The Complete History Of The New World Order | Wrestling Timelines
January 20, 1997 - The First Rappel
A now mute Sting has been attacking WCW representatives - Jeff Jarrett, Rick Steiner - but why?
Is he yet to forgive WCW for failing to trust him - despite being the first WCW guy to stand up to the nWo? Or is he playing a long game of deception?
The only thing for sure about Sting is that nothing’s for sure.
He has also pointed his bat at the nWo, signalling his intention to dismantle the group, and issued loyalty tests to the WCW guys. He points the bat at them. He waits for their reaction. He turns his back. If no retaliation is incoming, he seems to express approval with a subtle nod. The idea, and fans are latching onto it, is that he wants their trust back before he goes to war.
He issues a test to wrestling pioneer Randy Savage, setting up a short, dropped alliance between the two men, before which - for the first time ever - he rappels from the rafters.
It’s an intriguing sight, and it will become awesome when he drops from the rafters into the ring, destroying the nWo in the melee of a heavy heat angle.
The importance of Sting, specifically, cannot be overstated. At its very core, from day one, the nWo is the most flawed successful concept ever. The nWo exists to put over the babyfaces in WCW, but the unit is more over than the babyfaces. They, in effect, are the babyfaces.
Sting, crucially, is the one entity cooler than the New World Order. His presence is electrifying, his look, heavily inspired by ‘The Crow’, is the business. The rafter drops, holy hell: the live, cinematic action set-pieces are unlike anything wrestling fans have ever seen. Sting is a megastar babyface, but he transcends that; if wrestling is all about building hype and anticipation, the incredible concept of a living superhero - who will only step into the ring when the time is right - is a promotional masterstroke.
It is imperative that he wins in the end.