=related

 

Got your favorite moments or thoughts on this era of Sting.

 

I completely brush of 1998 because by then, all the aura around him was doomed. When he talked again, it was all over, at least to me, the appeal of crow Sting.

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

While I have to say it was some good stuff on TV, this guy was OVER. Would it be safe to say he was the most over guy in all of wrestling in 1997?

 

I'd say so. Austin had yet to hit his peak, and Bret, Shawn, etc were just below Sting.

 

I think in the end, is it safe to say that THIS is WCW's biggest mistake ever? Forget the fingerpoke, if this Sting push went as is, we could be talking about Sting in the same light as Rock and Austin of the attitude era?

 

I don't think we'd be comparing Sting to Austin and Rock, because after the Hogan match, even if it had gone to plan, there was nowhere else for the Sting character to go without taking away the aura that had been built for the previous fifteen months. Everything that got Sting over was about building towards that one match. Once the match was over, and maybe even before it had started, the aura would have been gone too.

 

Also, another question, was he doing house shows or anything to keep in shape or did he really collect like 15 months worth of pay between war games 96 and starrcade 97 while doing absolutely NOTHING?

 

What you saw Sting do on TV was just about all he did between War Games in 1996 and Starrcade in 1997. As I recall, Sting's contract called for a maximum number of dates, and he was fast approaching that number, and the whole idea was originally a way to avoid reaching that limit and having to agree on a new deal. Sting did some major house shows in that fifteen month period, but there were very few of them.

 

 

[Guest]

While I have to say it was some good stuff on TV, this guy was OVER. Would it be safe to say he was the most over guy in all of wrestling in 1997?

 

I'd say so. If he appeared on television as much, there's no knowing whether or not that would be the case. While Austin wasn't at his peak, he was up there. Not more over than Sting, but close, especially when Austin returned after his neck injury.

 

We all know what sabatoged him and made him look like an idiot, and that was Starrcade 1997. The question here is though, how much of a star would he have been if he actually kicked the crap out of Hogan and won the title clean at that show.

 

Big star...don't know what he would've done afterward. The clear and obvious option is to send him through most of the NWO and put an NWO member over at the end, someone who needed the rub. Oh wait, we're talking about WCW. Nothing is clear and obvious. And no newer guy is ever in position to be given a big rub. Well, there's Hall, but that wasn't an option.

 

Also, what were your favorite Sting moments during that period where all he did was attack people.

 

Uncensored '97 had the best Sting moment...it was necessary, but may have happened a little too soon. That angle needed Sting not to touch Hogan until closer to their big match, but it was written so that Sting had to prove he wasn't part of the NWO...I didn't like that.

 

I think in the end, is it safe to say that THIS is WCW's biggest mistake ever? Forget the fingerpoke, if this Sting push went as is, we could be talking about Sting in the same light as Rock and Austin of the attitude era?

 

Nope, their biggest mistake was allowing the NWO angle to go on far too long. I don't consider the reincarnations like NWO 2000 part of that, but using the NWO as this crutch-like angle they thought they could fall back on hurt the company.

[Kahran Ramsus 0]

I don't think we'd be comparing Sting to Austin and Rock, because after the Hogan match, even if it had gone to plan, there was nowhere else for the Sting character to go without taking away the aura that had been built for the previous fifteen months. Everything that got Sting over was about building towards that one match. Once the match was over, and maybe even before it had started, the aura would have been gone too.

 

I agree. I don't think Sting could have sustained his heat once he became champ, when everybody found out he was the same old Sting in a new outfit.

 

WCW's real biggest mistake was ruining Goldberg's first title run. He was right there with Austin in 1998 and yet he was stuck fighting guys like Al Green for most of the second half of 1998 and didn't even appear on many shows. And then after that when Hogan was gone after Havoc and they finally had a chance to build around Goldberg (and were even building an interesting Goldberg/Bigelow feud) they just job him to Nash and stick him back down the card.

 

Can you imagine Austin winning the WWF Title at Wrestlemania XIV only to be fighting guys like the Oddities in the midcard while old guys like Undertaker, Ron Simmons and Vader continue to clog up the main events and then he jobs to Taker at Summerslam never to get another title shot? The WWF would probably be dead and buried and it is exactly what happened in WCW.

