goodhelmet Posted February 1, 2013 Report Share Posted February 1, 2013 Sting has the excellent Vader series. Then there was that time he wrestled Vader. After that, he had great matches with Vader. Luger had the strong Horsemen run, the Flair series, and great matches with Tommy Rich, Brian Pillman and Dick Murdoch. I think there are others. For ring performance, I prefer Luger. All of you Sting fans can list how he was the franchise player, he sold out an outhouse in Tupelo and how he was cool in the rafters. I'll take late 80s / early 90s Luger over Sting's entire career every day of the week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerryvonKramer Posted February 1, 2013 Report Share Posted February 1, 2013 Right now, mid-way through 1989, Luger hands down and it's not even close. And I'm expecting him to be a lot better than Sting in 1990 too. However, I'm not sure Luger ever reaches the heights of Sting's matches with Vader. Luger still has quite a lot of greenness and annoying little things he does in 1988, but then so does Sting. Sting's performances in those matches in 92 are genuinely excellent. I don't recall Luger ever being as good as that. As a general performer though I'd go Luger for sure. He just looks terrific late 80s, and executes several moves really well. Also, I like his Flair matches, whereas I can leave any of the Sting-Flair matches, including Clash 1 which I think is wildly overrated. I also like Luger's loud heavy breathing and noisy selling. Also, Luger can work heel. TNA barely exists to me, so I don't know if Sting has proved he can work heel, but something tells me not. I predict my buddy Chad also goes for Luger here. On an inconsequential side note, one thing I've noticed is that BOTH Luger and Sting had exceptionally HIGH ELBOW DROPS. Who has the better high elbow drop? Again, I'd go for Luger. EDIT: One more thing I'll say is that with the wrong opponent, Luger can suck even in 1988. The matches with Nikita Koloff are painful. That's just bad booking in my view, but it's something to take into account. Sting is notorious for phoning it in when he wants to as well, but I think an average bad Luger match is probably worse than a bad Sting match. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soup23 Posted February 1, 2013 Report Share Posted February 1, 2013 Sting has the excellent Vader series. Then there was that time he wrestled Vader. After that, he had great matches with Vader. Luger had the strong Horsemen run, the Flair series, and great matches with Tommy Rich, Brian Pillman and Dick Murdoch. I think there are others. For ring performance, I prefer Luger. All of you Sting fans can list how he was the franchise player, he sold out an outhouse in Tupelo and how he was cool in the rafters. I'll take late 80s / early 90s Luger over Sting's entire career every day of the week. Only argument I can see being made for Sting will bring in too many other intangibles like how recognizable he was and how cool his 1997 run was and the Starrcade buyrate. I am biased towards Sting naturally (honestly my third favorite wrestler as a kid behind Hogan and Jake). Sting had great matches vs. Vader, some good matches vs. Flair, and then a sprinkling of other good stuff like the Cactus match, the DDP 1999 match, etc. Luger had some great matches with Flair, some great tag matches w/ Windham vs. Arn/Tully and then a fairly wide sample of other good stuff vs. Windham, Steamboat, Rich, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted February 1, 2013 Report Share Posted February 1, 2013 I do think Sting was better in the Vader matches than Luger was in any match, and I also think Sting was less physically awkward in general. But Luger from 1988 to 1991 or so I do think was the better wrestler with higher output and more versatility. Luger never developed into a great wrestler by any means, but Sting really didn't either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebrainfollower Posted February 1, 2013 Report Share Posted February 1, 2013 This is a really tough one. 86-90 I'd give it to Luger hands down. 91 Sting by a hair. 92 well obviously Sting wins there easily. 93-95 I'd also give it to Sting as I think Luger was a terrible fit in WWF and really brought it down. 96 and 97 I'd have to give it to Luger and fake babyface Luger is one of my favorite outside the box thinking wrestling storylines and Sting didn't wrestle after September 96 except for one match the next year. After 97 neither guy was all that great but I'd give a slight edge to Sting and obviously he has much much better career longevity than Luger. I also think he was the face of a company longer than Luger and Crow Sting vs. Hogan drew better than anything Luger ever did. It's very very close but I'd go 51-49 for the man who does this and does that. BTW does anyone know, did Luger and Vader ever wrestle against in each other? Battlebowl 91 I think but I can't recall any interactions between them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted February 1, 2013 Report Share Posted February 1, 2013 Sting is more of a personal favorite. Luger is better. Early on definitely. Even in 93 I like Luger a lot though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylan Waco Posted February 1, 2013 Report Share Posted February 1, 2013 Luger. I do like Sting's matches with Foley, but Luger has more versatility, his career year is better, his body of work is bigger and I think he was better in the particulars than Sting. The only place Sting beats him is all time best match/series of matches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrisZ Posted February 1, 2013 Report Share Posted February 1, 2013 Sting is like a Top 40 artist where he has big hits but the rest of the songs on the albums don't match up with the singles while Luger has hits but he also has albums where the album itself is more important than any single. