Sting got his start in the territories before Jim Crockett Promotions purchased Bill Watts' UWF and brought their wrestlers into his promotion, mostly to bury a good chunk of them. However, one man that stood tall and went from the UWF to a major star in WCW was Sting, and he was a star from the start.
While there were closed-circuit shows for Crockett Promotions early on, the first pay-per-view event to ever occur for the NWA was Starrcade 1987, and Sting was part of that show. He was then on 10 of the first 12 PPV events for what would soon become WCW, only missing the two due to a leg injury but working the main event in four of the 12.
10 Sting vs. The Iron Sheik (WrestleWar 1989)
Easily the most disappointing Sting PPV match of his first 10 came in 1989 at WrestleWar. This included the final match of the trilogy between Ricky Steamboat and Ric Flair, which ended with Terry Funk coming out of retirement to attack Flair.
As for Sting, he defended his NWA World Television Championship against a past-his-prime Iron Sheik and won the match in two minutes after a Stinger Splash and a Scorpion Deathlock to retain his title.
9 Sting vs. Butch Reed (Chi-Town Rumble 1989)
The Chi-Town Rumble in 1989 went down in history as the show where Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat beat Nature Boy Ric Flair for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Hiro Matsuda managed Flair at this point, as the Four Horsemen were no longer together.
Matsuda also managed "Hacksaw" Butch Reed, and he fought Sting in the second match on the PPV. It was a long match with Sting beating Reed in 20 minutes with a sunset flip.
8 Sting vs. Sid Vicious (Halloween Havoc 1990)
The 10th PPV match in Sting's career came at Halloween Havoc in 1990, and it was the first PPV event where Sting came in as the World Champion and defended his title. His opponent was Sid Vicious. Sting had won the title from Ric Flair after the Four Horsemen turned on him, and Vicious replaced him in the Horsemen.
This was the infamous match where Sting fought to the back, and then when he returned, it was clearly Barry Windham dressed in Sting paint. Vicious pinned him, but then Sting showed back up and pinned Vicious.
7 Sting & Ric Flair vs. Great Muta & Terry Funk (Halloween Havoc 1989)
There was a point in time where Sting and Ric Flair were on the same side. This ended when Flair and the Horsemen betrayed and attacked Sting, which led to Sting finally winning the World Title from Flair. However, before this happened, Sting and Flair teamed up on a PPV.
Flair was feuding with Terry Funk, Sting was feuding with Great Muta, and the four men fought in a steel cage at Halloween Havoc 1989. Bruno Sammartino was the guest referee, and Flair and Sting won.
6 Eddie Gilbert, Larry Zbyszko, Rick Steiner vs. Freebirds & Sting (Starrcade 1987)
The very first PPV that Sting ever wrestled in is easy to forget about. This was the show where Ric Flair won the NWA World Championship from Ronnie Garvin. The match with Sting was honestly a UWF showcase for Crockett Promotions, and it was a pretty good contest.
Sting teamed up with the Freebirds (Jimmy Garvin and Michael Hayes) and wrestled his former UWF manager Eddie Gilbert and former tag team partner Rick Steiner, along with Larry Zbyszko, to a time limit draw.
5 Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard vs. Nikita Koloff & Sting (The Great American Bash 1988)
In 1988, Crockett Promotions started to push Sting alongside long-time NWA stalwarts instead of his former UWF stars, and he got more prestigious matches on the shows.
At The Great American Bash that year, Sting teamed with Nikita Koloff to challenge for the NWA World Tag Team Championship against Tully Blanchard and Arn Anderson. The match went to a time-limit draw, with the Horsemen retaining the titles.
4 Sting vs. Ric Flair (Starrcade 1989)
Starrcade in 1989 chose to ignore title matches and instead had Iron Man tournaments. This included tag teams and singles tournaments, and Sting was part of the singles' iteration, along with Lex Luger, Ric Flair, and Great Muta. The NWA was able to keep up with their rivlaries, as Sting was feuding with Muta, while Luger and Flair were feuding.
Luger beat Sting in their first match of the tournament. Sting then beat The Great Muta and then beat Ric Flair in the PPV's main event. Since Luger and Flair went to a draw, Sting won the tournament.
3 Sting vs. The Great Muta (The Great American Bash 1989)
One of the best feuds of Sting's entire career came against Great Muta before he was ever a world champion. The legend from Japan and the young upstart in the NWA put on some amazing matches in the late '80s, and one of their singles encounters was on PPV at The Great American Bash in 1989.
This was for Sting's NWA World Television Championship, and the end was a double pinfall with two referees involved in the decision. Despite the screwy finish, it was a great match.
2 Sting & Dusty Rhodes vs. The Road Warriors (Starrcade 1988)
Starrcade 1988 was the first PPV where Sting was in a prominent position on the card. He was in there with three of the biggest stars in NWA history as he teamed up with The American Dream Dusty Rhodes to wrestle the Road Warriors for the NWA World Tag Team Championship.
Sting and Rhodes picked up the win over the Road Warriors but did not win the titles as it was by disqualification when Paul Ellering interfered.
1 Sting vs. Ric Flair (The Great American Bash 1990)
The biggest match of Sting's career at this point came at The Great American Bash in 1990. This was Sting's ninth PPV appearance, and while he was in one of the opening matches in 1987, by 1990, Sting was fighting Ric Flair for the World Title.
While Sting had received title shots before, this was his first PPV opportunity, and he made the most of it. The Four Horsemen had betrayed Sting and took him out with a leg injury, but he returned here and beat Flair for his first World Title.