History Wrestling / Sting

* TookALevelInDumbass / MotiveDecay: In four months since taking power, the DangerouslyGenreSavvy [[DarkIsNotEvil Dark]] GuileHero who rightly accused Hulk Hogan of protecting his favorites and successfully fought to expose and destroy TheIlluminati-style [[ItsAllAboutMe corruption]] and [[DrunkWithPower power grip]] Hulk was on with [[ObviouslyEvil Eric Bischoff]] through practically clairvoyant psychological warfare that lasted almost two years, has now been reduced to a borderline [[TheFundamentalist Fundamentalist]] [[ObstructiveBureaucrat Bureaucrat]] trying to screw with Bobby Roode for not being the kind of champion he favors. So far every inescapable situation he's put Roode in hasn't been so, and it's gotten even worse with his direct involvement increasing. In fact, Roode even utterly [[BatmanGambit played]] Sting at ''Against All Odds'' into '''helping''' him beat JeffHardy to keep the belt, and now Roode's gotten so deep under his skin that he's reverted to the [[ObfuscatingInsanity Joker mode]] that used to be his best tool against Immortal and actively booked himself in a pay-per-view fight with Roode, resulting in [[spoiler:the same "DrunkWithPower" protest gag that foreshadowed StoneColdSteveAustin's removal as co-GM of ''WWERaw'' in 2003]].
** May have just averted this trope by realizing himself that the GM!Avenger thing wasn't working and [[spoiler:voluntarily stepping down the ''Impact'' after ''Victory Road''.]]

** And he only turned [[DesignatedVillain heel]] because he knew Hogan was EvilAllAlong but also that [[YoureJustJealous nobody would ever listen]] long enough to see it.

* DangerouslyGenreSavvy CharacterDevelopment: Sting is considered to be the "dumbest man in wrestling" because of how many times he's allowed himself to be duped and betrayed over the years, infamously trusting the Four Horsemen twice. Things began to change in the middle of his career with TNA, as he began making [[DesignatedVillain Designated]] [[FaceHeelTurn Heel Turns]] for necessary causes and each time his plans came to fruition somehow.

*** During this period he once hid underneath a [[MaskPower mask]] to ambush Rob Van Dam. What kind of mask? A [[PaintingTheFourthWall Sting]] one.

* SuspiciouslySimilarSong: One of his TNA theme songs mimicked Metallica's "Seek And Destroy".

Steve Borden (1959-) is better known to wrestling fans as "the man called" '''Sting'''; he has served as a professional wrestler since 1985. The majority of his career was spent in {{WCW}}, where he became one of the company's biggest stars during the [[TheNineties 1990s]]. Starting off as a bleached-blonde surfer-type, he eventually transitioned into the [[TheCrow Crow-]][[{{Homage}} inspired]] look that he's retained to this day while feuding with the NewWorldOrder. Sting was a member of the WCW roster up until the company's demise in 2001, and wrestled in that company's last match, defeating longtime foe RicFlair. Notably, Sting has never once worked for Wrestling/{{WWE}} in any capacity since WCW's demise[[hottip:*:Although a new WWE Superstars page for Sting added on May 3, 2012 counts the main event of the last episode of ''Nitro'' on March 26, 2001 as [[http://www.wwe.com/superstars/sting "the first and only time Sting has appeared on a WWE-produced broadcast"]], choosing instead to have control over his career and gimmick. In 2006, he became an on-again/off-again member of the {{TNA}} roster, and has been working in that promotion to date.

Then Mick [[{{Kayfabe}} got]] [[PutOnABus fired]] and Sting got screwed out of the title. ObfuscatingInsanity followed suit, HeathLedger [[SelfDemonstrating/TheJoker Joker]] [[Film/TheDarkKnight style]]. The night of his rematch with Mr. Anderson, who by now had taken a DealWithTheDevil, he had five guys dressed as {{Monster Clown}}s [[MookHorrorShow run around taking out Immortal so they couldn't interfere]]. Four of them were [[TrueCompanions Fortune]], eliminating pretty much everyone in Immortal backstage. One was KurtAngle, cutting off [[BrooklynRage Bully Ray's]] interference during the match itself. Sting pinned Anderson and is champion again because of this trope. Even better, Fortune stated that Bully Ray was taken care of, one possible implication being that Sting told them not to go after Ray, meaning he ''saw the interference coming'' and perfectly planned for it to work to his advantage, capitalizing on the distraction Angle caused by taking out Bully Ray to pin Anderson for the title. This last paragraph wasn't a designated heel turn and he's still the face, btw, so he's actually been completely averting his once usual pattern of GoodIsDumb. Safe to say, he's no longer the idiot from WCW.

