On this day in wrestling history, October 17, 1987, Sting made his NWA debut against Gladiator on World Championship Wrestling and the world started to shift.
For many of us, it’s easy to remember when our favorites debut, but there’s always one or two we missed and they were just always there.
For others, we became fans of a wrestler after they had already made it and became a household name. That’s what happened with me when it comes to Sting, and I’ve enjoyed going back to watch his earlier matches.
Just jumps out at you
What’s most impressive about Sting is he wouldn’t just go one to become known as the Franchise in the NWA/WCW, but it was apparent from the very beginning he would be a star.
Jim Ross talked about his in an interview with wrestlinginc and we want to send special thanks to @awrestlinghistorian for the transcript.
“But Sting then was standing on his own and he had almost a perpetual light around him. He just radiated that he was going to be a star. It was the ‘It factor’. You didn’t know why your eyes were on him, but he was a guy you want to see more of. He was a good professional, he was always on time, never an issue, worked hard, very athletic, had great leaping ability, great physique obviously, young good looking kid.
“Bill and I didn’t see anything that was going to prevent him from being a star. I think putting him with Eddie Gilbert, and then Rick Steiner was in that group was good. Even though Steiner and Sting were both green, Eddie had been around the business all his life, and had multiple territory experience and so he was a good mentor to those big, young guys so that was good for us that we were able to do that.
“He was always impressive. He looked good, he spoke well, he was intelligent, he had character, and we all thought he was going to be something special. It just was a matter of when would the lights finally all go on and when would he get his shot? Then Bill Watts sold the UWF to Jim Crockett and of all the wrestlers that went into that transaction, I would say by far Sting was the one that had the most longevity and success after that buyout.” – Jim Ross, WrestlingInc interview, February 21, 2016.
Sting continues to set new standards as he came back from a career ending injury in his early 60s and can still perform in the ring.
He’s given new meaning to the word longevity, and this day in wrestling history is where his career began to take off. What a ride it’s been.
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