In the 1980s and 1990s, World Championship Wrestling boasted not only a great pure babyface in Sting, but also an influential faction in the Four Horsemen, which consisted of Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, and other heels united to dominate WCW. Because the two parties usually had opposing alignments, it was guaranteed the two parties would collide, and happened on numerous occasions.

RELATED: 10 Things WCW Fans Should Know About The Four Horsemen Vs. Sting Rivalry

For some WCW fans, Sting vs. The Four Horsemen is the defining feud in the promotion’s history, but there are, of course, arguments to the contrary. Let’s take a look at reasons why this feud is WCW’s greatest as well as some counterpoints suggesting that it might actually be a bit overrated.

10 The Greatest: Got Sting Over

Sting Wristlock Ric Flair Clash Of The Champions

An acquisition from Jim Crockett Promotions’ purchase of the Universal Wrestling Federation (formerly Mid-South Wrestling), Sting was flagged as a rising star in what would later become WCW. That fast rise came with the help of Ric Flair, who famously defended his NWA World Heavyweight Title against Sting at the first Clash of Champions to a time limit draw. It made Sting seem like he could hang with the top guys, and the subsequent feud with the Four Horsemen only further propelled the young talent into star status.

9 Overrated: Lots Of Sting Betrayals

Four Horsemen Turn On Sting

One major negative to the Sting vs. The Four Horsemen feud was that it rarely made Sting seem like a smart guy. Instead, he seemed like a naive, overly trustworthy babyface that could easily be taken advantage of. When Sting was a member of the Horsemen in late 1989/early 1990, the group quickly turned on him once he earned a title shot at Flair. Then, in 1995, Sting backed up Flair after a falling out with Arn Anderson only for Flair to betray him during their pay-per-view match at Halloween Havoc, after which Flair and Andreson formed a new iteration of the Horsemen.

8 The Greatest: Long-Term, Organic Storytelling

Sting in the Four Horsemen

One thing the Sting/Horsemen feud has over many others was how it organically spun out of months of prior storytelling. Earlier in 1989, Sting banded together with Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, and Ole Anderson to form a babyface version of The Four Horsemen to oppose the heel faction known as the J-Tex Corporation, which featured names like Terry Funk and the Great Muta.

RELATED: WCW: Every Major Four Horsemen Feud, Ranked Worst To Best

From there, a four-way altercation involving Sting, Flair, Lex Luger, and The Great Muta resulted in the four clashing in a round-robin tournament at Starrcade ‘89. That, in turn, resulted in Sting emerging as #1 Contender to Flair’s Title, thus drawing the ire of his stablemate and sparking their subsequent feud.

7 Overrated: Not Crow Sting

Crow Sting 

For many fans, the definitive version of Sting is the late ‘90s version who, amidst his battle with the New World Order, ditched his “surfer” look in favor of a darker look inspired by the film The Crow. For fans who consider “Crow Sting” their favorite version, the Sting vs. Horsemen feud isn’t the greatest WCW feud because it features a version of Sting they don’t really recognize. After all, how could a bleach-blond bodybuilder with a rat-tail compare to a silent vigilante with a baseball bat?

6 The Greatest: WCW’s Two Icons

Sting vs. Ric Flair

WCW enjoyed a number of stars during its existence, but later additions like Hulk Hogan were basically ex-WWE guys. Both Ric Flair and Sting were top guys who became stars as part of WCW, and The Four Horsemen was the blueprint for future wrestling factions. As two defining pillars of WCW, it’s only natural that their rivalry would be one of the promotion’s greatest. After all, there’s a reason Ric Flair and Sting were the guys who wrestled the final match on the last episode of WCW Monday Nitro.

5 Overrated: Not As Iconic As Dusty vs. The Horsemen

Four Horsemen attack Dusty Rhodes

As good as the Sting’s struggle against the Four Horsemen was, was it as good as when Dusty Rhodes took them on? “The American Dream’s” road to the World Title was full of bumps and road blocks, with Dusty getting attacked in a parking lot and constantly almost winning the championship. And then there were moments like the impassioned “Hard Times” promo, an iconic speech by Dusty Rhodes that went down in wrestling history. Sting’s feud just didn’t have moments quite like those.

4 The Greatest: Robocop Got Involved

Sting & RoboCop

What the Sting/Horseman feud did have, however, was the intervention of one Officer Alex James Murphy, more commonly known as RoboCop from the movie RoboCop. It all went down at Capitol Combat ‘90: The Horsemen trapped Sting in a cage, and RoboCop showed up to rip off the cage door and send the bad guys fleeing.

RELATED: 10 Things From WCW That Have Surprisingly Aged Well

It’s unabashedly silly and surprisingly kayfabe-breaking for the era, but it’s one of the more entertaining and famous moments of the storyline, which fans can watch on WWE’s website any time they want.

3 Overrated: Disrupted By Injury

Lex Luger vs. Ric Flair

It was obvious given that the feud kicked off when Sting earned a title shot at Ric Flair, but the plan was for Sting to dethrone Flair, but a knee injury caused Lex Luger to take Sting’s place as Flair’s challenger, albeit to no avail. Once Sting healed up, he finally got his shot at Flair about six months later at Great American Bash ‘90, with his 188-day reign ultimately being a disappointment in terms of booking. While Sting’s victory over Flair was celebrated and treated like a big deal, it’s tough to not look at it as a bit hampered by the circumstances.

2 The Greatest: Purely WCW

Sting Vs Ric Flair Clash Of Champions I Cropped

One underrated positive about the Sting vs. Horsemen feud is that the storyline predates the Monday Night Wars. In other words, it has nothing to do with WWE or ratings battles with WWE like WCW would become obsessed with later in the 1990s. As it is, it’s a pure wrestling story with none of those meta elements — WCW’s top hero taking on its top bad guys so he can be the World Champion. It doesn’t always have to involve Eric Bischoff taking shots at the competition.

1 Overrated: The nWo vs. Sting Angle Did More For WCW

Sting Vs NWO

All that said, one factor in judging a feud as a promotion’s greatest is how much it does for the company. After all, millions of fans tuned in to Raw every week to see Steve Austin terrorize his evil boss and exchange verbal darts with The Rock. By that metric, the Sting vs. Four Horsemen feud was a big deal, but it wasn’t the most high-profile in WCW’s history. That would be Sting vs. the nWo, which saw Sting reinvent himself for the late ‘90s to take on an evil Hulk Hogan and all his ex-WWE buddies, drawing loads of eyes to the WCW televised product.