Steve Borden (1959-) is better known to wrestling fans as "the man called" '''Sting'''; he has served as a professional wrestler since 1985. The majority of his career was spent in {{WCW}}, where he became one of the company's biggest stars during the [[TheNineties 1990s]]. Starting off as a bleached-blonde surfer-type, he eventually transitioned into the [[TheCrow Crow-]][[{{Homage}} inspired]] look that he's retained to this day while feuding with the NewWorldOrder. Sting was a member of the WCW roster up until the company's demise in 2001, and wrestled in that company's last match, defeating longtime foe RicFlair. Notably, Sting has never once worked for {{WWE}} in any capacity since WCW's demise[[hottip:*:Although a new WWE Superstars page for Sting added on May 3, 2012 counts the main event of the last episode of ''Nitro'' on March 26, 2001 as [[http://www.wwe.com/superstars/sting "the first and only time Sting has appeared on a WWE-produced broadcast"]], choosing instead to have control over his career and gimmick. In 2006, he became an on-again/off-again member of the {{TNA}} roster, and has been working in that promotion to date.

* BatmanGambit: Disrespected HulkHogan in front of RicFlair to get Flair angry enough to call the match between the two of them back on after Hogan convinced Flair not to. Ironic considering his [[TheJoker present gimmick.]]

** One of his gimmicks for much of 2011 took a good bit of inspiration from ''Film/TheDarkKnight'' version of TheJoker, including face paint, being LaughingMad, and even having a small horde of clown masked {{Mooks}}. And yet he was most certainly a face.

Then Mick [[{{Kayfabe}} got]] [[PutOnABus fired]] and Sting got screwed out of the title. ObfuscatingInsanity followed suit, HeathLedger [[TheJoker Joker]] [[Film/TheDarkKnight style]]. The night of his rematch with Mr. Anderson, who by now had taken a DealWithTheDevil, he had five guys dressed as {{Monster Clown}}s [[MookHorrorShow run around taking out Immortal so they couldn't interfere]]. Four of them were [[TrueCompanions Fortune]], eliminating pretty much everyone in Immortal backstage. One was KurtAngle, cutting off [[BrooklynRage Bully Ray]]'s interference during the match itself. Sting pinned Anderson and is champion again because of this trope. Even better, Fortune stated that Bully Ray was taken care of, one possible implication being that Sting told them not to go after Ray, meaning he ''saw the interference coming'' and perfectly planned for it to work to his advantage, capitalizing on the distraction Angle caused by taking out Bully Ray to pin Anderson for the title. This last paragraph wasn't a designated heel turn and he's still the face, btw, so he's actually been completely averting his once usual pattern of GoodIsDumb. Safe to say, he's no longer the idiot from WCW.
** Then there was the night he got Hogan to [[VillainousBreakdown snap]] into an OpenMouthInsertFoot, which eventually led to Hogan's face turn as well as the end of any semblance of power for Immortal. For more details, see {{Awesome/TNA}}.

** [[FridgeBrilliance It's a]] [[TheJoker Joker gimmick]].

* ObfuscatingInsanity: Has recently done this, acting like ''Film/TheDarkKnight'' incarnation of TheJoker and generally pretending to be totally crazy to get under HulkHogan and Immortal's skin.

* ShoutOut: Seems to have worked in traits of ''Film/TheDarkKnight'' version of TheJoker into his character recently, including face paint and having a LaughingMad mentality.

(Do not confuse with the [[{{Sting}} trope]], [[ThePolice the musician]] (Gordon Sumner), [[TheSting the film]], the dagger used by [[LordOfTheRings Frodo and his Uncle]], or the painful infliction of the same name.)

