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Sting and the Ultimate Warrior would go on to establish themselves as two of the biggest names in the business. Of course, in the case of Sting, he has lasted longer in wrestling than anybody could have expected and continues to have matches in AEW at the age of 63. He shockingly made his wrestling debut in 1985.
On the other hand, Ultimate Warrior's run was much shorter. He would pretty much be done as a full-time wrestler by 1992. He tried to make a return later on, in both WWE and WCW, but the magic was gone by then, and it was clear that he was no longer capable of being anywhere near the star that he once was. Interestingly, Sting and Ultimate Warrior started out in the business together as a tag team known as the Blade Runners, a team that has pretty much forgotten about over time.
Sting And Ultimate Warrior's Origins In Wrestling
Neither Sting nor Ultimate Warrior had any background in wrestling. Instead, both of them had been bodybuilders. They broke into the business as part of a group known as Powerteam USA, which also consisted of Garland Donoho and Mark Miller.
Donoho and Miller would end up quitting wrestling soon afterwards though due to a lack of success, and that would leave Sting and Ultimate Warrior to team with each other. The duo would get their big break in Continental Wrestling Association in the Memphis Territory as a tag team known as The Freedom Fighters.
Both Sting and Ultimate Warrior lacked proper wrestling training. They were green as well as stiff. Thus, their time in Memphis was not long, but the foundation had been laid for success in the future.
The Blade Runners Come To Life In Mid-South Wrestling
In Memphis, The Freedom Fighters had been presented mostly as athletes, and used their real names Jim Hellwig and Steve Borden. Their characters would soon start to undergo a transformation going forward. When they became The Blade Runners, they would start experimenting with black makeup. Borden became Sting, while Hellwig became Rock. They also started to be managed by Eddie Gilbert in the Universal Wrestling Federation.
Gilbert played a huge part in them getting over, as neither was good on the mic. Gilbert did the talking for them while Sting and Rock stood behind him and growled. Thus, as characters, both had clearly developed from where they had started as The Freedom Fighters. Their run in UWF was not long though. Rock would soon be gone from the company and joined World Class Championship Wrestling. There he would start wrestling as the Dingo Warrior, laying the foundations of the character in which he would find his greatest success.
Ultimate Warrior Became The Biggest Star In The Business For A Short While
Hellwig would go on to find the biggest success of his career when he ended up joining the WWE, where the 'Dingo' part of his name was dropped, and he was renamed Ultimate Warrior. Vince McMahon had an incredible ability to get larger than life characters over, and it looked like he envisioned Ultimate Warrior as the heir to Hulk Hogan's throne as the top babyface in the company.
Hogan even did the job for the Ultimate Warrior, as he was crowned the WWE Champion at WrestleMania 6 in 1990. Thus, it looked like he was destined to be the next face of wrestling. What followed though was a less than memorable run with the belt, and then there was a behind the scenes falling out, which saw him spend time away from the WWE.
Ultimate Warrior would later return when Hogan looked likely to depart the company, but that would not last long, and he was gone for good by late 1992. He would later make a failed return in 1996 and had a terrible run in WCW in 1998.
Sting Went On To Become An Icon In WCW
While Ultimate Warrior always ended up relying on his look to get over, Sting actually put time into his in-ring work and went on to become the face of WCW. He also showed an incredible ability to adapt to the times, transforming from Surfer Sting to Crow Sting in the late 90s, to combat the 'cool' nWo.
He would go on to have a legendary career in WCW, staying loyal to them until the very end. He then spent a long time in TNA, before he finally had a run in the WWE. He continues to wrestle to this day in AEW, even at the age of 63.