Grilling JR - Sting's 1991 [Show Notes] (Patreon)

Coming off Sting’s 1990 Jim he ends the year as champion but quickly loses it back to Ric Flair which we covered last month.

How was Sting’s mindset at this point? Does it feel like a failure to him, do you think?

We go right from Sting dropping the title to Wrestle War 1991 where Sting is to team with Brian Pillman & the Steiners to take on the Horsemen … Flair, Barry Windham, Sid Vicious and … Larry Zybysko? ZYBYSKO? Why was Larry chosen to be Arn’s replacement when he’s hurt?

This is the first time War Games takes place outside of the Great American Bash shows. Was this a gimmick match for the sake of a gimmick match?

Do you agree that having the title change on a house show and having the show promoted on TV made fans want to go to live events more or do you think it hurt the television product not being able to air it?

Do you think there was money in Sting chasing Flair again?

The first challenger for Flair is Scott Steiner - instead of Sting. Did Sting need to go back down the card to get built back up?

Why Pillman in that match instead of Luger do you think?

At Clash of the Champions though Sting & Luger team up to take on Doom and Dan Spivey interferes and attacks Luger before Butch Reed throws Sting over the top rope for the DQ. Meltzer would give it **¾.

Dan Spivey and Lex Luger. That’s a combo isn’t it Jim?

Sting is presented with the PWI award for Wrestler of the Year & Inspirational Wrestler of the Year by Bill Apter. Was PWI a big deal for WCW at this time?

Is there a scenario you can see Luger & Sting being a top pushed babyface tag team?

I ask because Sting & Luger team up again to take on Sid Vicious & Stan Hansen at the Omni and take on Flair & Sid in Philly & Baltimore. Was there anything to them being in that spot?

To put Zybysko in they run a mini program with him and Sting where Sting talks about going after the tag titles with Luger and Zybysko takes offense. Sting and Larry Zybysko…the ICON and Living Legend Jim!

Wrestle War with War Games we covered last year in the archives. From Meltzer’s recap: “Ric Flair & Larry Zbyszko & Sid Vicious & Barry Windham defeated Sting & Brian Pillman & The Steiner brothers in 22:05 in the War Games. Suffice to say this is one of the best matches I've ever seen live. 22 minutes of solid mayhem with the crowd on its feet screaming from the opening of the action. This was supposed to be Pillman's night, since the object of this match was to get Pillman over and at the same time have him lose and carried out of the ring. On the surface, trying to accomplish both seemed mutually exclusive, but it seemed to have been successful. Finish saw Vicious give Pillman two power bombs, the first of which hurt him pretty bad legit. Pillman's feet hit the top of the cage and was slammed down wrong on his neck on the first bomb and legit knocked out--although this was supposed to be the finish. He ended up going to the hospital that night with muscle and ligament strains in his neck and is out of action as of this writing but isn't expected to be out that long. Anyway, in being carried out of the ring after ref Nick Patrick stopped the match, Pillman came off as the star of the night even in losing. This result is definitely an affront to anyone who believes you have to send the fans home happy on every big show, but the predictable finish (Zbyszko submitting) didn't take place. *****”

You need to go out of your way to see this match. It is one of the all-time great War Games matches wouldn’t you agree Jim?

Is it weird that at the end of the year show Sting is holding the title on top of the Black Scorpion and then he’s not a big feature player at the next pay-per-view?

Sting is put together with Great Muta for an upcoming New Japan show. Could this had been a high profile match in for WCW in the US?

It seems like on house shows coming up around this time it’s all Sting vs. Flair for the title with El Gigante as special guest referee. Jim - who thought it was a good idea to put El Gigante in a wrestling ring let alone as a referee?

Muta gets the win over Sting in Tokyo and Sting kind of acts like a heel afterwards hitting a Stinger Splash on Muta and putting him in the deathlock. Jim - ever any talks at this time regarding Sting turning heel? Maybe even being a Horseman?

