Was Sting ever a huge draw?

[Miko]

In the other Sting thread I said that I didnt think that he was, and I then got a reply from Klunderbunker mentioning Starcade, to which I reply'd that I reckon it was more likely to be Hogan who people paid to see. Which got me thinking that this could be a topic for discussion amongst folk and deserved it's own thread. So as we dont clog up that other one.

Anyway, enough of that bollocks. Normally I dont like to go into the drawing power argument anymore, all that time spent looking up buyrates to prove Hart was better than HBK and all that. Still, I find Sting to be a compelling case, because I can see it from both sides of the fence, but I remain unconvinced of Sting ever being a draw by himself. Popular in his company yeah, but would he have worked without the NWO to go against? I am not so sure. I dont think he was a draw in the same way Stone Cold, The Rock and Hogan were in their top days.

I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on the subject.

 

[Adam08]

Well Sting in my eyes was never really a big draw like the Shawn micheals, Ric flairs, and Hulk hogans. He was still a somewhat of a draw back in the nwa days and while I haven't lived through base on reports and footage I watched he was huge back in the nwa days and he also drew really well in his match again flair at clash of the champions. So to answer you question yes he was a draw for nwa but not really a huge draw for wcw.

 

[Hart316]

I believe that Sting is a huge draw and has always been one. He carried WCW on his back for all through out the 90s. Theres a reason he wrestled the last match of Nitro. To be honest, Sting is the only reason i watched TNA for the past 4 years. I know he is not there at the moment and they showed they can make it with out him, but the door will always be open for him. Sting was the back bone for WCW like HBK was for the WWF.

 

[Travaje]

I was 8 in 1988, and Sting back then was huge. I thought he was awesome. Tons of charisma, more muscular, awesome mic/promo work, amazing matches with anyone he ever worked with. He was the #1 face in NWA/early WCW and deservedly so. Everyone who watched wrestling at that time knew that even though Ultimate Warrior was all over the place and probably more known and more popular, that he was awful, and Sting was 100x the performer. Everyone who was anyone who ever worked with him, from Flair to Foley and so on, will probably tell you Sting was one of the best workers they ever worked with. I really feel sad for the younger fans who weren't old enough to witness Sting's work in his prime, which I'd say was 1988-1994.

Now, I know the whole Sting as "The Crow" thing was way, way over at the time, but I never bought into it, and neither did anyone else I knew that watched Sting in his prime. If that's the only Sting you know, it's a shame, and I could see why people would think different of him than I do. I don't blame Bischoff totally though, as I think Sting wanted to grow his hair out and change his figure and his look. I do blame Hogan a little bit, because when Hogan first came in, Sting wasn't allowed to be that #1 face anymore, and he did get lost in the shuffle. But everything that made Sting fun was lost in that "The Crow" angle. Sting in the "wolfpac" was his lowest. That was absolutely terrible, and by time he was gone and WCW shut down, I wouldn't have cared too much if Sting never came back.

Sting redeemed himself a little bit in TNA. He still dressed like "the crow", and I understand why, but everything else was much like the old Sting. He came out more without the face paint and just wearing the glasses, even at times letting people see his face (something he never did for a long, long time), cut the promos and talked like he used to, and I enjoyed his work. It sold me the point that he never really lost that, but was booked and used so badly by Bischoff.

To me, Sting is a definite first-ballot hall of famer whenever he does retire and Vince should put him in even though Sting never wrestled for him (which I think was a mistake, even though Sting doesn't), and Sting should do the right thing and be a part of it.

 

[kennyv7]

I think Sting was a huge WCW draw. I can tell you as a child he was my favorite wrestler, and a favorite among all of my friends. His merchandise sold a lot, sting masks all over the crowd. I remember back in WCW when he took a leave of absence, after a few months there had been nothing online, no rumors, no spoilers about him coming back, and night after night in heel segments the crowd would start chanting "we want sting!". Mind you it was the NWO feud that took WCW to number one in the monday night wars. Sting was the top guy to fight the NWO, while he was going through his "transformation" all the build up was to see if he would forgive Luger etc and fight against the NWO.

Theres no way you can have a WWF beating feud without solid drawing heels and faces. Do you really think Hogan vs Hacksaw would have gotten the same ratings at Starrcade?

 

[LongHessa]

Well Sting in my eyes was never really a big draw like the Shawn micheals, Ric flairs, and Hulk hogans.

