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In May 2020, it was reported that Sting was no longer under WWE contract.

On the February 25, 2019 episode of Raw, Sting made his first appearance on WWE television since 2016, at the 70th birthday celebration of Ric Flair but Flair was attacked by Batista before he could make it to the ring.

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".

It was announced on the January 11, 2016 episode of Raw that Sting would be the first member of the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2016. Sting ultimately reneged on having surgery; on March 22, 2016 he explained that he felt "completely normal" and had none of the side effects associated with cervical spinal stenosis. On April 2, during his WWE Hall of Fame induction speech, Sting announced his retirement from professional wrestling. He appeared at WrestleMania 32, alongside his fellow 2016 inductees, the following night.

In August 2016, Sting appeared on the WWE Network show Legends with JBL and talked about his career. He also stated that he has still not undergone surgery, which would definitively end his career, and he still holds hope for a match with The Undertaker, claiming that such a match is his "unfinished business" in wrestling. However, the match has yet to happen with both their careers winding down.

On November 23, during the main event of Survivor Series, Sting made his first-ever appearance in a WWE ring by attacking Triple H with a Scorpion Death Drop and also costing Team Authority the match. On January 19, 2015, Sting made his live Raw debut by appearing backstage during the main event, then walking to the stage, causing a distraction and costing Authority members Big Show, Kane and Seth Rollins their handicap match against John Cena; this win gave the recently fired Dolph Ziggler, Ryback and Erick Rowan their jobs back. Triple H challenged Sting to a face-to-face confrontation on the January 26 episode of Raw. Sting accepted this challenge on the February 16 episode of Raw by sending a Sting doppelganger into the ring to scare Triple H, after airing a vignette on the big screen accepting Triple H's challenge. Sting and Triple H had a confrontation at Fastlane on February 22. Following physicality between the two, Sting pointed to the WrestleMania 31 sign with his baseball bat, issuing a challenge for the event that was accepted by Triple H. On the March 16 episode of Raw, Sting made a surprise appearance and helped Randy Orton fight off the Authority. Immediately following on the WWE Network, Sting spoke for the first time in-ring. He lost at WrestleMania 31 in a match involving interference from D-Generation X and New World Order members, but shook hands with Triple H afterward.

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 professional wrestling match came at Night of Champions in September 2015, which also 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.

On the June 13 episode of Impact Wrestling, Sting noted that nobody in the back helped him during his title match, but he would form a New Main Event Mafia to battle the Aces & Eights. In the following weeks, Sting would recruit Kurt Angle, Samoa Joe, Magnus, and Rampage Jackson as members of the New Main Event Mafia. Before Bound for Glory, MEM member Magnus complained to Sting because his losses. Magnus told to Sting he had Flair to put him in the map, but he had nobody, so Sting challenged him to a match at Bound for Glory. At Bound for Glory, Sting was defeated by Magnus. On the October 31 episode of Impact Wrestling, Dixie Carter offered to lift the lifetime ban so Sting can get another World title opportunity again by entering him first in a Battle Royal Gauntlet match, which was won by Magnus as Sting attempted to eliminate Kazarian, and Magnus eliminated the both of them. Sting disbanded The Main Event Mafia after Aces & Eights disbanded, and while other members began to chase their World Heavyweight Title dreams, Sting started a feud against Ethan Carter III and Dixie Carter after they began humiliating TNA Legends, like Curry Man and Earl Hebner by Carter. On the December 12 episode of Impact, Carter was confronted by Sting, and was issued an option, either face Sting immediately, or enter the Feast or Fired match. Carter entered the Feast or Fired match, and grabbed one of the briefcases. On the December 19 episode of Impact Wrestling, the Feast or Fired briefcase revealed to contain a future World Tag Team Championship match, and also led to the firing of Chavo Guerrero. On the January 16, 2014 episode of Impact Wrestling: Genesis, Sting lost a match to Ethan Carter III due an interference from the World Champion Magnus and subsequently challenged Magnus to a Title vs. Career match for the January 23 episode of Impact Wrestling: Genesis, which Sting lost, and his TNA contract was terminated as a result.

Veteran professional wrestling journalist Bill Apter chronicled Sting's career in a piece for WWE.com on February 19, 2014, wherein he stated that Sting's "best days may still be yet to come". He appeared in a WWE Network production on April 15, 2014, sharing a story of his former tag team partner The Ultimate Warrior, who had recently died. This marked Sting's first non-archive appearance on a WWE-branded show. Sting was a prominent contributor to the documentary film Warrior: The Ultimate Legend, which aired on the WWE Network on April 17. The following day, online retailer Zavvi announced the WWE Home Video DVD and Blu-ray The Best of Sting, which was released on September 23, 2014. On July 14, Sting appeared in a vignette on Raw to promote the video game WWE 2K15, in which he was featured as a pre-order bonus character in both his 'Crow' and 'Surfer' (pre-1996) incarnations. That same day, WWE began selling official Sting merchandise. On July 24, Borden made his first public appearance for WWE, in full Sting garb, as a surprise guest at the 2014 San Diego Comic-Con International. The event was held to announce WWE's upcoming line of Mattel action figures, in which the company's first ever Sting figure would appear. Prior to that appearance, Sting gave his first interview with WWE.com, which was released later that day. On August 4, WWE announced Sting as a guest on the WWE 2K15 "Roster Reveal" panel, which took place on August 16 in Los Angeles.

Sting was regarded by colleagues in WCW as a professional and well-respected locker room leader. Prominent adversary Big Van Vader felt that Sting had unsurpassed athletic prowess within the business, and "ranks right up at the top" as an in-ring performer. Ric Flair called Sting his greatest opponent. Former rival Diamond Dallas Page, commenting on Sting's entry into WWE in 2014, said: "Everyone there grew up watching him... No one did it better than Sting, nobody".

