10 Wrestlers Who Proved Their Worth In A Crisis

3. Sting

Surfer Sting
WWE.com

The paths taken by the Ultimate Warrior and the man he broke in with, Sting, could not have been more divergent.

Warrior was a complete d*ckhead, Sting a rare wrestling nice guy. Warrior was fundamentally talentless, Sting very skilled with the work ethic to improve. Warrior left the WWF in the sh*t when his erratic whims were not serviced, Sting waded through the sh*t of Jim Herd's putrid WCW as a consummate professional.

Crisis accurately describes much of Herd's tenure, particularly 1992, a period in which WCW was compared to the AWA's late-'80s death throes. WCW house shows were ghost towns, ratings were in the sh*tter, and the creative was atrocious. Sting's popularity however was strangely immune to the horror show, and he was ardently committed to making it work. He voluntarily took an absolute pasting from Vader in this lifeless period, of the sort many of his babyface peers flatly refused, putting himself over as both company man and beloved, gutsy hero. He worked Cactus Jack soon after that programme, too, enduring the most dangerous matches in North America when the megastar babyface of the era had no reason to. As all of North American wrestling entered a recession of sorts, Sting was a vital, awesome reminder of an NWA that hadn't prostituted itself in a strange tribute to the WWF.

Sting was different. They did that, and he does this!

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Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!