I dont wanna change the subject but when was Michaels ever a HUGE draw, actually putting his name in the same sentence as Hulk Hogans in regards to drawing power implies you simply have much to learn. Flair was never a big draw in WWE or WCW so chalk him up as another one who gets far to much credit in this department. Sting in the late 80's and 97-98 WCW was a good draw and certainly deserves the credit and respect he gets.

 

[DarrylDSmith]

I think people forget that Sting used to put butts in the seas in WCW. His feuds with Ric Flair, Hollywood Hulk Hogan (especially after the crow gimmick), and others solidified him in the ranks of a huge draw. Everyone wanted to see Sting and Hogan wrestle in the 90's after he turned crow on us, and when they did finally wrestle, it sold out (Starcade if I remember correctly).

So yes, he was a huge draw. Now, not really.

 

[jaxx]

This is a question that shouldn't even be asked if you are a wrestling fan, but i'll answer anyway, because a lot of fans are a little younger than me. Yes sting was a huge draw and could have did a lot more for tna, but they didn't know what the hell they were doing and wasted 4-5 yrs. We can credit that mishap to jeff jerret and vince not talent russo. Again sting was the face of wcw and the nwa.

You didn't talk about ric flair without talking about sting during the nwa days and of course most of you remember the wcw days. Sting carried the banner for these companies for years and became a house hold name along with hogan and flair. Why do you think vince wanted sting to come to the wwf then and the wwe later on in his career. Vince new sting was huge and wanted to capitalize on it.

 

[voodoo]

Yeah, Sting was/is a huge deal. And I wasn't even a WCW mark as a kid. (well maybe a little) Just think of it this way...Sting eventually retires and one year later he gets inducted into WWE HOF. I'm thinkin you and EVERYBODY else are watching that. He is an enormous draw.

 

[WWEWrestleFest]

sting was a stud.. like someone else said, shawn michaels was never a big draw. when he was the face of the company, wwf almost went out of business as wcw was kicking it's ass. but sting? yeah, he was a big draw.

he was hugely over in nwa/early wcw. he was hugely over with his crow gimmick against the nwo. and while it wasn't a critical success, you can't deny that the wolfpac was also hugely over.

 

[Greenlight13]

I wouldn't go as far as to say huge but I think he could draw with all but the elites such as Hogan and Austin. He was certainly monster over with the crowd, even if they weren't there just to see him. He got some of the biggest pops I remember seeing as a child and even now he's one of the most over guys in TNA.

It's just like Shawn Michaels, once people are watching him they love it, they compliment the hell out of him, give him all these accolades, but they didn't go out of their way to watch him in the first place. When Shawn was at the top of the WWF their ratings weren't very good, but whenever Sexy Boy hit, whenever there was a Sweet Chin, whenever he nipped up or flew the crowd were on their feet.

Sting carries with him the aura of a legend and he gets that respect from the crowd, but they're not so excited to see him they can't miss a single week of TV.

 

[T2KFreeker]

Yes, Sting was a huge draw at one time. He has that "IT Factor" for sure. The point is, if you love him or hate him, there is no denying that Sting does put asses in the seats. Growing up back east for part of my life, the NWA was huge back there and not too many people watched WWF for a long time. The big dogs were Dusty, Ric Flair, Ricky Steamboat, Magnum T.A., and Sting. These guys were always talked about in the same conversations when it came to wrestling. People loved Sting and really got behind him when he was feuding with Ric Flair and the Four Horsemen. To say that Sting was never a draw is kind of like taking a crap on his legacy. Like it was said earlier, Sting in his prime was just as Hot as any of those other guys were. Don't believe me? Check out any of the old WCW tapes when he was the "Surfer Dude" gimmick and watch both his promos and the reactions he got from the live crowds. The guy was awesome. Sting was an amazing performer then and is still a good one now. He, like several other guys out there from the old school, has forgotten more about wrestling than most of the newer guys will ever kno0w. Sting is an Icon and there is a reason that WCW built him up as a huge face for the company: Because Sting sold tickets. There is the answer. You don't build your company around guys that don't sell tickets, and that's a fact Jack.