John Cena mimicked Sting's hairstyle in his younger years and recalled, "he was my guy"; Seth Rollins would dress up as Sting in his youth. Tommy Dreamer told how he "wanted to be Sting"—a sentiment shared by Jeff Hardy. Cody Rhodes and Shelton Benjamin named him their favorite childhood wrestler, while Tyson Kidd professed to being "a huge Sting fan as a kid". He was also a prominent influence on industry veterans Kurt Angle, Bill Goldberg, Kane, A.J. Styles and Goldust. Bray Wyatt has stressed that he "really would like to take on" Sting, adding: "I have to have [that] before I die; I don't care if it happens outside a Waffle House, somewhere."

Prior to his signing with WWE, Sting was widely considered the greatest wrestler never to perform for the company. He had "really good conversations" with the promotion during his career, but did not appear there until 2014, at the age of 55. His loyalty to WCW, even in its dying days, has been noted. That organization was purchased by the WWF (now WWE) in 2001, and Sting's contract with its parent company AOL Time Warner expired in 2002, but he still refused to make the jump, alternately attributing this to the WWF's creative usage of former WCW talents and negative dealings with their attorneys. The company's onerous live schedule and the content of its programming were also factors. Sting has, however, downplayed rumors of a difficult relationship with WWE.

Sting returned on the January 3, 2013, episode of Impact Wrestling, saving Kurt Angle and Samoa Joe from Aces & Eights before beating the group down with a baseball bat. Sting wrestled his return match the following week, defeating Aces & Eights member Mike Knox after he injured Kurt Angle. Three days later at Genesis, Sting gained his revenge on DOC by defeating him in a singles match. On the February 7 episode of Impact Wrestling, Sting teamed up with Bully Ray to defeat Devon and DOC in a Tables match. On March 10 at Lockdown, Team TNA, consisting of Sting, Eric Young, James Storm, Magnus, and Samoa Joe defeated Aces & Eights, consisting of Devon, DOC, Garett Bischoff, Mike Knox, and Mr. Anderson in a Lethal Lockdown match. After Bully Ray won the World Heavyweight Championship and revealed himself as the leader of Aces & Eights later that night, Hulk Hogan blamed Sting as he had encouraged Hogan to give Ray the title shot while also encouraging Hogan to support Ray's marriage with his daughter Brooke. Sting proceeded to walk out on Hogan. Sting returned on the April 25 Impact Wrestling, saving Hogan from an attack by the Aces & Eights. The following week, Sting reconciled with Hogan and became the number one contender to the TNA World Heavyweight Championship later that night after defeating Matt Morgan. On June 2 at Slammiversary XI, Sting unsuccessfully challenged Bully Ray for the World Heavyweight Championship in a No Holds Barred Match after an interference by Aces & Eights. Per stipulation, Sting would never get another World title opportunity again.

Over the next few weeks, Sting displayed a more maniacal character similar in look and style to Heath Ledger's portrayal of the Joker from the 2008 film The Dark Knight. On the July 14 edition of Impact Wrestling, Sting, now dubbed as the "Insane Icon", regained the TNA World Heavyweight Championship from Mr. Anderson, after Fortune and Kurt Angle, disguised as his clown minions, attacked each member of Immortal, preventing them from interfering in the match. He would go on to lose the title to Kurt Angle on August 7 at Hardcore Justice, after Angle hit him with a chair brought to the ring by Hulk Hogan. Sting continued tormenting head members of Immortal with his strange new personality, and on the August 18 edition of Impact Wrestling, his longtime rival Ric Flair made his return to TNA and challenged him to a match. Sting agreed to put his career on the line in the match in exchange for Flair promising to deliver him his long-awaited match with Hogan, should he be able to defeat him. On the September 1 edition of Impact Wrestling, Sting received a rematch against Angle for the World Heavyweight Championship, but was defeated following interference from special enforcer Hulk Hogan and the rest of Immortal. On September 11 at No Surrender, Hogan once again cost Sting the TNA World Heavyweight Championship in a three-way match, which also included Mr. Anderson. On the September 15 edition of Impact Wrestling, Sting defeated longtime rival Ric Flair to earn the right to face Hogan at Bound for Glory. On the October 6 edition of Impact Wrestling, after being exposed for his false claim of retiring and his secret ridicule of the fans, a furious Hogan impulsively agreed to hand TNA back to Dixie Carter, should Sting manage to defeat him at the pay-per-view. On October 16 at Bound for Glory, Sting defeated Hogan to bring Dixie Carter back to power. After the match, Hogan turned on Immortal and helped Sting overcome the odds in his battle with the stable. On the following edition of Impact Wrestling, Carter placed Sting in charge of the program. Sting returned to the ring on the December 22 and February 9, 2012, editions of Impact Wrestling, where he teamed up with Jeff Hardy to defeat TNA World Heavyweight Champion Bobby Roode and Bully Ray both times.

During the first months of 2012, Sting feuded with the World Champion Bobby Roode. He was defeated by Roode at Victory Road in a non-title No Holds Barred match, and at Slammiversary in a title match.. During this time, he also left the General Manager position in favor of Hulk Hogan, signed a new contract extension with TNA and was announced as the first inducteed into the TNA Hall of Fame.

Borden was an admitted anabolic steroid user in the 1980s. He became a born-again Christian in August 1998. Sting got saved after confessing his adultery, and substance and alcohol abuse to his ex-wife. His elder son Garrett attended Azusa Pacific University, where he played college football as a running back. Steven attended Kilgore College, where he played tight end; on December 19, 2012, he committed to attend the University of Kentucky. After the 2015 NFL Draft, Steven was invited by the Kansas City Chiefs to try out for the team at their rookie mini-camp. Sting's mother became a Christian when he was growing up. Since retiring from wrestling Sting has gone on to travel all over the world with Impact Wrestling.

