Sting’s 5 Best Rivalries (& Sting’s 5 Worst)

Steve Borden, better known as Sting in the world of wrestling, is an icon who has worked many memorable programs throughout his illustrious career. Sting's feud with the New World Order is that of legend, but not all of Sting's feuds were so legendary.

Adapting a character to the times is one of the many keys to longevity in the world of professional wrestling. Sting's character has adapted through the years, going from surfer to crow to Wolfpac to joker. That ability to adapt allowed Sting to create memorable characters and in turn memorable matches (mostly) with his opponents. In 2016, Sting entered the hallowed grounds of the WWE Hall of Fame and is mostly retired now. Without further ado, let's look back at this icon's best and worst rivalries throughout his career that has spanned four decades.

10 BEST: Kurt Angle

Although both wrestlers appeared in the WWE at the same time, it was in TNA/Impact Wrestling where Kurt and Sting would do battle. The toughest opponent in Sting's entire career was Kurt Angle. From a 2018 interview, Sting stated, "Kurt is a machine. He just does not stop."

In 2007, Sting and Kurt Angle battled for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship in back-to-back-back events (Slammiversary, Bound for Glory and Impact!), and then again four years later at the 2011's Hardcore Justice. The title changed hands on all four of these pay-per-view events, raising the rivalry between them each time.

9 WORST: Scott Steiner

Scott Steiner might be one of the first to admit that his skills on the microphone are not on the same level as Jake Roberts, Randy Savage or even Sting himself. That inability to connect on the mic was part of the reason the feud with Scott Steiner didn't really work.

Steiner had a great physique but was known to be a stiff wrestler and the lack of creativity in his battles with Sting showed. The two wrestled in programs in WCW and TNA but it never resulted in anything big. Punches, clotheslines and the 'Steiner Recliner' it seems are all he had to offer in the matches. Reviewing some of their past matches, run-ins were common to help save the Steiner versus Sting matches in some capacity.

8 BEST: Hulk Hogan

The 1996-1997 storyline fight between Hollywood Hogan and Sting was built up for more than a year, and Sting never said a word during it. That's how good the Sting and Hogan rivalry was. The nWo was at its peak within WCW and Sting, abandoned by all, turned to his crow-persona and sat in the rafters of stadiums and arenas.

During the Monday Night Wars, Sting would on occasion crash the ring and battle the nWo and Hogan, but he and Hogan never formally fought one on one until Starrcade 1997. It was in that match where Sting beat Hogan, brought the WCW Title back "home," and helped elevate the nWo and WCW feud to new heights.

7 WORST: Vampiro

When your opponent wears the same color wrestling gear, same color face paint, and tries to also portray a dark persona, you have a recipe for disaster. That's what the Vampiro versus Sting rivalry in WCW was. In the purest sense of the word, it was a disaster of styles.

Back in 2000, Sting and Vampiro fought in what was supposed to be a first blood match, yet there was no blood. The match stopped when a red liquid poured from atop the arena. In feuds that can last months and even years, Sting and Vampiro fought for approximately three months in the summer of 2000 with Sting either winning cleanly or Vampiro getting himself disqualified. The character of Vampiro never got over and soon Vampiro was gone from WCW.

6 BEST: Big Van Vader

Listed as 6'5" and 450 pounds, the late, great Big Van Vader was one of Sting's toughest opponents. The sheer size and toughness of Vader made him an instant heel in WCW and the perfect counterpart to battle with Sting.

Sting is on record saying that Vader was by far one of his toughest opponents in the early parts of his career. In the early 1990s, Sting and Vader traded wins and loses for the NWA/WCW Championship on three different occasions in three different countries (United States, England and Ireland).

5 WORST: Jeff Hardy

Jeff Hardy had the potential to be a top opponent for Sting while the two were together in TNA/Impact Wrestling, but it ended up being one of the worst run storyline programs in history. Much of this was due to the fact that Hardy had many personal issues that were interfering with his matches and on-camera delivery.

For their payoff match at TNA's Victory Road pay-per-view in 2011, Hardy was clearly not in the right condition to perform in the ring versus Sting. The main event match ended in 88 seconds with Sting successfully 'defending' his title. The Wrestling Observer named this debacle the all time worst match in 2011 and Sting was seen glaring in disappointment at Hardy, morphing from in-character reacting to an authentic Steve Borden reaction.

4 BEST: Ric Flair

Sting's very first world championship, the NWA World Heavyweight Title, was a victory over Ric Flair at The Great American Bash in 1990. We had the limousine riding, jet flying, Rolex wearing Ric Flair taking on the bleach blond, face painted Sting. This was wrestling magic to fans.

The two Hall of Famers battled across two decades in the NWA, WCW and TNA/Impact and headlined numerous pay-per-view events. After then-WWF purchased WCW in 2001, Sting and Ric Flair wrestled in the final match to close out WCW's existence, a tribute of sorts to their iconic status in the company.

3 WORST: The Black Scorpion

Back in the early 1990s, a masked men dressed in all black was posting different vignettes about Sting, saying he was someone from Sting's past. Not only did the rivalry not catch on with fans, but fans began to get wise to the fact that each time The Black Scorpion appeared, he seemed to be a different size and shape. Additionally, when The Black Scorpion did engage in some kind of physicality with Sting, it was poorly done and looked dysfunctional.

The rivalry culminated at Starrcade 1990 with a "spaceship" coming down from the ceiling and the Scorpion exiting. When the mask came off, it was reveled to be Ric Flair for this specific match. This should not be held against Flair in any way as it was a poorly developed angle overall.

2 BEST: Seth Rollins

Sting only had two rivalries in his short time in WWE. The first feud was with Triple H, which culminated at WrestleMania 34. But the second rivalry was the better one, with then WWE Champion Seth Rollins. Sting was in his 50's at the time of this rivalry and we were all made to believe there was a chance that Sting could actually become world champion again.

As a fan, go and re-watch the Raw episode where Sting appeared as the surprise 'statue' in a ceremony for Seth Rollins in the buildup to their feud. The pop by the crowd is major. The two wrestled at Night of Champions 2015 and it ended up being Sting's final match ever as Sting would end up injuring his neck.

1 WORST: Lex Luger

Here we have two wrestlers in great shape, blond hair, and who are known friends. However, the chemistry simply wasn't there for the heated rivalry between Sting and Luger. Both wrestlers were of similar size and technical wrestling wasn't part of Luger's go-to strategy. Additionally, Sting and Luger were in various factions together, were tag team champions in WCW, and the WCW World Title never changed hands between the two. There was no signature moment in any of their battles, and the rivalry simply never materialized.

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