Royal Ramblings: The Living Legacy of Sting

Birthdate: 02/25/1949 (age 65) Height: 6'1" Weight: 243 Ib Ric Flair, also known as "The Nature Boy," Flai...

Mark 23 November 2014 in your calendars as the day WWE made history once again and completed a circle that began with the purchase of WCW. During the Survivor Series Pay-Per-View, the iconic Sting made his debut in a WWE ring and solidified himself legendary status as one of the greatest wrestlers to have ever lived. For those readers that don't understand why his debut is so significant, let us briefly review the career of this enigmatic warrior.

Some 30 years ago, Steve Borden debuted in a Tennessee based company called the Continental Wrestling Association as "Flash". Foreshadowing what would be singles runs as two of the greatest painted characters to appear on TV, Sting teamed with Jim Hellwig, known then as "Justice" but later of course, as the Ultimate Warrior. The team soon left CWA and moved to the Universal Wrestling Federation. It was there that Sting and Warrior's tag-team days ended, mirroring the breakdown in their personal relationship which only appeared to be remedied around the time of Hellwig's death. 

Sting would go on to join with "Hot Stuff" Eddie Gilbert and later Rick Steiner to become a three-time UWF tag champion. When the UWF was bought by the National Wrestling Alliance (a forerunner of WCW), Sting was pegged as a future star and faced Ric Flair as early as 1988 for the NWA Heavyweight Championship. Continually booked for headline matches of one sort or another, his stock continued to rise and he eventually won the NWA Television title in early 1989.

Also read: Royal Ramblings: London Is Jericho

Flair and Borden continued to work together and whilst the "classic" line-up of the Four Horsemen were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2012, fans might be interested to know that Sting was a member of the group, albeit briefly during its "reformation" period. Whilst an injury at that time forced Sting from the ring, so well-regarded was Borden that he still featured regularly on TV programming throughout his recovery time (even being saved from a beating by Robocop in a promotional fusion!). He would return in 1990 and go on to win the NWA World Heavyweight title.

When WCW rose from the ashes of the NWA, Sting went with it and soon after defeated Steve (later Stone Cold Steve) Austin for the WCW US Championship. His status as the WCW 'franchise' quickly soon after secured him the first of six Heavyweight title wins.   

Throughout the 1990's Sting continued to dominate in WCW but it wasn't until 1996 that he began to develop the darker, more menacing character that has defined the latter part of his career. Moving away from the brightly coloured tights and blond crew-cut that had shaped his iconic TV character, he grew his hair out and tended to opt for Black ring-attire. It was during that intermittent period that Sting was ringside for one of the greatest shocks in wrestling history when Hulk Hogan turned villain and set the foundations for the New World Order (nWo) faction. 

Refusing to take sides in the WCW/nWo war, Sting became a free agent, coining the famous phrase: "The only thing for sure about Sting is nothing's for sure". For nearly a year, he did not speak on the microphone and appeared mysteriously in the arena rafters. Eventually in 1997, he literally dropped back into action (from the roof), taking out the nWo bad guys and re-establishing himself as a firm fan favourite. He later reinforced that status in typically enigmatic style by teasing a run as a bad guy only to join the "Wolfpac" good guys and again reinventing himself with a new red and black appearance.  As a wolfpac alumnus he continued to win championship gold and latterly, would partake in a series of matches with Bret Hart to determine the master of the Sharpshooter/Scorpion Deathlock finisher. 

In 1999 Sting returned to his Black and White gear and world champion status, if only briefly. He took his 5th championship from Diamond Dallas Page on WCW's Nitro programme only to be beaten by Page some 90 minutes later in what was the shortest recorded reign in WCW history. By the time WCW was in its final run, Sting had undertaken a short stint as it's on-screen president and 'turned heel' only to be continually embraced as a fan favourite. A storyline injury had him off TV from November 2000 but he ended his WCW journey as he had begun in, in emphatic style by beating his long-time rival Ric Flair on the final TV broadcast. When WWE bought out WCW, he turned down a contract with the former having been concerned about the way his team mates had been booked.  Instead, he headed to Europe and toured with the short-lived World Wrestling All-Stars. 

