Sting

Steve Borden (born March 20, 1959), better known by the ring name Sting, is an American professional wrestler, actor, author and former bodybuilder. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW).

Sting is known for his time spent as the public face of two major professional wrestling promotions: the now-defunct World Championship Wrestling (WCW), which displaced the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) as the leading professional wrestling organization in the United States from 1995 to 1998, and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). Borden is regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time. having cultivated a legacy over a career spanning more than three decades in which he held 15 world championships.

Sting's 14-year tenure with WCW and its predecessor, Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP), began in 1987. Dubbed "The Franchise of WCW", he held a total of 15 championships in the promotion – including the WCW World Heavyweight Championship on six occasions, the WCW International World Heavyweight Championship on two occasions and the NWA World Heavyweight Championship on one occasion – and made more pay-per-view (PPV) appearances for the company than any other wrestler. Sting has been described as the WCW counterpart to the WWF's Hulk Hogan. Against Hogan, Sting headlined the highest-grossing PPV event in WCW history at Starrcade in December 1997. Upon the acquisition of WCW by the WWF in March 2001, Sting and his long-term rival Ric Flair were chosen to perform in the main event of the final episode of Nitro.

Following the expiration of his contract with WCW's parent company, AOL Time Warner, in March 2002, Borden held talks with the WWF, but ultimately did not join the promotion and instead toured internationally with World Wrestling All-Stars (WWA) – winning the WWA World Heavyweight Championship – before joining the then-upstart TNA in 2003. Over the following 11 years, he won the NWA World Heavyweight Championship on one further occasion and the TNA World Heavyweight Championship four times, as well as being the inaugural inductee into the TNA Hall of Fame in 2012. He is the only man to hold the NWA, WCW (WWA and WCW International, additionally) and TNA world championships in a career. Previously described by WWE as the greatest wrestler never to have performed for that promotion, Sting finally joined the company in 2014, making his first appearance at Survivor Series and having his debut match at WrestleMania 31 the following year. His last ever bout at Night of Champions in September 2015, marked his sole WWE pay-per-view main event and WWE World Heavyweight Championship contest for the organization. Sting headlined the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2016 on April 2, where he announced his retirement. His induction renders him the first performer to be inducted into both the WWE and TNA Hall of Fame, as well as the second man to be inducted while an active WWE wrestler, after Ric Flair.

Sting held 25 total championships throughout his career, including 21 between WCW and TNA. Readers of Pro Wrestling Illustrated named him "Most Popular Wrestler of the Year" on four occasions, a record he shares with John Cena. In 2016, Sting was inducted into the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame. Slam! Sports wrote that he holds "a lofty level of prestige that few will ever touch."

In wrestling[]

Finishing moves
- Scorpion Death Drop (Inverted DDT)
- Scorpion Deathlock (Sharpshooter)

Signature moves
- 180° splash
- Atomic drop
- Back body drop, sometimes from the top rope
- Back elbow
- Bell clap
- Belly to back suplex, sometimes bridging or from the top rope
- Canadian backbreaker rack
- Code Red (Leg-trap sunset flip powerbomb)
- Corner slingshot splash
- DDT
- Discus punch
- Diving clothesline
- Diving crossbody
- Diving tornado DDT
- Diving plancha
- Diving splash
- Dropkick
- Elbow strike
- Enzuigiri
- Flying headscissors takedown
- Gamengiri (Jumping high kick)
- Ganso Bomb (Back to belly piledriver)
- German suplex, sometimes bridging or release
- Gorilla press drop
- Hurricanrana
- Inverted atomic drop
- Jumping DDT
- Knife edge chop
- Lariat
- Lou Thesz press pin
- Military press slam
- Missile dropkick
- Multiple backhand strikes
- Muscle buster
- Oklahoma Stampede (Running powerslam)
- Olympic slam
- One-handed bulldog
- Plancha suicida
- Pop-up gutbuster
- Powerbomb, sometimes from the top rope
- Reverse monkey flip
- Reverse powerslam, on the turnbuckles
- Rolling armbar
- Running cannonball, to an oncoming opponent
- Running crossbody
- Running leaping elbow drop
- Running splash
- Samoan drop
- Small package
- Snap powerbomb
- Seated senton
- Sleeper hold
- Scissors facebuster
- Slingshot crossbody
- Slingshot plancha
- Slingshot splash
- Spinebuster, sometimes spinning
- Springboard crossbody
- Springboard senton
- Stinger Splash – innovated
- Scoop slam, sometimes with a hammerlock variant
- Scoop powerslam
- Superplex
- Tombstone piledriver
- Two-handed choke
- Vertical suplex, sometimes delayed

