Sting

[Boss Rock]

I'm curious if there's a case for Sting now or at least a re-evaluation considering his current work in AEW.

[Tetsujin]

I was just thinking about it. He's definitely adding to his case, but the question is if he can do it enough in these four years remaining. I think his overall career is kinda underrated from a ringwork perspective, and he's someone I might vote for (although not higher than top 75 or something like that). Him bursting his fucking ass off at 62, specially when he was considered retired and broken for so long, definitely helps.

[Ma Stump Puller]

 

1 hour ago, Boss Rock said:

I'm curious if there's a case for Sting now or at least a re-evaluation considering his current work in AEW.

Me personally, I don't think it adds a ton beyond showing he can still (somewhat) go in very carefully structured tag matches. Like with many vets at the very end of their career, it doesn't really give any big swing towards them in terms of a general top 100 beyond extreme longevity, and even then you can find dozens of guys who have had far better post-prime showings. Sting in TNA was bearable but at least it added something to his resume in terms of being able to work different kinds of opponents, adapting to a modern style of wrestling, etc. His AEW stuff is fun but it's basically like the outtake segment on a movie: it's entertaining but you aren't judging the actual movie on that as a whole. 

 

 

 

[El-P]

To me his AEW stint murders his TNA stint, in which he really did not showcase any of the same kind of energy he currently does, and that's over years and years of getting tons of big matches too. He did work that ridiculous Abyss garbage match early in the 00's, but after that point, most Sting matches were pretty nonedescript, including tons of nothing main events. I don't think he ever showed over there he adapted to modern workers in any interesting fashion at all. 

That being said, the answer is : no. I'm loving Sting's current old-guy not giving a fuck work, and he looks as good as anyone post 60 I've ever seen, but let's not forget he's showcased in an environment where he's pretty much protected, and yeah, I realize it's odd to say stuff like this when he's doing Terry Funk kinda crazy spots. But it's still the case. He's been put in situations where he's allowed to shine while covering the fact he's actually 60 years old, and he has shined way beyond anyone's expectations, to the point he's actively super fun to watch. It's honestly probably the second most fun stint of his entire career in term of in-ring work (after the 92-95 years), when you put everything in perspective.

But, having a super fun stint at 60 doesn't change one simple fact : Sting was never a great worker at any point of his career (yeah, he had some great performances and great matches against great workers, but that is different, and plenty of great workers with a much lesser profile with about ten times more great matches won't get tenth the attention). That simple fact straight eliminates him from having any spot in my top 100. No cool crazy-ass stint (again, that I'm totally loving) will change that.

(damn, I said I was only do positive posts this time around, but I guess Sting was an interesting case because of how fun he has been lately, and surely people will get the itch)

[KawadaSmile]

The man's career is over, the Stinger has retired. How highly does he rate on a list like this in 2026? He was always over, always popular, and had surprising versatility (despite never going full blown heel in the MEM) in his roles. His AEW run was very, very, very good, to the point were every single match of his was a highlight on usually stacked cards.

[Control21]

Some of the comments here have aged incredibly poorly. Sting is a great wrestler and his career should speak for itself, but I guess some people just aren't impressed because he wasn't Ric Flair or something? Sure, whatever

[Mr JMML]

His run from 1988 to 1993 is absolutely amazing, I don't know why people didn't like him.

[flyonthewall2983]

Arguably a better babyface in the early 90’s than any of Vince's top guys at the time. Especially in the time Flair left Atlanta, he started making a connection with their strongholds, as well as making an impression in Japan too. 

His mid-90’s reinvention did much to help translate to a more edgy audience, but he never really lost being a good guy in all that. Even when companies stupidly tried turning him heel. Despite so much working against him, he could still bring it.

I am very happy he got to go out with his head high. So many deserve that and few get it, I am glad he is one of the lucky ones. Because he was one of the great ones.

[NintendoLogic]

He surely has to be in the running for greatest wrestler over the age of 60, does he not? Granted, there's not a ton of competition in that category since most wrestlers are either long-retired or completely washed up by that point.

[Mr JMML]

 

3 minutes ago, NintendoLogic said:

He surely has to be in the running for greatest wrestler over the age of 60, does he not? Granted, there's not a ton of competition in that category since most wrestlers are either long-retired or completely washed up by that point.

Black Terry is in there too.

[KawadaSmile]

1 hour ago, flyonthewall2983 said:

His mid-90’s reinvention did much to help translate to a more edgy audience, but he never really lost being a good guy in all that. Even when companies stupidly tried turning him heel. Despite so much working against him, he could still bring it.

I'd argue him being associated with the MEM and not going full heel helped the angle a lot. It's long-term coherence!

 

37 minutes ago, NintendoLogic said:

He surely has to be in the running for greatest wrestler over the age of 60, does he not? Granted, there's not a ton of competition in that category since most wrestlers are either long-retired or completely washed up by that point.

