Following the formation of the NWO Sting became something of an enigma. With the stable running roughshod over the WCW performers, he had been one of the first to stand up against them. Doubts about his true allegiances grew, leading to him essentially walking out of the promotion and announcing himself as a free agent. Of course, this was all part of the storyline and Sting was never going anywhere near the WWF, but what it did do was create further doubt about whose side Sting was really on. During the course of the next six months the Stinger, sporting a new look inspired by The Crow, would often watch proceedings from the rafters, never choosing a side or intervening until WCW Uncensored in 1997. With the NWO again standing victorious in the middle of the ring, Sting descended from the rafters on a zipline and took out every main member of the crew, firmly allying himself with WCW and setting up a true dream match against Hulk Hogan at that year's Starrcade. It should have been a "can't miss" moment. The Stinger should have toppled Hogan and all should have been set right. Instead the main minds at WCW decided that the match needed a screwy finish wherein Sting would be pinned via a fast count delivered by referee Nick Patrick, with Bret Hart appearing to right the wrong and allow Sting to claim the WCW Championship. Unfortunately the finish was completely botched, with Patrick delivering a count that some say was even slower than a usual count, thus making it look like Sting had failed despite all of the buildup. Bret still appeared and ordered the match restarted, but this incident was the first in a long line of moments that devalued the championship and Sting was made to look like a fool. http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x74sdk_hogan-vs-sting-starrcade-1997-part_sport Rumour has it that Hulk Hogan had managed to convince Patrick to make the slow count in an effort to keep himself looking strong, though these allegations are currently unsubstantiated.
Lee Price is a writer for 411mania.com and Starburst Magazine, which is published in the UK. He is currently working as a freelance writer. He hopes to one day fund his addiction to video games by writing about video games, and he maintains a sporadically updated blog at leesrandombulls*it.wordpress.com