Nicknames
- "The Beastie Boy"
- "The Franchise (of WCW)"
- "The Icon"
- "The Insane Icon"
- "The Man They Call Sting"
- "The Stinger"
- "The Vigilante"

Entrance themes
- Universal Wrestling Federation
  - "Castle Walls" by Styx (used as a member of the Blade Runners)
  - "Everybody Wants You" by Billy Squier
  - "(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!)" by Beastie Boys
- Jim Crockett Promotions / World Championship Wrestling
  - "Snake City Rock" by Graeme David Taylor
  - "Rattlesnake Whip" by David Hubbard
  - "Turbo Charged" by Peter Hinton
  - "Man Called Sting" by Jimmy Papa
  - "Crow / Sting" by James Guthrie
  - "Wolfpac Theme" by C-Murder (used as a member of the nWo Wolfpac)
  - "Seek & Destroy" (Live at Woodstock 1999) by Metallica
- Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
  - "Stingellica" by Dale Oliver
  - "Yours" by TobyMac
  - "Slay Me" by Dale Oliver
  - "Main Event Mafia" by Dale Oliver (used as a member of the Main Event Mafia)
- World Wrestling Entertainment
  - "Out from the Shadows" by Jim Johnston
- All Elite Wrestling
  - "Arrival" by Mikey Rukus
  - "I Fell" by Wicca Phase Springs Eternal (used while teaming with Darby Allin)
  - ”Seek & Destroy” by Metallica

Championships and accomplishments[]

All Elite Wrestling
- AEW World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Darby Allin
Jim Crockett Promotions / World Championship Wrestling
- NWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- NWA World Television Championship (1 time)
- WCW World Heavyweight Championship (6 times)
- WCW International World Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
- WCW United States Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
- WCW World Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with Lex Luger (1), The Giant (1), and Kevin Nash (1)
- Jim Crockett, Sr. Memorial Cup (1988) – with Lex Luger
- Iron Man Tournament (1989)
- Battlebowl Battle Royal (1991)
- King of Cable Tournament (1992)
- WCW United States Championship Tournament (1991, 1995)
- European Cup (1994, 2000)
- London Lethal Lottery Tag Team Tournament (2000) – with Scott Steiner
- Third WCW Triple Crown Champion
Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- Ranked #1 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 1992
- Ranked #15 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the PWI Years in 2003
- Ranked #52 of the top 100 tag teams of the PWI Years with Lex Luger in 2003
- Comeback of the Year (2006, 2011, 2014)
- Match of the Year (1991) – with Lex Luger vs. Steiner Brothers (SuperBrawl I)
- Most Improved Wrestler of the Year (1988)
- Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year (1990)
- Most Popular Wrestler of the Year (1991, 1992, 1994, 1997)
- Wrestler of the Year (1990)
Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame
- Class of 2018
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
- NWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- TNA World Heavyweight Championship (4 times)
- TNA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Kurt Angle
- TNA Year End Awards
  - Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year (2007)
  - Match of the Year (2007) – vs. Kurt Angle (Bound for Glory)
  - Match of the Year (2009) – vs. A.J. Styles (Bound for Glory)
- IMPACT Hall of Fame
  - Class of 2012
Universal Wrestling Federation
- UWF World Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with Eddie Gilbert (2) and Rick Steiner (1)
World Wrestling All-Stars
- WWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
World Wrestling Entertainment
- WWE Hall of Fame
  - Class of 2016
- Slammy Awards
  - "This Is Awesome" Moment of the Year (2014) – Debuting to help Team Cena defeat Team Authority at Survivor Series
  - "Surprise Return of the Year" (2015) – as Seth Rollins' statue, and attacks Rollins on Raw
Wrestling Observer Newsletter
- Match of the Year (1988) – vs. Ric Flair (Clash of the Champions I)
- Most Charismatic (1988, 1992)
- Most Improved (1988)
- Most Unimproved (1990)
- Best Babyface (1992)
- Worst Worked Match of the Year (1995) – vs. Tony Palmore (Battle 7)
- Worst Worked Match of the Year (2011) – vs. Jeff Hardy (Victory Road)
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame
  - Class of 2016