I guess so. Funk was considered a dinosaur by '96, and he would only turn 60 in 2004. Tenryu, who had a similarly lengthy career, was ultra knackered in his twilight. 

Negro Casas might still take the top spot.

[Tetsujin]

It will also help him that he had one of the greatest matches of all time as his retirement match.

[Makai Club #1]

The AEW run has been a cool run but it ultimately doesn't change him being a 70-80 ranked wrestler for me.

[El McKell]

12 hours ago, Tetsujin said:

It will also help him that he had one of the greatest matches of all time as his retirement match.

As amazing as the stuff before the bell rang was, calling it one of the greatest matches of all time is absolutely wild to me.

[Mr JMML]

1 hour ago, El McKell said:

As amazing as the stuff before the bell rang was, calling it one of the greatest matches of all time is absolutely wild to me.

I felt the exact same way. I liked the match but I didn't like it that much.

[EnviousStupid]

The AEW run is probably as ideal as we could've hoped for Sting to be booked and utilized, with plenty of great tag matches over those few years. Really cool to see given how some have panned his work over the mid-late 90s and TNA stint in general.

 

[Tetsujin]

15 hours ago, El McKell said:

As amazing as the stuff before the bell rang was, calling it one of the greatest matches of all time is absolutely wild to me.

It was an historic farewell match, with memorable moments that we will remember forever (including one of the most insanse spots we've all ever seen), drama, nostalgic acts and the happiest of endings. It's an unique match, to say the least. It totally delivers what I want from one of the best matches ever.

[KawadaSmile]

While I don't think it's a top tier match in a vacuum, it absolutely deserves a huge highlight and a firm place in history. It's honestly the best retirement match I can think of (well, Terry Funk's first retirment is still a retirement), and the fact he even managed to get that match in his own terms, staying in good enough shape throughout almost 40 years of bumps and wear and tear, is a feather in his cap.

[funkdoc]

On 3/4/2024 at 11:17 AM, Control21 said:

Some of the comments here have aged incredibly poorly. Sting is a great wrestler and his career should speak for itself, but I guess some people just aren't impressed because he wasn't Ric Flair or something? Sure, whatever

"Failed ace" stigma meeting some folks' attempts to force Pitchfork-style poptimism into pro wrestling.

OK, OK, that's a bit too pithy.  It's the above combined with him never having the reputation as a ring general, as i feel like he's always been seen as closer to a Kerry or Luger than a Flair or Funk.  Also during the last GWE ballot, the 90s Yearbooks were fresher in a lot of voters' minds and Sting had a *bad* run with the belt in early '98 that was captured in great detail there.  i'm talking "getting outworked in the ring by late-90s Hogan" levels here.

[fxnj]

I have no idea what "Pitchfork-style poptimism" means here.

I don't see Sting as a shoo-in this time around. I'm not low on him, but there's just so many guys who meet similar criteria of "had a match series I like and was mostly solid for the rest of a long career." I like Vader/Sting, especially the strap match, but I don't think it's so great to guarantee Sting a spot. A few months back I watched Sting/Vader at GAB 92 back-to-back with one of the Vader/Kobashi matches, due to them both following a similar premise of Vader vs underdog who can do power moves. It was pretty jarring how much better the selling and offense was in the Kobashi match. Like I posted here 10 years ago, I continue to think the most interesting thing about him is how he managed to stay solid and not feel out of place in the main event scene even well into old age. Haven't seen his AEW run besides the retirement (which seemed more a case of great presentation than a great match), but I think he could land a spot if I really vibe with that stuff.

[Kadaveri]

The AEW run has really added to his case, probably the best run of a 60+ wrestler in US wrestling history. He definitely wasn't making my list without that but I think he might sneak in now. I don't think he had a single match which didn't at least deliver, and the way he reinvented himself in his 60s as some daredevil maniac old man is really astonishing. Yes he was protected by only ever wrestling in tags, but really that just tells you that other companies should be doing that with their older wrestlers who can still go in other ways. And despite that Sting did have quite a lot of ring time in a lot of these tags. When his run first started I suspected he was just gonna be on the apron 90% letting Darby do the heavy lifting before he gets in for a hot tag and hits his signature stuff, you know the drill, but that wouldn't be a fair characterisation of his run at all. The FTR match at Grand Slam 2021 was the first one when I was really realising that Sting is simply a really good tag wrestler.

[funkdoc]

15 hours ago, fxnj said:

I have no idea what "Pitchfork-style poptimism" means here.

What i was getting at was the way some folks heavily hype up WWE workers and their style in general and think it's a black mark against someone if they didn't draw on top (regardless of surrounding circumstances).  There's a lot of the same kind of arguments here that i saw in defense of Britney Spears & Justin Timberlake back in the 2000s (or, say, the MCU now) which is why that comparison occurs to me.

One other more on-topic quick thought: i feel like Sting really worked well with superheavyweights in general but didn't get a chance to show it much outside of the Vader series.  His PPV match vs a young Paul Wight really surprised me at how enjoyable it was until the overbooking kicked in!