From Meltzer’s review of the match: “9. The Great Muta pinned Sting in 11:41. Both guys got huge reactions entering the ring. Muta's reaction was the third best of the night trailing only Inoki and Choshu. This match was almost exactly the same as the one the two had at the 1989 Baltimore Bash except for a different finish. The high spots were great but there wasn't much in the way of transition work. Muta did a dive over the top first and then Sting came back with a press-slam, dropping Muta over the top rope and onto the floor. Sting then did a dive over the top onto the floor. The rest of the spots were very similar to the ones they used in the U.S. They even did the thing where Muta is on the top rope for the moonsault, Sting dropkicks him while he's standing (and Sting really didn't get up high enough this time to make it look as good as it used to) and Mute crotched himself. Sting did a backward superplex but missed a Randy Savage elbow off the top. After they missed simultaneous dropkicks, they went to the near falls. It ended when Sting went for his Stinger splash but Muta got out of the way and blew mist in Sting's eyes. Muta then pinned him with a crossbodyblock off the middle rope. After the match Sting attacked Muta and gave him the Stinger splash and Scorpion and Sting was booed pretty heavy for attacking the guy after the match was over. When the Japanese tried to get Sting off, Tom Zenk, Rick Steiner, Tim Horner and Brian Pillman jumped in and they had a mini-Battle Royal with the Americans vs. Japanese. Even though Muta worked as a heel, he was cheered more than Sting except when he eye raked in which case he was booed, but Sting was booed at the end for attacking Muta after the match. ***½”

Coming out of this - is there talk of bringing Muta in for a program with Sting? I mean the match airs on pay-per-view as part of the Supershow airing. Are you surprised that there wasn’t a plan to bring Muta in and give Sting his win back?

It’s reported at this time that Sid Vicious’ unhappiness in WCW is obvious and part of that is that he had to have been putting over Sting & Luger. Do you think that was really the issue?

Lex & Sting are announced as taking on the Steiners at the first SuperBrawl for the WCW World Tag Team Titles. It’s still surreal to me … and I know the business is different now than in 1991 … but I mean Sting still hasn’t had a one-on-one TV rematch for the title against Flair as he’s scheduled to take on Fujinami. This has to be a booking directive does it not?

Was Flair vs. Sting completely burned out at this point?

There’s an out of the ordinary video regarding Luger & Sting against the Steiners that airs and it’s even reported on in the Observer. “The Steiners/Luger-Sting video was the work of a new employee hired to do videos. He's also doing a Desperados video that should air this coming week or next week. It was a pretty hot video which is something different for television and with all that TV, they need some changes of pace. The control center is an improvement again because of the change in pace.”

Any idea who it was doing it at the time? Was that something that was missing from WCW a lot in that era?

At SuperBrawl Sting & Luger take on the Steiners and once again - go out of your way to watch this! From the Observer:

“11. Rick & Scott Steiner beat Sting & Lex Luger to keep the WCW tag team titles in 11:08. They showed the video before the match began. I was really surprised about a lot of things in this match. First, of course, is just how good it really turned out to be. But also, the amount of heat generated in a battle of babyfaces. The heat was super. Far and away the most of the show, and considering this was a total Japanese style match (high spot, high spot with the guys selling the moves, but then getting up, no heel vs. face drama) it says something about how the crowds are changing and what they really want. I expected it to be like the Road Warriors-Steiners match at Starrcade in 1989, trading good moves but the crowd not popping big. Sting was the MVP of the show and it was the best he's looked since coming back from the knee injury. All four guys obviously put a lot into the match both in the ring, and also in putting it together. The Steiners were cheered slightly more throughout the match, but it didn't seem like anyone booed anyone. It opened with Lex and Rick trading spots. Rick took some nice bumps early. Sting did a running dive over the top rope onto Rick, who was on the floor. And on and on it went, with one hot move after another, fans popping for every near fall, basically exactly like a hot Japan match. Near the end, Sting even reversed a tombstone piledriver on Scott. Although he did nothing to hurt the match, Luger's bag of tricks wasn't nearly as full as the other three. Then came the obligatory ref bump. Nikita Koloff ran to the ring to hit Luger with a chain but Luger somehow stepped out of the way and Nikita hit Sting, who juiced and was pinned by Scott. When Sting got up he ran to the dressing room and attacked Nikita and they brawled outside the building. The finish accomplished its purpose in that they need to move Sting and Nikita into a feud right away, but it was also a cheap non-finish that took a lot away from what was one of the best matches of the year. ****½”

Is this the best you remember seeing Lex during this era?