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Sting_7357.jpg

Steve Borden (1959-) is better known to wrestling fans as "the man called" '''{{Wrestler/Sting}}'''; he has served as a professional wrestler since 1985. The majority of his career was spent in {{WCW}}, where he became one of the company's biggest stars during the [[TheNineties 1990s]]. Starting off as a bleached-blonde surfer-type, he eventually transitioned into the [[TheCrow Crow-]][[{{Homage}} inspired]] look that he's retained to this day while feuding with the NewWorldOrder. Sting was a member of the WCW roster up until the company's demise in 2001, and wrestled in that company's last match, defeating longtime foe RicFlair. Notably, Sting has never once worked for {{WWE}} in any capacity since WCW's demise[[hottip:*:Although a new WWE Superstars page for Sting added on May 3, 2012 counts the main event of the last episode of ''Nitro'' on March 26, 2001 as [[http://www.wwe.com/superstars/sting "the first and only time Sting has appeared on a WWE-produced broadcast"]], choosing instead to have control over his career and gimmick. In 2006, he became an on-again/off-again member of the {{TNA}} roster, and has been working in that promotion to date.

* TheJimmyHartVersion: One of his TNA theme songs mimicked Metallica's "Seek And Destroy".
** And in WCW, he actually DID use a live performance of "Seek and Destroy" as his theme; this is overdubbed on WWE [=DVDs=].
** That would be a case of "what goes around, comes around", since his theme in the late 80's/early 90's as Malibu!Sting (titled "Turbo-Charged") was an [[TheJimmyHartVersion NWA Version]] of "Seek and Destroy" (right around the same time his old partner "UltimateWarrior" Jim Helwig used Jimmy Hart's version of the song, titled "Unstable" on WWE Anthology, as his theme in the WWF, in fact).

* AchillesInHisTent: All of 1997.

** And UltimateWarrior, at least long time ago.

** If "I agree! I agree!" doesn't become one, it'll be a shock.

** One of his gimmicks for much of 2011 took a good bit of inspiration from ''TheDarkKnight'' version of TheJoker, including face paint, being LaughingMad, and even having a small horde of clown masked {{Mooks}}. And yet he was most certainly a face.

Then Mick [[{{Kayfabe}} got]] [[PutOnABus fired]] and Sting got screwed out of the title. ObfuscatingInsanity followed suit, HeathLedger [[TheJoker Joker]] [[TheDarkKnightSaga style]]. The night of his rematch with Mr. Anderson, who by now had taken a DealWithTheDevil, he had five guys dressed as {{Monster Clown}}s [[MookHorrorShow run around taking out Immortal so they couldn't interfere]]. Four of them were [[TrueCompanions Fortune]], eliminating pretty much everyone in Immortal backstage. One was KurtAngle, cutting off [[BrooklynRage Bully Ray]]'s interference during the match itself. Sting pinned Anderson and is champion again because of this trope. Even better, Fortune stated that Bully Ray was taken care of, one possible implication being that Sting told them not to go after Ray, meaning he ''saw the interference coming'' and perfectly planned for it to work to his advantage, capitalizing on the distraction Angle caused by taking out Bully Ray to pin Anderson for the title. This last paragraph wasn't a designated heel turn and he's still the face, btw, so he's actually been completely averting his once usual pattern of GoodIsDumb. Safe to say, he's no longer the idiot from WCW.

* ObfuscatingInsanity: Has recently done this, acting like ''[[Film/TheDarkKnightSaga The Dark Knight]]'' incarnation of TheJoker and generally pretending to be totally crazy to get under HulkHogan and Immortal's skin.

* ShoutOut: Seems to have worked in traits of ''TheDarkKnight'' version of TheJoker into his character recently, including face paint and having a LaughingMad mentality.

** And now his most recent gimmick seems to be taking a good bit of inspiration from ''TheDarkKnight'' version of TheJoker, including face paint, being LaughingMad, and even having a small horde of clown masked {{Mooks}}. And yet he's most certainly a face.

* CoolOldGuy: He's 50 and he's [[StillGotIt still got it]].

