Best Two - Sting

[IrishCanadian25]

"The Greatest Wrestler Never to work for Vince McMahon." Yes, that's Sting, and he's been part of some classics over the years in both WCW and TNA. But without a WrestleMania, Summerslam, or any other WWE event under his belt, where do his best two matches lie?

Sting vs Ric Flair, Clash of the Champions 1998

This is the match that put Sting on the map. He was pretty unknown then, and at the first NWA / WCW "Clash of the Champions," Sting took on Flair, and took him to a 45-minute time limit draw. The pace of the match was pretty intense - it certainly tested Flair - but more than anything else, it signified the arrival of a new challenger to Flair's title.

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Sting vs Big Van Vader, Starcade 1992

The finals of the "King of Cable" tournament, Sting defeated Vader in this match, one of many in the epic feud that these two men had over the course of two and a half years. While Vader may have won the feud overall, Sting got the best of the Greatest Superheavyweight of all-time on this night, in an absolute classic.

I hope loads of you disagree with me. Maybe Sting vs Bret in late WCW? Sting vs Muta? Perhaps another Sting vs Vader or Sting vs Flair match? Either way, I'd love to see what you have to say.

 

[Steamboat Ricky]

Sting v. Diamond Dallas Page - WCW World Heavyweight Championship
April 26, 1999 - WCW Monday Nitro - Fargo, North Dakota

One of the very last times that I watched Nitro instead of Raw, Piper was in charge...he was our Reality Check...and he was making the card one of the most memorable of all Nitros.

This wasn't even the main event...this match took place at the end of hour one of three, yet it easily stole the show. Because the match took place so early on, you kind of felt like there was a pretty good chance that Sting was going to win, and he did. It saw a lot of back and forth, action outside the ring, and potentially my favorite ending sequence of all time...Diamond Cutter block, Diamond Cutter block, Diamond Cutter reversed into Scorpion Death Drop. It was beautiful, and classic. Clearly one of the most underrated matches in WCW history (mainly because Sting lost the title later that night, and smarks whine about a short title reign).

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Sting v. Hollywood Hulk Hogan - WCW World Heavyweight Championship
December 28, 1997 - Starrcade 1997 - Washington, D.C.

I selected this match for its overall and historical significance. Everyone knows what happened here...the biggest buildup to the biggest clash of all time. Sting doesn't speak for like a year, and he is being pushed as the hero to save WCW.

But Hogan wouldn't let Sting go over cleanly...and it ruined it (or Nick Patrick's failure to perform a fast count ruined it), but it was so big that this couldn't even prevent it from being talked about for years to come (as Mike Tenay accurately predicted during the bout). Hogan was HATED at this point, and Sting was getting responses that were off the charts. The amount of Sting masks seen riddled through arenas at the time was shocking, and it was the only thing that could compete with the nWo merchandise craze.

This could have been so much more...but it was still quite enough.

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It also gets the nod because of The Dream on the announce team.

 

[Shocky]

I tend to go with two matches that were already chosen in this. However, I think an honorable mention should go to the Halloween Havoc match from 1998 against Bret the Hitman Hart. The two delivered a damn fine match, which was truly a spectacular card fromt op to bottom, despite Warrior vs. Hogan trying to ruin that moment.


Clash of the Champions vs. Flair.

As Irish said, if there was anything that put Sting on the map, this was the match that did it. Sting proved that despite the incredible charisma and look, he could actually work a good match, unlike his Blade Runner counterpart (my daily Ultimate Warrior bashign quota is now filled). Essentially a rookie or relative unknown took the NWA champion Ric Flair,when Flair was still great, and did it on a national setting. It instantly put him into the main event scene.

Vs. Hollywood Hulk Hogan, 1997.

In hindsight, and being several years removed from this match, this match is much better then what you originally remember. Being removed from it, and watching it on the Starrcade DVD, I have a new appreciation for this match. The match was done perfectly. Sting coming back, but not being the overly aggressive Sting we all remembered. This was a sting that while deadly for the last year, really hadn't been tested over a long match, and the psychology was brilliant. The pace never quickened, leaning towards the ring rust storyline. Yes, the match is faulty because of Nick Patrick and his failure to execute a quick three, but that says nothing about the incredible work that Hogan and Sting did. Those two had the crowd eating out of the palms of their hands, and I would rank this match as one of Hogans two best as well. I find this match loads more enjoyable then the over rated disasters of Warrior vs. Hogan or Warrior vs. Savage. This match should not be judged based upon the failures of the referee to do his job. When the match restarted and the old stinger showed up, it was incredible.

 

[jmt225]

Ahhh, the Stinger, my all time favorite wrestler since I was like 4 or 5. I love the guy.

Anyway, here are my favorite two matches from him off the top of my head.