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cross Face Chicken Wing Posted February 1, 2013 Report Share Posted February 1, 2013 Fuck it, I voted for Sting. The tale of the tape obviously favors Luger, that's really not a question if basing the call objectively on in-ring performance. I guess this was an emotional choice for me. Sting is a lot more fun. Even today, when I've changed my mind about Luger and appreciate him much more than when I first was exposed to him, there are few Luger moments that stand out to me. Sting has several that immediately come to mind. I always felt like Luger was shoved down my throat. I was supposed to like him because he had the look and was ripped. To me, he always seemed somewhat out of place. Sting was far from perfect, but everything seemed natural with him. I'm not sure how gonig from a screaming blonde surfer dude to a Crow gimmick could seem natural, but Sting pulled it off pretty damn well. Yup, this might be a little bit of a nostalgia choice, but I don't care. Marking out for Sting when I was a kid and changing the channel when Luger came on still has to be worth something, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodhelmet Posted February 1, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2013 I am glad a Sting backer came out of the woodwork. I honestly thought this was going to be Sting in a walk. Glad to see early on that most people favor Luger over Sting in the ring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WingedEagle Posted February 1, 2013 Report Share Posted February 1, 2013 Put another notch in the Stinger's belt. I prefer the Sting's series with Vader to anything Luger did with Flair or others from '88-'91, even while acknowledging that his run then was better than any comparable period of Sting's. But Sting was the first WCW guy I marked out for and it'll take more than an honest look back at Luger's best run which came before I even had cable to change teams. Its completely illogical but just being honest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodhelmet Posted February 1, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2013 I think I need to make a Sting vs. a Bret Hart poll: who do you mark out for more from these two icons of failed drawing power? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WingedEagle Posted February 1, 2013 Report Share Posted February 1, 2013 U S and A! Or something like that, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodhelmet Posted February 1, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2013 Well Bret was from Canada so I guess he gets a curve. Don't look now but Sting is making a comeback. Musgrave rallies the troops. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoe Posted February 1, 2013 Report Share Posted February 1, 2013 When discussing Sting I feel a lot of people overlook his tag work. He has had a lot of fun random tags throughout the years . Some other things people ignore or gloss over is that he had some of Goldberg's best matches. I also thought him and the Giant had good matches. I haven't seen it in years but I remember liking the Giant/Sting match from Slamboree 95. He was a worker who could play big or could get small and be a FIP. People pimp the DDP match from Nitro and deservingly so. I remember Sting and Jarrett had some good matches. He also had a fun feuds with Meng,Avalanche, Big Bubba, Muta and of course Vader,Foley, and Flair. I also have liked his matches with Austin, and Pillman. I almost forgot to mention his feud against the Dangerous Alliance that provided a lot of entertainment. Luger might have a more diverse body of work but I wouldn't discount Stings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy Redman Posted February 1, 2013 Report Share Posted February 1, 2013 I have no emotional attachment to either guy particularly, but I'm going with Sting simply because the Vader series. Plus he's my kind of babyface, although there are other guys who do it far, far better. But late 80s Luger was pretty good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NintendoLogic Posted February 1, 2013 Report Share Posted February 1, 2013 I think I need to make a Sting vs. a Bret Hart poll: who do you mark out for more from these two icons of failed drawing power? Obvious troll attempt is obvious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodhelmet Posted February 1, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2013 No shit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cross Face Chicken Wing Posted February 1, 2013 Report Share Posted February 1, 2013 I think I need to make a Sting vs. a Bret Hart poll: who do you mark out for more from these two icons of failed drawing power? Who in hell ever said, "Man, I gotta buy a ticket to that show. Lex Luger is wrestling!" ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ohtani's jacket Posted February 2, 2013 Report Share Posted February 2, 2013 The Package and it's not even close. Sting's gimmick sucked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodhelmet Posted February 2, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2013 I think I need to make a Sting vs. a Bret Hart poll: who do you mark out for more from these two icons of failed drawing power? Who in hell ever said, "Man, I gotta buy a ticket to that show. Lex Luger is wrestling!" ? Well, no one ever said that for Sting either apparently. It was "I have to buy a ticket... Sting is going to sit silently in the rafters." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cross Face Chicken Wing Posted February 2, 2013 Report Share Posted February 2, 2013 Whoops. I misread your post I quoted. Thought you were using drawing power to make a case for Luger. This is what happens when you try to talk wrestling on the Internet during happy hour. Carry on. (Sting is still better, though) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylan Waco Posted February 2, 2013 Report Share Posted February 2, 2013 To be fair Luger was a better draw as a challenger to Flair than Sting and we have no clue how he would have done as a babyface ace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Exposer Posted February 2, 2013 Report Share Posted February 2, 2013 I chose Luger but I did think about it. Luger's 96-97 may have been the determining factor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodhelmet Posted February 2, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2013 This is a really weird poll for me to watch. Every time I peep into the thread, the poll resembles a football score. Early on, Luger jumped out to a a 13 to 3 lead. Sting scores a touchdown and it was 13-10. Luger scores a couple of field goals and Sting got his safety for the current 19-12 score. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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