He returned on February 24, 2011 at the tapings of the March 3 edition of Impact!, where he appeared as a surprise challenger and defeated Immortal's World Chasmpion Jeff Hardy to win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship for the third time. On March 13 at Victory Road, Sting successfully defended the title against Hardy in a No Disqualification rematch that lasted ninety seconds. According to word from backstage, the match was planned to last longer, but it was cut short after Hardy was deemed too intoxicated to wrestle . Sting was later heard agreeing with a fan's claim that the match was "bullshit". The following month at Lockdown, Sting successfully defended the title against Mr. Anderson and Rob Van Dam in a three-way steel cage match, Van Dam at Sacrifice, and Anderson at Slammiversary IX, where he lost the title following outside interference from Eric Bischoff.

On the January 4, 2010, live-three-hour, Monday night edition of Impact! Sting returned to the Impact! Zone appearing in the rafters of the arena. Sting reappeared two months later on March 8, attacking Hulk Hogan and Abyss during a match against A.J. Styles and Ric Flair, turning heel as a result. He was later defeated by the debuting Rob Van Dam. During th following months, Sting would join other heel wrestlers against face wrestlers like Van Dam, Jarrett or Hogan. At Lockdown, the Team Flair (formed by Sting, Desmond Wolfe, Robert Roode and James Storm) were defeated by Team Hogan (Abyss, Jeff Jarrett, Rob Van Dam and Jeff Hardy). After defeating Jeff Jarrett at Sacrifice, Sting faced the TNA World Champion Rob Van Dam at Slammiversary VIII. However, during the match Jarrett made his return and cost Sting the title.

After assaulting Jarrett from behind on the June 24 edition of Impact!, TNA president Dixie Carter suspended in storyline Sting for 30 days. When he returned, Sting changed his gimmick, wearing his nWo Wolfpac red face paint, and was paired with Kevin Nash. They would start a feud with Jeff Jarrett and Samoa Joe, facing them No Surrender and Bound for Glory, where Sting, Nash and [D'Angelo Dinero]] defeated Jeff Jarrett and Samoa Joe after Jarrett left thering and Joe wrestled alone. At the end of the event it was revealed that Sting had been right about Hogan and Bischoff all along, as they turned heel with Jarrett and Jeff Hardy as Abyss's "they", and in the process turned Sting, Nash and Dinero back to being faces. On the following edition of Impact!, Sting and Nash refused to join Hogan, Bischoff and their new group, Immortal. After the promo, they walked out on TNA, but Nash left the promotion for real. Borden took hiatus from TNA television as his contract had expired at the end of 2010.

As 2007 came along, Sting continued his feud with Abyss while trying to recapture the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, facing him at Final Resolution, Against All Odds and Destination X in a Last Rites match, but he nver claim the title. Also, Abyss and Sting were placed in different team in the Lethal Lockdown match at Lockdown. Sting, with the help of Jeff Jarrett, pinned Abyss to win the match for his team and end their bitter rivalry.

After that, Sting started a feud with the TNA World Champion Kurt Angle. First, Sting defeated A.J. Styles, Christian Cage, and Samoa Joe in a four-way match to become the co-holder of the TNA World Tag Team Championship with Angle, but lost it 30 days later against Adam "Pacman" Jones and Ron Killings at No Surrender. Sting would face Angle for the World title at Bound for Glory, where Sting won his first TNA World Heavyweight Championship. However, he would lost the title back to Angle two days later on Impact! after Kevin Nash interfered on Angle's behalf. Sting would face Angle and Nash at Genesis, with the debutant Booker T as his mystery partner. In the match, whoever scored the pinfall would win the TNA World Championship, which Angle won after pinning Sting to retain the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. This would be the final TNA appearance of Sting in 2007 as he would take some time off to be with his family.

On December 11, 2005, at Turning Point, as Jeff Jarrett stood in the ring celebrating his victory, the lights in the arena went out as images of a scorpion—Sting's symbol— appeared on the arena screens, along with the date "January 15, 2006". Spotlights then illuminated the ring, revealing a chair bearing Sting's signature trench coat, boots, and a black baseball bat in the center of the ring. His return to TNA was officially announced one minute after midnight on the January 1, 2006 episode of Impact!. On January 15 at Final Resolution, Sting and Christian Cage defeated NWA World Heavyweight Champion Jeff Jarrett and Monty Brown in a tag team match after Sting pinned Jarrett. On the January 28, 2006 episode of Impact!, Sting made his Spike TV debut and first appearance on national television in almost five years, announcing his retirement.

His book, Moment Of Truth, was released on December 1, 2004. In October 2015, WWE released a second Sting DVD titled Sting: Into the Light. The three-disc set features a behind-the-scenes documentary with Sting himself as he prepares to step into a WWE ring for the first time ever at WrestleMania 31.

Sting embarked on a second tour with WWA in May 2003, successfully defending his championship against Rick Steiner, Shane Douglas, and Disco Inferno. The WWA held its final show, The Reckoning, on May 25 in Auckland, New Zealand, where NWA World Heavyweight Champion Jeff Jarrett defeated Sting for the WWA World Heavyweight Championship, unifying the two championships.

In 2003, Sting signed a contract committing him to four appearances with the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) promotion. He debuted in TNA on the June 18 one year anniversary show, teaming with Jeff Jarrett to defeat A.J. Styles and Syxx Pac. Following this, Borden engaged in a comprehensive series of sitdown interviews with Mike Tenay, discussing his career and his faith. Sting returned to TNA on November 5, 2003, defeating Jarrett by disqualification in a match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. On November 12, Sting teamed with A.J. Styles to defeat Jarrett and Lex Luger. He made his final TNA appearance of 2003 on December 17, defeating Jarrett in a non-title match. On March 24, 2004, Borden was interviewed once again by Mike Tenay as part of the promotion for his direct-to-video biographical film, Sting: Moment of Truth, and on March 31, he returned to the company for one night only as the special guest enforcer for the main-event, a four-way match between Abyss, A.J. Styles, Raven, and Ron Killings, which Raven won.

