The career of Sting allowed him to become an icon in professional wrestling thanks to almost three decades of success. Sting made his name in WCW as the face of the company. Every other major star to get established in the early-to-mid-90s or earlier would jump back and forth between WWE and WCW at least once. Sting was the only one to remain completely loyal to WCW by never entertaining the competition.
TNA would have Sting on their roster for about a decade as he made the smaller promotion his home shortly after WCW went out of business. WWE would not get Sting to agree to a deal until later in his career as he only wrestled two matches before retiring. We will look at the best performances to come from the legend. These are the top ten matches of Sting’s career.
10 Sting vs. Cactus Jack (Beach Blast 1992)
The chemistry between Sting and Mick Foley was quite underrated since most fans missed out on their best WCW work. Foley portrayed Cactus Jack for WCW in the early 90s and instantly became one of Sting’s best overall opponents.
The two had some violent bouts that showcased another side of Sting to help him have more depth. Beach Blast 1992 featured the best match between Sting and Foley. TNA tried bringing back the rivalry when both men were past their prime, but they couldn’t match this performance.
9 Sting vs Goldberg (Nitro September 14, 1998)
Sting wasn’t necessarily known for being the kind of worker that led others to great matches like Shawn Michaels or Ric Flair would. However, he did have that kind of magic one night when challenging Goldberg for the WCW Championship on Nitro.
It was Sting’s first crack at trying to end Goldberg’s undefeated streak during his time in the Wolfpac. Both men had superb chemistry delivering an excellent Nitro match. Goldberg defeated Sting to retain the title and score one of the biggest victories of his career.
8 Sting vs Triple H (WrestleMania 31)
The polarizing nature of Sting’s first WWE match at WrestleMania 31 will lead to strong agreements or disagreements regarding the placement here. Triple H and Sting had an exciting match with a lot of theatrics that added to the experience.
Fans reacted with huge ovations for the surprise appearances of D-Generation X and the New World Order. The audience was entertained that night as Sting had an impressive performance. Triple H scoring the win is what received the most criticism, but that doesn’t take away from the performance.
7 Sting vs. Steven Regal (Great American Bash 1996)
The rivalry between Sting and Steven Regal (later known as William Regal) was quite underrated for WCW. Their matches took place shortly before the start of the New World Order, so many fans missed out on them before WCW became a phenomenon.
Sting and Regal had impressive chemistry with Regal using his technical wrestling skills to set up a genius match. WCW made Regal a credible threat to Sting for them to have big matches. Sting naturally won the PPV bout at Great American Bash 1996 in a great match.
6 Sting vs. The Great Muta (Great American Bash 1989)
The Great Muta was one of Sting’s best rivals as the two outstanding performers with face paint often had great matches together. WCW started using Muta due to their relationship with New Japan along with wanting an international flavor to their show.
Sting and Muta had their biggest match at the Great American Bash 1989 event. The match didn’t last long, but they told a tremendous story in under 10 minutes. Unfortunately, their best bout ended in a double pin as the feud continued moving forward.
5 Sting vs AJ Styles (Bound for Glory 2009)
The TNA run of Sting did not feature many classic matches since he was later in his career. One that stands out in a major way featured Sting challenging AJ Styles for the TNA Championship in the main event of Bound for Glory 2009.
Styles was having his strongest reign as the world champion before facing off against the biggest legend in the company. Sting was led by the younger performer in his prime to a throwback performance. Styles won the match with implications of Sting possibly retiring afterwards even though he did return.
4 Sting and Lex Luger vs. The Steiner Brothers (Superbrawl 1991)
The tag team of Sting and Lex Luger is quite underrated looking back since they only teamed together on special occasions. Superbrawl 1991 would see them face off against the top established team in WCW challenging the Steiner Brothers for the WCW Tag Team Championship.
Rick and Scott Steiner picked up the win in this impressive match between four of the most important names in WCW history. Luger and Sting kept up with the legendary team in this classic match that helped showcase the importance of tag team wrestling.
3 Sting vs. Vader (Superbrawl 1993)
Sting and Vader entered an important feud in 1993 as both men were established main eventers. The bizarre marketing would see White Castle involved in the White Castle of Fear Strap Match between the two. It was essentially a typical Strap Match with the White Castle sponsorship.
Vader defeated Sting in an outstanding match that would become the best between them. The win over Sting helped Vader further gain credibility as a main event superstar. Only the absolute top names in the early 90s would score singles victories over Sting.
2 Sting's Squadron vs. The Dangerous Alliance (WrestleWar 1992)
The War Games match became a fixture in WCW for the top stars to face off against each other in teams. Both teams would have their participants enter the match one by one with two rings under two steel cages as the setting.
Sting led Sting’s Squadron with Ricky Steamboat, Dustin Rhodes, Barry Windham and Nikita Koloff against the Dangerous Alliance heels of Steve Austin, Rick Rude, Arn Anderson, Bobby Eaton and Larry Zbyszko. The faces won despite interference from Paul Heyman and Madusa in an all-time great WCW match.
1 Sting vs. Ric Flair (Clash of the Champions I)
The best match of Sting’s career was the one that made him a legitimate superstar for WCW. Ric Flair and Sting main evented the first Clash of the Champions show in 1988. The NWA Championship was on the line as Flair defended against the new rising star.
Sting and Flair went to a classic 45-minute time limit draw with fans rooting loudly in favor of Sting. The belief in the new star ensured that the fans would support him when he did win the title and became the face of the company. Flair still considers this one of the best performances of his career helping create a new top attraction star.