10 Reasons Why Sting Was Never As Great As We Thought He Was

6. Sting Was Never The Same After February 1990

There was a period between 1988-1989 where Sting was easily the quickest rising star in pro wrestling. Dusty Rhodes' booking of Sting upon his July 1987 WCW debut was amazing. Between July 1987-March 1988, Sting was pushed in a manner similar to the Ultimate Warrior in the WWF. However, given that Sting was much more athletic than Warrior and put in matches with wrestlers with a far greater level of skill to him, he was seen as more of a wrestler with charisma than a forceful personality. However, when Ric Flair wrestled Sting to a 45 minute draw at Clash of the Champions in March of '88, Sting was then immediately positioned as a top performer in the industry and continued to wrestle top guys in matches that showcased his unquestioned athletic prowess. By comparison, Warrior's 1988 breakout was beating the Honkytonk Man in less than 30 seconds at SummerSlam for the Intercontinental Championship. Sting's matches in 1989 involved industry redefining performances versus The Great Muta. By comparison, Warrior had matches with Rick Rude that more than anything showcased just how great Rude was at leading the Warrior. In February 1990, when perched on the precipice of absolute greatness, Sting badly injured his knee. He missed his turn as WCW Champion because of the injury, instead being placed into the main event spot upon his July return, with underwhelming feuds versus non stars Barry Windham and The Black Scorpion impeding his growth. Dusty Rhodes? Amazing booker. Ole Anderson in 1990. A less than amazing booker who may have pretty much exposed all of Sting's weaknesses as a mainstream superstar by 1991.