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 a result, he became the only wrestler to have won the NWA, WCW, and TNA world championships in a career. He was also the inaugural inductee into the TNA Hall of Fame in 2012.

After the WWF did not buy out Sting's contract with AOL Time Warner, he rejected a buyout offer of 50 cents on the dollar from AOL Time Warner, instead waiting until his contract expired in March 2002 (he announced a short-lived retirement in February of that year). Borden then entered into contract negotiations with the WWF, but ultimately did not join the promotion.

In 2002, after over a year and a half of hiatus, Borden toured Europe with the World Wrestling All-Stars (WWA) promotion throughout November and December. His first match in the WWA took place on November 28, 2002, in Dublin, Ireland, where he reunited with Lex Luger to defeat Buff Bagwell and Malice. At The Retribution on December 6, 2002 in Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom, Sting lost to Luger in a bout for the vacant WWA World Heavyweight Championship. Sting defeated Luger to claim the WWA World Heavyweight Championship in Zurich, Switzerland, on December 13.

Rather than sign with the WWF in 2002, Sting performed for smaller promotions, becoming the centerpiece of TNA by the mid 2000s. His pre-WWE career included "dream" matches against former WWF stars Hulk Hogan and Bret Hart in WCW, as well as bouts opposite names such as Ric Flair, Randy Savage, Kurt Angle and Mick Foley. Sting often wrestled Steve Austin in WCW; he had positive negotiations with WWE in 2003, with his proposed debut angle being a confrontation with Austin at the conclusion of WrestleMania XIX. He was also "very, very close" to making a deal with the company in 2011, which would potentially have involved a match against The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXVII. Although Sting twice wrestled Mark Calaway in his pre-Undertaker character, Mark Callous, at WCW live events in 1990, WWE viewers clamored for a televised Sting versus Undertaker match.

Sting went on to feud with Jeff Jarrett and then Scott Steiner. Steiner attacked and injured Sting in November 2000. Sting stayed off WCW programming until the final episode of Nitro on March 26, 2001. WCW had been purchased by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), and the final match in WCW history pitted Sting against his longtime rival Flair; the two had also competed on the very first edition of Nitro on September 4, 1995. Sting defeated Flair and the two embraced at the end of the contest.

WCW officials Vince Russo and Eric Bischoff, in an attempt to save the fading company, rebooted the storylines on April 10, 2000, and declared all titles vacant. At Spring Stampede the following week, Sting advanced to the finals of the United States Championship tournament by defeating Booker T and Vampiro in the first two rounds. Vampiro cost Sting the championship in the finals against Scott Steiner, leading to an intense feud between Sting and Vampiro. Sting pinned Vampiro at Slamboree in May, and Vampiro beat Sting in a Human Torch match at The Great American Bash the next month; for the climax of the match, Borden switched with a stuntman, who was set on fire and thrown off the top of the frame of the stage's entrance video screen. At Bash at the Beach, he returned wearing another Sting mask as men wearing cloaks and Sting masks carried him in a casket, and then he attacked Vampiro.

Sting returned to Nitro in March 1999, sporting the black and white Crow-inspired attire he debuted in 1996 and began to participate in more mic work. By this time, the nWo storyline had faded, and Sting was not aligned with any of its factions. Sting competed in the main event of April's Spring Stampede, a Four Corners match for the World Championship, against Hogan, DDP, and champion Flair. Savage served as special guest referee and delivered a diving elbow drop to help DDP win the match and the title.

On July 16 at Victory Road, Sting won a four-way to win a title shot for Jarrett's NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Sting received his title shot on August 13 at Hard Justice, but failed to capture the title after Christian Cage turned heel and hit Sting with Jarrett's guitar. He would have another match at Bound for Glory, where Sting put his career on the line. He went on to claim his second NWA World Heavyweight title when he made Jarrett submit to the Scorpion Deathlock marking the first major championship title Sting had won since 1999. With that victory, Sting became the oldest NWA World Heavyweight Champion of the TNA era, as well as the only person to ever win the title both before and after the inception of TNA. This would also go on to make Sting the longest superstar to recapture his second NWA title from 1990 to 2006 (16 years).

Prior to his signing with WWE, Sting's legacy was perpetuated by the organization. It hailed him as "one of sports-entertainment's elite", and ranked him at number one in listings of the greatest wrestlers to never perform in WWE, and the greatest stars in WCW history. In 2013, the company named Sting's WCW World Heavyweight Championship contest against Diamond Dallas Page, on April 26, 1999, as the greatest match ever aired on WCW's flagship Monday Nitro program. At Night of Champions 2013, WWE organized a viewer poll to determine the greatest United States Champion of all time: Sting, a two-time champion, beat out the other four contenders – all WWE Hall of Famers – in a landslide victory with 53% of the overall vote. In regard to Sting's creative handling after he signed with WWE, PWInsider editor Dave Scherer wrote that "he really represented WCW so he was never going to get that [legend] treatment".

As 1998 began, the nWo began to splinter. Sting recaptured the vacant WCW World Heavyweight Championship in February at SuperBrawl VIII with the help of Savage, who was beginning to split from the nWo. Sting went on to successfully defend the title against the likes of Hall, Nash, and Diamond Dallas Page (DDP). Like Savage, Nash began to pull away from the Hogan-dominated nWo, and Nash helped Savage beat Sting for the championship at Spring Stampede in April. Nash and Savage officially split from the original nWo on May 4, forming the face group nWo Wolfpac, while Hogan's heel faction became identified as nWo Hollywood. The two nWo factions vied for Sting's allegiance, with Sting's friends The Giant joining nWo Hollywood and Luger joining nWo Wolfpac. Sting seemed to have joined nWo Hollywood when he appeared wearing a black and white nWo shirt, but he soon tore off the shirt to reveal the red and black of the nWo Wolfpac. Sting began wearing red and black face paint and tights as a member of nWo Wolfpac.