If Sting & Luger weren’t two of the highest paid members of the roster could they had been a tag team drawing force like the Road Warriors in your opinion?

Babyfaces vs. Babyfaces is tough back then. What do you think kept the crowd into it?

Is Sting excited to work Nikita?

What was it about Nikita that made the booking committee think it would work with Sting?

Clash of the Champions 15 takes place in Nashville and Sting vs. Nikita face off. Why the rush to get this match in the ring while everything else with Sting has really been built throughout the year?

“5. Sting pinned Nikita Koloff in 9:32 with a schoolboy. This was the only match on the entire show that had adequate time to get over what it was supposed to. Unfortunately, while it had adequate time, it wasn't a good match. Can't complain, however, because since Nikita was doing a clean job, they wanted the entire match to be with him on the offense and they needed time to get the point across. Of course, Nikita is so limited that it exposed him as a worker. Finish saw Sting finally do an offensive move by reversing a tombstone piledriver, but he missed a Stinger splash into the corner. Koloff then went for the sickle into the corner but Sting moved, got behind him and schoolboyed him for the pin. The finish was well done but the match was lackluster. *½”

Was Nikita done at this point in your mind? I mean it’s not a great match…kind of kills Sting’s streak of awesome matches. I get that he ate up Sting since Sting was going over but it was just kind of blah.

Does Sting get hurt by this type of match not being great in your mind?

Later that night there’s an awesome angle…

“Next was an angle where the winner of a fictitious Sting look-alike contest (Kevin Sullivan's son Ben, with his face painted exactly like Sting) came out and they brought out Sting to meet him. Of course Nikita attacked Sting during the segment with a chain and glared like he was going to attack Ben. Ben's mom (his real mom in real life) hopped the guard rail to "protect her son" while Doug Dillenger stepped in front of Nikita as well until Nikita left, and then Ben hovered over the fallen Sting. It was a great angle.”

Kids and moms always bring great heat don’t they Jim?

Now we’re going to be moving onto the Bash but we all know what’s about to happen. Ric Flair leaves WCW.

What are Sting’s thoughts on everything or does he stay out of it really?

Does this make Sting the default top star for the company again?

Is there any worse timing considering the match with Nikita he’s coming off of?

Do you think Sting is ready to basically replace Flair?

Part of the reason Flair and Herd couldn’t come to an agreement was regarding Flair not wanting to be paid less than Sting & Luger is that correct?

At Great American Bash - the infamous show where a new WCW Champion in Lex Luger is crowned…Sting loses to Nikita Koloff in a chain match. From the Observer:

“10. Nikita Koloff beat Sting in a chain match in 11:37. Some good pops for low blows. Both guys touched the first three corners and brawled for a while, then sprinted to hit the fourth corner with Nikita hitting it first. Sting gave Nikita a low blow with the chain after the match was over. **¼”

You just lost your biggest star. How do you not put Sting over here?

On June 14th WCW debuts in St. Louis to less than resounding results. The show draws 1726 fans and $21,000. Sting teams with…PN News…yes…PN News to defeat Stan Hansen & Great Muta. That’s a real match that happened. Also an autograph session is advertised for the event with Sting but according to the Observer Sting refused to go out for it. Did you hear about this at the time and do you think Sting refused to go out?

Did Sting have an ego at this point?

With WCW trying to push these gimmicks like Oz to draw younger viewers…didn’t you really have someone who can draw younger viewers like Sting right in front of you already?