Steve Borden (1959-) is better known to wrestling fans as "the man called" '''{{Wrestler/Sting}}'''; he has served as a professional wrestler since 1985. The majority of his career was spent in {{WCW}}, where he became one of the company's biggest stars during the [[TheNineties 1990s]]. Starting off as a bleached-blonde surfer-type, he eventually transitioned into the [[TheCrow Crow-]][[{{Homage}} inspired]] look that he's retained to this day while feuding with the NewWorldOrder. Sting was a member of the WCW roster up until the company's demise in 2001, and wrestled in that company's last match, defeating longtime foe RicFlair. Notably, Sting has never once worked for {{WWE}} in any capacity since WCW's demise[[hottip:*:Although a new Superstars page for Sting added on May 3, 2012 counts the main event of the last episode of ''Nitro'' on March 26, 2001 as [[http://www.wwe.com/superstars/sting WWE "the first and only time Sting has appeared on a WWE-produced broadcast"]], choosing instead to have control over his career and gimmick. In 2006, he became an on-again/off-again member of the {{TNA}} roster, and has been working in that promotion to date.

Steve Borden (1959-) is better known to wrestling fans as "the man called" '''{{Wrestler/Sting}}'''; he has served as a professional wrestler since 1985. The majority of his career was spent in {{WCW}}, where he became one of the company's biggest stars during the [[TheNineties 1990s]]. Starting off as a bleached-blonde surfer-type, he eventually transitioned into the [[TheCrow Crow-]][[{{Homage}} inspired]] look that he's retained to this day while feuding with the NewWorldOrder. Sting was a member of the WCW roster up until the company's demise in 2001, and wrestled in that company's last match, defeating longtime foe RicFlair. Notably, Sting has never once worked for {{WWE}} in any capacity since WCW's demise[[hottip:*:Although a new [[http://www.wwe.com/superstars/sting WWE Superstars page for Sting]] added on May 3, 2012 counts the main event of the last episode of ''Nitro'' on March 26, 2001 as "the first and only time Sting has appeared on a WWE-produced broadcast"]], choosing instead to have control over his career and gimmick. In 2006, he became an on-again/off-again member of the {{TNA}} roster, and has been working in that promotion to date.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: [[http://www2.dailystar.co.uk/inthering/view/184049/Wrestlemania-takes-hold Sting was approached]] to wrestle TheUndertaker at ''Wrestlemania XXVII'', but turned it down because he disliked VinceMcMahon's treatment of former WCW talent. Despite the age of both competitors, it could've been a dream match between two of the industries biggest and longest-lasting stars.

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: In an episode of ''Thursday Night Impact'' that aired just before the ''Bound For Glory'' pay-per-view in October 2010, "The Pope" D'Angelo Dinero, accompanied by KevinNash and Sting, came to Taz and Mike Tenay's broadcast booth to do commentary. Sting was not in whiteface, but was still recognizable thanks to the familiar black baseball bat he was carrying. While on commentary, Pope quipped (in an obvious ShoutOut to ''BatmanForever''): "Riddle me this, riddle me that. Who's the man with the big black bat?" Taz and Mike Tenay assumed he was referring to Sting, but Pope was actually talking about his... uh, own "big black bat".

*** During this period he once hid underneath a [[MaskPower mask]] to ambush Double J. What kind of mask? A [[PaintingTheFourthWall Sting]] one.

Steve Borden (1959-) is better known to wrestling fans as "the man called" '''{{Wrestler/Sting}}'''; he has served as a professional wrestler since 1985. The majority of his career was spent in {{WCW}}, where he became one of the company's biggest stars during the [[TheNineties 1990s]]. Starting off as a bleached-blonde surfer-type, he eventually transitioned into the [[TheCrow Crow-]][[{{Homage}} inspired]] look that he's retained to this day while feuding with the NewWorldOrder. Sting was a member of the WCW roster up until the company's demise in 2001, and wrestled in that company's last match, defeating longtime foe RicFlair. Notably, Sting has never once worked for {{WWE}} in any capacity since WCW's demise, choosing instead to have control over his career and gimmick. In 2006, he became an on-again/off-again member of the {{TNA}} roster, and has been working in that promotion to date.

* PaleSkinnedBrunette: "Crow" Sting.