In a series of unusual loyalty tests over the next months, Sting would confront a WCW wrestler in the ring and shove the wrestler several times with his bat until the wrestler was provoked enough to advance on him. Then Sting would draw the weapon back as if he were going to assault him, causing the wrestler to stop. Sting would hand the bat to the offended wrestler and turn his back, offering the wrestler a chance at retaliation. When the wrestler hesitated or declined, Sting would nod, retrieve the bat and leave the ring. In January 1997, a "blackballed" Randy Savage returned to WCW for the first time since Halloween Havoc and aligned himself with Sting as a "free agent" as he refused to join the nWo although WCW Vice President Eric Bischoff, also one of the leaders of the nWo, declared he would not be allowed back in WCW if he didn't. For the next few weeks, the two were seen in the rafters together and coming to the ring together. This story, however, petered out at SuperBrawl VII in February; Sting and Savage had come to the ring together to watch Roddy Piper face Hogan in a match for the WCW world title. As Sting left, Savage went to the ring and helped Hogan win the match, thus going back on his word and joining the nWo. Over the next couple of weeks, Sting would accompany the nWo, indicating that he too joined the group. However, at WCW Uncensored in March 1997, as the nWo celebrated a victory in the main event battle royal which guaranteed them title shots whenever they desired with their newest recruit, Chicago Bulls NBA star Dennis Rodman, Sting rappelled from the roof of the arena on a vertical zip-line. When Hall and Nash went to approach him, Sting attacked them and Randy Savage when he tried to intervene, revealing his allegiance to WCW.

Sting was a major attraction in 1997, being WCW's top merchandise seller (second only to the WWF's Steve Austin overall) and, versus Hollywood Hogan, headlining the biggest-grossing pay-per-view event in the company's history at Starrcade 1997. Sting went on to join the nWo Wolfpac stable, which dominated WCW's merchandise sales at events in mid 1998. Discussing Sting in WWE, Kevin Nash said that he is "so valuable to the company as a trademark".

Early in 1996, Sting's appearance started to change: he grew longer, darker hair, replacing his blond flattop haircut, and he often wore black tights with a multi-colored scorpion, although he occasionally wore his colorful ones and maintained his colorful face paint. Sting teamed with his old friend Luger, who had returned to WCW from WWF in September 1995, despite Luger's standing as a heel. The duo beat Harlem Heat for the WCW World Tag Team Championship on the January 22 edition of Nitro. The team often retained the championship as a result of Luger's cheating tactics, to which Sting remained oblivious. When Luger was temporarily unavailable for WCW Uncensored in March, Harlem Heat member Booker T teamed up with Sting to successfully prevent the title from changing hands. Sting and Booker T developed a mutual respect that showed itself when Sting and Luger granted Harlem Heat a rematch. During the Tag title run, Sting received a World title shot against The Giant at Slamboree in May, but lost after accidental interference from Luger. Harlem Heat eventually won the titles back on the June 24 edition of Nitro.

In the summer of 1996, Sting was the first to stand up to The Outsiders: Kevin Nash and Scott Hall, who had recently competed in the WWF and whose alliances and agenda were unclear, had been infiltrating and causing chaos at WCW events. Sting teamed with Luger and Savage to defend WCW against Hall, Nash, and a mysterious third Outsider to be revealed at the Bash at the Beach. Hall and Nash started the bout without their third partner, but the WCW's temporary three-on-two advantage was short-lived: Luger left the match after he was accidentally injured by a mistimed Stinger Splash. The two-on-two match continued while Hogan, who had been a fan favorite for nearly fifteen years, emerged at ringside. Hogan appeared ready to back up the WCW wrestlers until he attacked Savage with his leg drop finisher in one of wrestling's most famous swerves. The match was ruled a no-contest, and Hall, Nash, and Hogan declared a new world order in professional wrestling. The name stuck and Sting became one of WCW's stalwarts against the New World Order, or nWo for short.

As part of this, Sting and Luger went up to rivals and Four Horsemen members Ric Flair and Arn Anderson some time after Bash at the Beach and asked them to team with him, saying that they needed to put aside their differences for the good of WCW. Flair and Anderson agreed and the four wrestlers composed Team WCW for the annual WarGames match at Fall Brawl in September 1996. They would be facing the nWo's team of Hall, Nash, Hogan, and a fourth member yet to be determined. On the Nitro prior to the event, however, the nWo played a trick on WCW claiming that Sting was joining their side. A vignette was shown where the nWo had a recording of Sting's voice playing in its limousine as Luger was being lured into the parking lot. Once he was there a man dressed as Sting, played by Jeff Farmer, attacked him and the crowd at home was led to believe that Sting had joined up with the nWo and would be their fourth man against what was now a three-man WCW team. Sting, however, was not at that edition of Nitro and showed up at Fall Brawl just as his teammates declared that they would face the nWo by themselves. Sting told Luger that he did not attack him, but Luger refused to believe him. Later, during the match, Sting entered as the fourth and final man for Team WCW, after the impostor Sting had entered for the nWo. Once in the ring, Sting immediately took out all four members of the nWo. He then stopped, turned to Luger, and angrily said to him, "Is that good enough for you right there? Is that proof enough?" Sting then gave Luger an obscene gesture and walked out of the match, leaving Team WCW at a four-on-three disadvantage which they did not overcome. The next night on Nitro, Sting came out unannounced during the middle of the show with no music or entrance pyrotechnics. He entered the ring and, with his back turned to the camera side of the audience, launched into an angry tirade about what had transpired over the last week:

Declaring he would visit "from time to time", Sting threw the microphone down and left the ring. Days after the infamous promo, he was booked for shows in New Japan Pro Wrestling, to take part in the Japan/U.S. Superstars Tournament, where he defeated Masahiro Chono in the first round, but was eliminated in the second round by Shiro Koshinaka. His last match of 1996 took place on September 23 at the Yokohama Arena, where he and Lex Luger teamed up to defeat Arn Anderson and Steven Regal. It would end up being his last tour of Japan. On the October 21, 1996, edition of Nitro, Sting returned for the first time since the night after Fall Brawl. In a match where the impostor Sting was wrestling Mr. JL, Sting emerged wearing a trench coat and white face paint with black marks around his eyes. He went in the ring and attacked nWo Sting (who was still imitating Sting's old mannerisms at this point) with his new finisher, the Scorpion Death Drop inverted DDT, two jumping elbow drops, a Stinger Splash and a Scorpion Deathlock while the rest of the nWo came to ringside. Rather than intervene, they simply stood by and watched. After Sting was done, Ted DiBiase and Kevin Nash came into the ring and made Sting an offer to join the nWo and get back at WCW for betraying him. Sting, after a pause, first called out the nWo Sting as a "cheap imitation," before telling the nWo, "the real Sting may or may not be in your price range," and then concluded by saying "the only thing that's for sure about Sting is that nothing's for sure". With that, Sting left the ring and would not speak (on mic) on WCW programming again for over a year. After this a silent, almost ghostly Sting, carrying a baseball bat as a weapon, began appearing in the rafters at WCW events and began painting his entire face with black and white corpse paint. Sting's new gimmick was inspired by the 1994 film The Crow. In retaliation, nWo Sting, who was still imitating Borden, began painting his face this way as well. While appearing on a WCW/nWo merchandise special on QVC Sports in late 1999, Borden admitted that Scott Hall had initially suggested the idea of painting his face like the character of Eric Draven from The Crow. Sting maintains aspects of his "Crow" persona to date, occasionally with different designs and use of color of the face paint.

The next night on Nitro, Hogan protested the decision claiming that Patrick's decision should have been considered final and a rematch was granted. The match ran over Nitro's allotted time slot and the finish was aired later in the week on the inaugural episode of Thunder. Similar to the Starrcade result, two different referees declared the two different men as the winner. Later that night, Dillon vacated the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, forcing Sting to surrender the belt. Sting responded with his first words (on mic) since October 1996 when he told Dillon, "You've got no guts!" Sting turned to Hogan and said, "And you... You're a dead man!".

Sting is widely known for his time spent as the public face of two major American 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).

At The Great American Bash 1995, Sting defeated Meng to win another tournament for the WCW United States Championship. Sting defeated Meng in a rematch for the title at Bash at the Beach 1995. Sting was on the first-ever Monday Nitro in a match where Flair defeated Sting by disqualification as a result of a run-in by Arn Anderson to attack Flair. At Fall Brawl, Sting teamed with Hogan, Luger, and Randy Savage to defeat the Dungeon of Doom, consisting of Kamala, Zodiac, Shark and Meng, in the event's WarGames match. In October 1995, Flair convinced Sting to team with him in a match against Anderson and Brian Pillman at Halloween Havoc. Anderson and Pillman had attacked Flair earlier in the night, rendering Flair unable to come out for the first part of the match. Sting fended off his opponents until Flair emerged. Later in the match, Flair turned on Sting and reformed the Four Horsemen with Anderson and Pillman, later adding Chris Benoit to fill out the group.

Sting feuded with Vader and Rude through the first half of 1994. Sting won the WCW International World Heavyweight Championship from Rude in April. Rude recaptured the title on May 1 at Wrestling Dontaku 1994 in Japan, but the decision was reversed because Rude had allegedly hit Sting with the title belt during the match; this was to cover for a real-life back injury Rude sustained in the match that forced Rude into retirement. Sting refused to have the title handed to him and instead defeated Vader for the vacant WCW International World Heavyweight Championship at Slamboree. Soon afterward, Flair defeated Sting in a title unification match at Clash of the Champions XXVII, turning heel in the final moments of the match when Sensuous Sherri turned on Sting and took Flair's side. Sting spent the second half of 1994 and most of 1995 teaming with new arrival Hulk Hogan in his battles against Kevin Sullivan's Three Faces of Fear and its successor stable, The Dungeon of Doom.

The Sting-Vader feud continued into 1993, with Vader, who was again WCW World Heavyweight Champion, defeating Sting in a bloody Strap match at SuperBrawl III. Sting exacted revenge by beating Vader for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship on March 11 in London, England, but lost it back to Vader six days later in Dublin, Ireland. Sting then teamed with WCW newcomer Davey Boy Smith to beat the team of Vader and Vicious at Beach Blast in a match that was set up by a mini-movie in which an evil midget blew up Sting's boat. At the end of 1993, Sting was one of the first people to congratulate Flair, who had just returned from the World Wrestling Federation, after his WCW World Heavyweight Title victory over Vader at Starrcade.

At Starrcade '91, Sting won the first-ever Battlebowl battle royal, for which he received a Battlebowl championship ring. Sting then became embroiled in a feud with the Dangerous Alliance, headed by manager Paul E. Dangerously. The stable targeted Sting because he was the so-called "franchise" of WCW, and the Alliance vowed to destroy both Sting and the promotion he was the face of. At the same time, Sting was being targeted by Luger, who had once again turned heel and, as WCW Champion, viewed Sting as a threat. Sting engaged in many matches with Dangerous Alliance members, especially Rude, who was the group's biggest star. It was during this feud that Sting won the first of his six WCW World Heavyweight Championships, defeating Luger on February 29, 1992, at SuperBrawl II. The feud ended when Sting formed Sting's Squadron, consisting of allies Ricky Steamboat, Dustin Rhodes, Windham, and Koloff, and defeated the Alliance (Rude, Austin, Arn Anderson, Zbyszko, and Bobby Eaton) in a WarGames match at WrestleWar in May 1992. Dave Meltzer awarded the match his highest rating of five stars.