Sting vs. Rick Rude - Japan

Of course, this is the match that ended Rick Rude's career, after an incredible high spot from Sting in which he landed on Rude with a cross body block on the outside and Rude's lower back crushed into the edge of a barrier. But man... fuck Flair vs. Michaels, if you have one last match on your resume, Rick Rude has the perfect one. The match was fantastic. It was for the WCW International World title (now WWE's World Title, of course) and set in Japan. The ending sucked if you were a Sting fan, but if you can watch the match objectively, you come to appreicate how well Rude and Sting pulled that off without fucking up like most of those "Behind the Ref’s Back" finishers go.

So yeah, it sucks what happened to Rude in the match, but the match ended up being phenomenal nonetheless.

Sting & Lex Luger vs. The Steiner Brothers - SuperBrawl 1

By far my favorite tag match of all time. It was fantastic. I saw it for the first time in my preteens when I got my mom to buy me a video tape of the event, and I was blown away. And even now, this match lives up to today's standards. No matter how many Japan, ROH, ECW, WCW, WWF, ect. matches I see, this match still kicks all kinds of ass.

I wasn't able to find either of these matches on youtube (however, they're both on Dailymotion if you do a search), but luckily I came across this terrific MV that features both matches in it. Enjoy:

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[MattMoses]

Sting vs. Vader - SuperBrawl III

This was a White Castle of Fear Strap match between these two vicious rivals, probably my second favourite match the two have had. Vader's relentless assault on Sting left the crowd, as well as myself stunned when I first saw it. Sting being Sting, he made the heroic comeback, giving us all hope he'd overcome the odds against the demonic monster, but Vader's overwhelming size and power was too much for Sting, proceeding to drag him to all four corners to win the match.

Sting vs. The Great Muta - Great American Bash '89

Both men have since had many classic match-ups, but the first meeting between the two will always be my favourite. This match was the set-up for the feud these men would have for months to come. Sting won the match, but the replay shown that Muta's shoulder was up at the count of two, so the TV title was declared vacant. This match was non-stop action from bell to bell, and a true testimony to just how over Sting was in his glory days.

Sting's matches with Goldberg should also be mentioned. While Goldberg's best match was with DDP at Halloween Havoc 1998, Sting had some great matches with him throughout the course of late '98/99. If these two had been given the right build-up and matches which didn't keep ending in DQ, the feud would have been phenomenal.

 

[Pimpin]

I'm gonna pick his greatest WCW match & his greatest TNA match in my opinion.

Sting vs Flair on the final WCW Nitro This match was appropriately the match that ended WCW Nitro. Both of them put their all into this match, I loved the emotion of the entire show & it did not disappoint me in anyway possible. The ending of this match was my favorite part of the match as Sting got the win & he & Flair showed great sportsmanship towards eachother as it signaled an end to an era & an end to a longstanding rivalry.

Sting vs Kurt Angle at Bound For Glory 2007 This was the dream match that everyone wanted to see & in my opinion it did not disappoint. The match was exciting & the feud they had at that time was personal which just made the match that much better & the result didn't hurt either as Sting won the World Title at Bound For Gory for the second consecutive year.

 

[FlairFan2003]

His two best matches were botr against Flair - The 88 Clash that everyone talks about and the 1990 Great American Bash when he finally wins the World Title.

The Starrcade 97 match with Hogan had an awesome build up but the actual match was disapointing. I know, Hogan vs Andre at WM 3 wasn't exactly a mat classic but the high spots in that match (Andre's nearfall early, the body slam) combined with the finish made that match, combined with the build up, a classic. At Starracde, Hogan looked old, Sting was slow, and the crap shoot ending with Nick Patrick and Brett Hart and Hogan seemingly pinning him in the middle of the rings was a big let down. That match needed a definative ending, no controversy, like when Austin stunned HBK and won the title outright. The build up deserved as much.

Honorable mention to his matches with Vader in 91-91, his SuperBrawl Title win over Luger, and the 1988 Great American Bash where he teamed with Nikita Kolloff vs Tully Blanchard & Arn Anderson

 

[NaturallyPricele$$]

Sting was my favorite growing up. I dressed up as a "little Stinger" for several years in a row for Halloween. I collected the WCW wrestling figures, Sting always had the World title. Sting had alot of great matches, so hard to pick two but here goes.


Sting vs. Ric Flair Great American Bash 1990

Sting's first World title victory. Match went back and forth. Sting catches Flair in the Scorpion Deathlock, Horsemen come out for the save yet they were cut off by 8 other wrestlers. Flair escapes, takes control, goes for figure four. Sting with small package, 1-2-3 NEW WORLD CHAMP!!!!!!

Sting vs. Ric Flair House Show Harrisonburg, VA

I know each of you is saying, what was so special about that? Well it was my first live wrestling event. After Sting's match, we went outside and waited in the parkinglot for the wrestlers to come out, and I actually got Sting to autograph a photo for me. I sat ringside, met my hero, plus got to call Teddy Long "peanut head" Great evening!!!!!!!!!