[cabbageboy 0]

Most over guy in 1997? I suppose so, but it was a bogus sort of overness. I too have been watching these old Nitro shows on 24/7 and am baffled as to what the appeal of Sting was in this gimmick. The guy acted like a bitch, watched his friends get beat down by the NWO, let Hogan call him out and did nothing for weeks on end, and refused to wrestle guys to get to Hogan. Needless to say I don't think this angle holds up at all with time.

 

As far as beating Hogan at Starrcade....so what? Do you think Hogan wouldn't have gotten the belt back in 1998 anyway? The goofy finish at Starrcade was one of those ominous moments for WCW, but it didn't really hurt them much at the time.

 

In terms of being like the Rock or Austin, it wasn't going to happen for Sting. Let's face it, the guy got hugely over by never speaking and never wrestling. Pro wrestlers kinda need to do those things to stay popular long term. It didn't help that Sting lost a lot of his in ring skill during that huge 1997 layoff. I can't hardly name a good WCW Sting match from Starrcade 1997 onward.

[The Metal Maniac 0]

The clear and obvious option is to send him through most of the NWO and put an NWO member over at the end, someone who needed the rub.

 

You think? You also said that allowing the nWo angle to run on forever is what helped kill the company. Don't you think Sting dismantling the nWo would've been better? Basically have him start running through the other nWo members, putting them on the shelf, until eventually he declares the group dead because they've all either been beaten by Sting, hospitalized by Sting, or are too chicken-shit to wrestle Sting.

 

I'm not saying he couldn't put someone over, I just think that having Sting kill the group finally would have been decent.

[Boxer 0]

Sting taking out the whole nWo would've been a great long burn storyline. I would've like to see him kick Hall, Nash and Savage's asses in that order before getting to Hogan. That would've made some momentum for Sting and probably some great buys for ppv's.

[Promoter 0]

Most over guy in 1997? I suppose so, but it was a bogus sort of overness. I too have been watching these old Nitro shows on 24/7 and am baffled as to what the appeal of Sting was in this gimmick. The guy acted like a bitch, watched his friends get beat down by the NWO, let Hogan call him out and did nothing for weeks on end, and refused to wrestle guys to get to Hogan. Needless to say I don't think this angle holds up at all with time.

 

As far as beating Hogan at Starrcade....so what? Do you think Hogan wouldn't have gotten the belt back in 1998 anyway? The goofy finish at Starrcade was one of those ominous moments for WCW, but it didn't really hurt them much at the time.

 

In terms of being like the Rock or Austin, it wasn't going to happen for Sting. Let's face it, the guy got hugely over by never speaking and never wrestling. Pro wrestlers kinda need to do those things to stay popular long term. It didn't help that Sting lost a lot of his in ring skill during that huge 1997 layoff. I can't hardly name a good WCW Sting match from Starrcade 1997 onward.

 

:lol:

 

You know it is true. Hogan would just get the belt back anyways. However, Sting should have gone over, but the thing is I think wcw was trying to have their HBK/Hart Montreal finish with Hogan/Sting and thought it would be a good idea. Sting not going over pretty much killed wcw as a brand name imo. Let's be real people were watching because of the nwo. That's why Bischoff really did want to try to make a nwo show and wcw show, but that nwo show bombed on tv(in retrospect it was stupid of them to think people would watch wrestlers taking down a set and putting up a set without changing the channel).

 

The angle doesn't pass the test of time I agree. However, I understood why they prolonged it after seeing that response at Uncensored 97.

 

As for Sting being the most over yeah it's arguable, however it was kind of a bogus over. While he was just making spare appearances on nitro Austin and the rest was slowly gaining popularity on the wwf end through tv AND house shows. I think that eventually got more people emotionally invested in the newer characters in the wwf. Goldberg though was the nail in the coffin. They messed that up bad. Goldberg and Sting should have been protected and pushed as the equivalent or greater than Rock and Austin. Rock and Austin just blew them away in overness eventually.