Near the end of Sting's battles with the Dangerous Alliance, the seeds were sown for what became arguably one of the most famous feuds of Sting's career. Sting defended his WCW World title on April 12, 1992, at The Omni in Atlanta against the 450-pound Big Van Vader. During the match, Vader splashed Sting, cracking three of Sting's ribs and rupturing his spleen. Sting recovered and defended his title on July 12 against Vader at The Great American Bash, dropping the belt to Big Van Vader after missing a Stinger Splash, hitting his head on the ring post, and receiving a powerbomb. After beating Cactus Jack in a Falls Count Anywhere Match at Beach Blast and WCW newcomer Jake Roberts in a Coal Miner's Glove match at Halloween Havoc, Sting defeated Vader, who had lost the WCW World Heavyweight Championship in August, in the "King of Cable" tournament final at Starrcade.

Sting's first world championship reign ended January 11, 1991, when Flair defeated him in a rematch from Starrcade. In the same month, WCW seceded from the National Wrestling Alliance, in the process of recognizing a WCW World Heavyweight Championship and a WCW World Tag Team Championship. Sting then took part in what many consider to be the best match of 1991, teaming with Luger to face The Steiner Brothers at the SuperBrawl I pay-per-view for the world tag-team titles. The Steiners won by pinfall after Koloff, who had been feuding with Luger, interfered in the match by swinging a chain at Luger but hitting Sting instead. Consequently, Sting feuded with Koloff throughout the summer of 1991. In August 1991, Sting defeated Steve Austin to win a tournament for the vacated WCW United States Heavyweight Championship. Sting held the title for 86 days before losing it to Rick Rude at Clash of the Champions XVII.

Sting is widely regarded as the greatest performer in WCW history. Former rival Hulk Hogan asserted that Sting should be mentioned in any conversation regarding the top 10 greatest pro wrestlers of all time; numerous outlets have placed him in such listings. Sting also garnered one of the largest and most loyal fanbases in the industry; he was voted by Pro Wrestling Illustrated readers as "Most Popular Wrestler of the Year" four times (a record shared with John Cena), for the years 1991, 1992, 1994 and 1997. Digital Spy writer Mayer Nissim commended Sting's ability to constantly evolve his gimmick while fellow franchise players Hulk Hogan and John Cena largely failed to do so, in order to maintain spectator interest. Borden is known for his charity work, once regarding his involvement with the Make-A-Wish and Starlight Children's Foundations as his "most fulfilling activity". His young supporters are known as the "Little Stingers".

Sting was summarily dismissed from The Four Horsemen on February 6, 1990, at Clash of the Champions X: Texas Shootout after refusing to relinquish his title shot against Flair, thus restarting their rivalry. Later that evening, Borden suffered a legitimate knee injury while interfering in a steel cage match featuring the Horsemen. Borden's injury forced the bookers of World Championship Wrestling (WCW), the dominant promotion in the NWA, to find a new opponent for Flair for the forthcoming WrestleWar pay-per-view event.

At the Capital Combat event in May, Sting was accosted by the Four Horsemen and thrown into a metal cage at ringside. In a promotional crossover, Sting was rescued by his buddy RoboCop. After Borden's recovery, Sting finally defeated Flair for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship on July 7, 1990, at The Great American Bash. Sting went on to feud with title contenders Flair and Sid Vicious. Vicious appeared to defeat Sting in a title match at the 1990 Halloween Havoc, but the "Sting" that Vicious pinned was revealed to be an impostor played by Horseman Barry Windham. The real Sting appeared soon after and pinned Vicious to retain his title after the match was restarted.

Sting's drawing ability has been disputed. Journalist Dave Scherer of PWInsider wrote: "Sting is an all timer for sure, but the fact is that when he was the man in WCW, even before the NWO came in, he didn't draw huge". Pro wrestling historian Dave Meltzer also reported that Sting was not a formidable draw. Fin Martin of Power Slam felt that while Sting did not make "essential improvements" nor "grow into the champion's role" during his first NWA World Heavyweight Championship reign from 1990 to 1991, he suffered from a weak line-up of potential opponents and poor creative handling.

On the other hand, Steve Austin has taken exception to the notion that Sting was not a profitable wrestler. Reflecting on Sting in the early 1990s, veteran wrestler Kevin Nash said: "There weren't many draws in WCW at that point, but he was one of them". Former WCW booker Mike Graham asserted that Sting was a television ratings success during the Monday Night Wars, while fellow booker Kevin Sullivan said of Sting's rivalry with Ric Flair: "If I needed to draw a rating, Sting and Flair always drew. It was like [Muhammad] Ali and [Joe] Frazier". The Clash of the Champions I event in 1988, which aired opposite the WWF's WrestleMania IV and was headlined by Sting vs. Flair, generated a record-setting 5.6 rating on TBS. The pair also main-evented The Great American Bash 1990, which was the NWA's biggest pay-per-view success up to that point.