Whilst it may be unlikely to form part of WWE's 'History of Sting', Borden became 'The Franchise'...

John Cena Speaks Out - Bray Wyatt, Legacy, 'Taker's Streak

In an interview with AMNY.com, John Cena spoke about his Wrestlemania XXX match with Bray Wyatt. Here are highlights:

On preparing for Wyatt: "This one is peculiar. You ask me any other WrestleMania opponent I've ever had, I'd be able to give you a clean cut shot: "John Cena's going to walk into wherever and kick the holy hell out of somebody." But the Bray Wyatt situation is different. He's a difficult opponent to scout because I don't necessarily know what he wants to do at WrestleMania. A lot of my WrestleMania opponents in the past want to simply win. Bray Wyatt has stated that the most important thing for him to do on April 6 is ruin my legacy and he's also that that doesn't necessarily come at the cost of defeating me. He's done some very awkward stuff on "Monday Night Raw" at the cost of victory, having victory within his grasp or one of his family members having victory within [their] grasp and then just throwing away victories just to create an embarrassing moment, or undermining moment for me. So, it's very been very difficult for me to scout Bray, very difficult for me to come up with a battle plan or a playbook and I think, from an outside perspective, that's what makes WrestleMania interesting. It can be the first match that I've been in where I may win, but I may wind up the loser, if that makes any sense."

On his legacy: "I'm certainly not afraid to address the fact that there are a lot of people that enjoy my performances, a lot of people that don't. I think the one thing that I've been consistent to over the years is the reason I go out there. I've openly said I love the WWE. I truly operate on a schedule of hustle, loyalty and respect. That's the term on the T-shirt, but it simply means hard work, respect everyone, even though they may be your enemy, and be loyal to those who are loyal to you. That's pretty much my ideology — so good, bad or indifferent. You know, I've been around for 12 years now, so when you come out and say that the first time, people may not believe it, but 12 years people, people are like, you know what, this is what this guy stands for. And I think Bray's trying to do what he's trying to do – he may see me in a different light or whatever, but he says he's going to change the way people think about me."

On what matches he's looking forward to: "I'm looking forward to The Shield, because I really find excitement in new. I'm a member of the WWE Universe. I'm a fan as well as a superstar, so when I see these new superstars, I get excited. … I'm really looking forward to the Andre the Giant over the top Battle Royal because it's a 30-man situation with so many new superstars and somebody is going to have a WrestleMania moment there. I hope it's a breakout moment for someone. The match that I am most interested in is Triple H versus Daniel Bryan, only because for six months, maybe even longer than that now, Daniel Bryan has been labeled as the guy who will never ever get an opportunity, the guy who is always being kept down. And I agreed with that, until Daniel Bryan occupied Raw and made demands. And those demands were met. And I think Daniel Bryan is a wonderful competitor. I think he has as much passion as anyone else in the WWE. But he asked for these matches, and it looks like a pretty unfair set of circumstances, but if you go back and watch the Raw where he took over, he asked for it. So if he doesn't take advantage of that opportunity, if he doesn't capitalize on that opportunity, then you really can't say he never got one. As unfair as it may be, it's the exact one that he asked for. So, as I said, WrestleMania is made of defining moments and when you ask for an opportunity at WrestleMania and you're gifted opportunity, you better perform, so my eyes are on that match, big time."

On if Triple H will be rusty: "He's my boss, but I've also been in there with him and I've been in there with him at WrestleMania. So he is above all else, he can wear a suit and be Triple H, or whatever he calls himself at the Tower in Stamford, Conn. When he steps in there, he's The Game. And that is 100% true and he has that same passion that I have. I want a bigger stage. I want more eyes. I want this event...