 

[ncwriter2908]

Sting as a big draw? Well he was the biggest WCW face draw as far as a WCW superstar is concerned. He was there guy, but really WCW didnt really get national attention until Hogan came along. Sting never managed to sale out Madison Sqaure Garden or any 50,000 plus arena without Hogan and the NWO on the bill. I went to see Super Brawl 3 when Sting vs Vader in a strap match happened. It was a very small crowd compared to WWE. Then we look at him now in TNA. His name still fails to draw the big crowds and big ratings TNA wants. It wasnt until once again Hogan made his debut that TNA had thier highest ratings. Now they have kept there best ratings without him. I have always liked the Sting character but cannot see proof of him being a top draw.

He was WCW biggest draw before they got big. He was a big draw for TNA before they got any national attention. It was Hulk Hogan and other NWO guys or FLair who I think help carry this myth that Sting is over with a national crowd. He will never be considered a top guy by me until he proves he can go in the WWE. I think he is playing it safe through out his career. He stays in a small company like WCW were he can shine. Then goes to TNA a small company were he can shine.

He always put himself in the big fish into a small pond position. It seems like he is scared to be a small fish in a big pond (WWE). FLair, Hogan,Hall,Nash have all been good draws for WWE. What is Sting scared of? Why not end your career proving your not just a regional attraction? I think fear has set in.

To answer your question Sting was a top draw for WCW & TNA 2 companies who have no huge national following. It was when RVD was ECW's top draw. He even put his career rep on the line and went to the WWE and had a good run, just not the run of HBK or Undteraker. Its ashame Sting never wants to really challenge himself.

 

[Gods Gift]

I don't believe Sting was ever that big of a draw.With TNA they could barely get a 1 rating and that was with Sting and no one watched the ppv's with or without Sting.No doubt he was popular but no where near the level of Hogan,Flair,Michaels,Austin or the Rock!Come on now the guy sat in the rafters for 18 months during WCW's good days and dressed up like the crow, which I think ruined his character.In my opinion Sting is popular and a decent wrestler and performer but not at the elite level!

 

[Flair is Overrated]

No - the only way you can really be considered a big draw is if you spent your prime (or close to it) in the WWF, or in WCW once Hogan joined. Otherwise, the best you can be considered was a regional attraction. That's why Sting, Flair, the Von Erichs, Jerry Lawler, and countless other regional attractions rank below golden age WWF midcarders in my opinion. I'd rather have been losing tag team matches for the WWF than winning the BFE North Mid South TV Championship.

 

[Tastycles]

I think to answer this question objectiely, you look at TNA. In WCW and NWA before that, Sting was in and around a lot of proven draws, and it is hard to ascertain what his impact was. When he joined TNA, Christian and Jeff Jarrett were the biggest deals. His first full-time appearance on TNA at Final Resolution gave them their biggest PPV audience to that point. The Impact after that was the first to draw 1.1, and the next to do it was when he made his TV debut for the company. Significant moments in Sting's TNA career directly correlate more than anyone else's, until Hulk Hogan, in TNA, and I think if he's doing that in his late forties, then he must hae been a draw for years.

 

[Davi323]

All you had to do was look at the kids in the crowd with their faces painted or wearing their little "Stinger" masks to know he was a huge draw. The problem is, Sting was never the largest draw at any one time. Not with Ric Flair or Hulk Hogan in the company. Sting was never the top draw, but he was still a huge draw in his own right.

 

[LascoX]

I first saw Sting when he joined the line up of Ga. Championship Wrestling and watched him work his way up the ranks. He was always a solid worker and a fan favorite. In WCW he was one of the biggest stars , even getting the nickname of the face of WCW. Sting was the peoples champ of WCW. He sold a ton of mechandice , shirts and masks dotted the arena when you went to live events in the 90's. You don't do that and not be a signifigant draw. He might not have had the drawing power of Hogan , but very few ever did hit that water mark. He and Flair closed out the WCW era on Nitro because they had been the two major players that helped build that company into a national organization. (Naturally the WWF defectors led it to #1 in the ratings, but Sting and Flair got it to the dance in the first place) Sting was a draw back in the day. He probibly didn't go to WWE because as WCW didn't know what to do with Hart, WWE would have not handled his charictor the way he wanted it to be remembered.

 

[montkvsting]

Sting was a huge draw in his prime. Now, you can't compare Sting to Hulk Hogan because they appeal to different markets. The question should be: Was Sting a huge draw for WCW? I believe and know Sting was a big draw in WCW. He was their main draw in the mid 1990s, when Ric Flair and others left to go to the WWF. He is one of most popular wrestlers of all time, and many people would rather watch Sting than Hogan.