Cactus Jack returns to WCW and is going to be programmed with Sting. Is this part of the Sting rehab to make him stronger?

On top of Cactus coming in Abdullah the Butcher is also programmed to attack Sting as well. This is a drastic change in styles for Sting in competitor. Is Sting excited to work these types of guys?

Both of these guys come out of boxes by the way because things that come out of boxes are over right?

The goal is to have Sting defeat these hardcore monsters and get ready to be built up against Lex Luger by the end of the year is that right?

Sting is met with a ton of “We Want Flair” chants at house shows, TV tapings, and it’s not just Sting but the company itself in the crosshairs. Does Sting show any frustration over this?

There’s an angle on TV that has Sting go to another box and inside of it is a young girl who hands a note to Sting that he should retire. It’s reported in the Observer that originally it was supposed to be Bam Bam Bigelow. Do you know why Bammer didn’t come in at this time?

Can you imagine what a Bam Bam vs. Sting match at this time would look like? How great would that had been?

Sting wins the vacant US title at Omni on the final night of the Great American Bash tour. The show drew 5,000 fans for $38,000 … a far cry from the original Bash tours. Is this a sign of how much trouble the company is in at the time?

Listen to the list of people Sting beats in the US Title tournament, Arn Anderson, Scott Hall (as the Diamond Studd) and then Steve Austin in the finals to win the title. A Sting vs. Steve Austin program at the time… what could’ve been huh Jim?

To really show the signs of how much the company has fallen off…they run the Meadowlands on August 29th in front of 1,800 paid. The show where Sting lost the WCW title to Flair in a snowstorm on January 11th had 5,000. So here we are…end of summer and the drop off is tremendous. Is it Flair? Is it Sting not being over enough? What do you think it was?

At Clash of the Champions XVI: Fall Brawl from Augusta in front of 2,800 fans Sting defends his US Title against Johnny B. Badd. From the Observer: “Sting pinned Johnny B. Badd with a small package in 6:11. Love that Johnny B. Badd ring entrance. It's pretty annoying when the announcers called Sting "The most popular athlete ever to compete on TBS." The first two minutes featured one nice move after another. It broke down from there. At one point, Sting whipped Badd into the ropes for the Stinger Splash, and Badd fell down about 15 feet before he got to the corner. Finish saw a box brought out to ringside. Badd hit Sting with a shot to the ribs and stared at the box. Then Sting got up and he stared at the box. They both stood there like they didn't know what they were doing which I guess got "the box" over and ruined any pretense that they cared about a wrestling match. Then Sting gave Badd a sloppy inside cradle for the pin. Cactus Jack came out of the box, knocked over Teddy Long, blew by Johnny B. and attacked Sting, complete with an elbow off the middle rope onto Sting who was on the floor, and then the double-arm DDT before a few faces came out for the save. *”

Jim…how many goddamn boxes are we going to have people come out of to attack Sting? Do you think he has a fear of boxes at this point?

Sting heads off to Japan. Do you think Sting got anything out of these tours outside of money? Do you think he would learn anything while he was over there?

A Chamber of Horrors match is announced for Halloween Havoc to feature Sting, El Gigante and the Steiner Brothers against Abdullah the Butcher, Oz, Diamond Studd & Barry Windham. Does this match having Sting in it get brought up by having Sting in it or does it devalue Sting being in it?

It seems like the attempt is also to pair Sting and Bill Kazmaeir together but Kazmaeir…can’t get the whole wrestling thing down. From the Observer: “the TV main saw Cactus & Abdullah vs. Sting & Eaton. This match was screwed up completely because apparently Eaton was supposed to get pinned and laid out, then the heels would double on Sting and Kazmaeir would make the save. That's what was supposed to happen. Anyway, Kazmaeir came out before the match was over and started a run-in until Nick Patrick stopped him and the whole gig was blown, then Abby pinned Eaton and Kazmaeir did the save for Sting. I believe this match, and probably Kazmaeir's squash (because of the steroid chants) were going to be re-taped on 10/8 in Montgomery, AL.