Sting returned to singles matches in 1989, starting the year off by wrestling Flair to a one-hour draw in Atlanta's Omni on New Year's Day. He would also have his first experience in Japan with a brief tour in All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), with his most notable match in AJPW against Dan Spivey at Nippon Budokan in June 1989. After a long push, Sting won his first title in the NWA when he defeated Rotundo for the NWA Television Championship at a live event in March. Sting defended the Television title actively but tended to face sub-par challengers such as The Iron Sheik. In mid-1989, The Great Muta challenged Sting at The Great American Bash. The match was booked with a classic, controversial Dusty finish even though Rhodes (the namesake of the technique) had been fired months earlier. Sting got the three-count and was announced as the winner, but a replay showed Muta's shoulder was up at the count of two. The NWA decided to declare the title vacant. Sting and Muta battled in many rematches for the vacant Television title, but they always ended in a disqualification, giving neither man the championship. Eventually, Muta won a No Disqualification match against Sting at a live event in September by using a blackjack to get the win and the title.

Borden appeared in the music video for the song "Fire in the Hole" by Lȧȧz Rockit in 1989. He made his acting debut in the action-adventure show Super Force as an assassin. He starred in a pay-per-view only film titled The Real Reason (Men Commit Crimes) (1998). Borden was featured in a Sprite commercial in 1999. He also appeared in three episodes of the action-adventure series with Hulk Hogan in Thunder in Paradise as the character Adam "Hammerhead" McCall. Borden made a guest appearance on Walker, Texas Ranger as biker and drug dealer Grangus in the episode "Unsafe Speed". He also appeared in Ready to Rumble (2000) as Sting. He also appeared in the Christian film, The Encounter (2010) and was featured as the lead actor in the TV movie Shutterspeed (2000). He makes a cameo appearance as Sting on an episode of Upright Citizens Brigade. Borden played an outlaw biker in the film Revelation Road (2013).

Having established himself as a rising star, Sting was one of the few UWF alumni to be pushed in the NWA. At Clash of the Champions I in March 1988, Sting challenged Ric Flair for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. The match ended in a draw after the 45-minute time limit expired and the ringside judges could not declare a winner. Sting lost to Flair in several non-televised rematches following the Clash and, later that year, battled other members of Flair's stable, the Four Horsemen. Sting teamed with Koloff at The Great American Bash in July 1988 to challenge Horsemen Tully Blanchard and Arn Anderson for the NWA World Tag Team Championship; Blanchard and Anderson retained the titles when the match ended in a 20-minute time-limit draw.

Rhodes continued to book Sting in title matches throughout the year against both NWA United States Champion Barry Windham and NWA Television Champion Mike Rotunda. In the fall of 1988, Sting was attacked by Hawk and Animal of The Road Warriors after a televised match. Rhodes, as booker, identified Sting as the face who was most over with the fans, despite knowing that turning the Road Warriors heel would be no easy task. Rhodes himself teamed with Sting to challenge the Road Warriors for the tag team championship at Starrcade '88 that December. Rhodes and Sting got the win by disqualification, allowing the Road Warriors to retain the titles.

Sting began to question Hogan's trustworthiness and credibility in the weeks leading up to Fall Brawl. At the September pay-per-view, Luger brought a baseball bat to the ring and Sting used it to beat Hogan for his sixth and final WCW World Heavyweight Championship, turning heel for the first time in WCW. Sting's heel turn and subsequent attitude change did not resonate with the WCW fans. They still cheered Sting despite the fact he was supposed to be the villain (reminiscent of The Road Warriors' heel turn in late 1988). At Halloween Havoc, Sting retained the title against Hogan after Hogan entered the ring in street clothes and laid down for Sting to pin him. After the match, Sting sounded his disdain of the result and issued an open challenge for later tonight. Later that night, Sting lost an unsanctioned match to Goldberg, who accepted his open challenge and then attacked referee Charles Robinson. Sting was stripped of the title the next night for attacking the official.

Won while the NWA World Heavyweight Championship was defended in World Championship Wrestling when WCW was part of the National Wrestling Alliance. The same goes for any other NWA championship or honor won after November 1988.

Sting's 14-year association with WCW and its predecessor, Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP), began in 1987. He quickly rose to main event status and has been described as the WCW counterpart to the WWF's Hulk Hogan. 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. Against 'Hollywood' Hulk Hogan, Sting headlined the highest-grossing PPV event in WCW history, 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 a match against Terry Taylor in mid-1987, Gilbert interfered on Taylor's behalf, costing Sting the match. Taylor and Gilbert ganged up on Sting until Gentleman Chris Adams came to Sting's aid. Adams cleared the ring and then asked Sting if he was with him or against him in his feud with Taylor and Gilbert. Sting turned face by declaring his allegiance to Adams.

Sometime after Sting's arrival to the NWA in July 1987, Dusty Rhodes used the opening bout of Crockett's first foray into pay-per-view, Starrcade '87, to showcase the young superstar. Sting partnered with Michael P.S. Hayes and Jimmy Garvin in a six-man tag team match against Gilbert, Steiner, and Larry Zbyszko that ended in a 15-minute time-limit draw.

The duo surfaced in the Universal Wrestling Federation (UWF), an organization run by Bill Watts and based in Alexandria, Louisiana where they were known as the Blade Runners. Borden changed his ring name from Flash to Sting, while Hellwig became known as Rock. They soon joined Hotstuff & Hyatt International, a heel stable headed by "Hot Stuff" Eddie Gilbert and Missy Hyatt. Together with "Russian" wrestler Kortsia Korchenko, the Blade Runners became henchmen in Gilbert's on-screen feud with Watts. Hellwig left the promotion in mid-1986, leaving Sting without a partner. Sting won the UWF World Tag Team Championship twice with Gilbert in 1986 and a third time with Rick Steiner in 1987.

Borden was previously married to Sue Borden, they were married in 1986. They have two sons, Garrett Lee and Steve, Jr. and a daughter named Gracie, who was born in 2000. Borden and Sue divorced in 2010 after twenty four years of marriage. Borden married his second wife Sabine in 2015.

Steve Borden (born March 20, 1959), better known by the ring name Sting, is an American retired professional wrestler, actor, author, and former bodybuilder. He is regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, having cultivated a legacy over a career spanning more than three decades.