3. Vs Ric Flair (Clash Of The Champions 1)
Everyone says it, but it's the truth, so it's worth repeating... this is the match that helped put Sting on the map and made him the star he is today. If this match didn't turn out being as good as it did, we might not even know who Sting was today, and that's not hyperbole at all. The match was
that important to his career. Ric Flair's "job" back then was to make his opponents look like a million bucks, night in and night out. Going from territory to territory through the years had him trying to make his opponents look great, even if they weren't, because then people would spend money on tickets to see the matches and the possible rematches down the road. With Sting, some thought Flair might have his work cut out for him. Sting hadn't even been in the wrestling business for three years when this match rolled around, so he was still plenty green. To put that into perspective, Roman Reigns has a little less than four years in the business now, and people still think he's green, even though he's clearly in line for bigger and better things. The fact that this match went to a 45-minute draw, with Sting coming out of it with everyone and their mother proclaiming that it would only be a matter of time before he was a World Champion, says all you need to know about Flair's ability to lead and Sting's ability to follow at that stage of his career. Just a great piece of pro wrestling storytelling.