The reason for this big push for Kazmaeir is, and this isn't made up, that Luger vs. Kazmaeir is going to headline shows in early November including the card at the Forum in Los Angeles and probably the show in San Jose as well.”

Is the hope to have Sting give the rub to Kazmaeir? Was he ready? Is this just another failed attempt at giving someone who didn’t deserve a high spot on the card?

There’s talk that Sting resigns for a 3-year deal around this time. From the Observer: “Sting signed a three-year contract that takes him through February of 1995, reportedly for $500,000 the first year, $600,000 the second year and $700,000 the third year (take these figures with a grain of salt).”

How important is Sting to WCW? Does Sting need WCW or does WCW need Sting more?

Could WCW had survived Sting leaving at this time?

Do you think it’s funny Dave writes the contract figures and then says to take them with a grain of salt?

On October 13th Sting vs. Cactus takes place at the Greensboro Coliseum 2nd from the top. It’s a great match according to reports but the house…430 fans and $5,000. Jim…is this bottom for the company?

Nope spoke too soon…speaking of the bottom…here’s the recap from the Observer for the Chamber of Horrors match:

“1. In the Chamber of Horrors, Sting & El Gigante & Rick & Scott Steiner beat Cactus Jack & Abdullah the Butcher & Big Van Vader & Diamond Studd in 12:36. They did an angle on television where as Barry Windham and Dustin Rhodes were driving to the building, Arn Anderson and Larry Zbyszko smashed the door of a car on Windham's hand to explain his absence for this show. Vader subbed for Windham and Cactus Jack and Oz also traded places because at least it put Jack in a match that had a chance. Even though the match came off good live with three guys juicing, on TV it was a nightmare. At the beginning of the match, an electric chair came down and we were told the match ended when someone was placed in the chair and one of the teammates flipped the switch and zapped him with volts. Which is all well and good but had nothing whatsoever to do with the advertised stipulations, which were so confusing nobody remembered them to begin with. Between the electric chair, the refer-eye camera which only served to make the viewers at home nauseous, the ghouls at ringside and the two masked jobbers that came out of a coffin during the match to give Rick Steiner somebody to beat up on, this looked like the brainchild of a television executive on LSD with no knowledge of or respect for pro wrestling trying to make fun of it. And aside from the LSD comment, that's pretty much what happened. Abby, Cactus and Sting all juiced, with Cactus juicing heavy. The on-off lever of the electric chair kept falling into the on position. They wasted a lot of quality talent with this one. Anyway, the finish saw Steiner pull a reversal on Abby, get him in the chair and Cactus pulled the switch and we had an explosion. Abby was then supposed to do a stretcher job to sell the explosion, but of course didn't, and instead beat up the ghouls after the match. -**”

How…why…my goodness Jim.

Middle of November at the Clash it sounds like Sting and Madusa are going to start a program to get Paul E. involved. Did Sting need someone like Paul to heat him back up?

Is the focus knowing Luger’s contract is coming up and he’s champion to get Sting back to top guy status and to work with Lex on top for the title?

Was Sting ready after all that’s happened to him this year?

Sting is attacked at the Clash though and put in peril before his US title match against Rick Rude. Sting hobbles back from the hospital and we have the match…

“8. Rick Rude pinned Sting in 4:50 to win the U.S. title. Rude and Dangerously were in the ring ready to be awarded the match via forfeit when Sting, who had hijacked an ambulance from Parts Unknown Medical Center back to the Savannah Civic Center arrived just in the nick of time. It was pretty predictable, but almost too hokey, although this was probably the best job they've done in getting Sting over as a face since the Horseman turn on him in early 1990. Sting sold the knee all the way but made a few comebacks and even kicked out once from a telephone shot. After Sting hit a DDT, he went after Dangerously, Rude clipped his knee from behind and pinned him holding the trunks. After all that work on giving Sting an excuse to lose between the pre-match attack and constant working on the knee, they should have done a stronger finish. It was very intense for such a short match. ***”

Is this the best way to have a guy you need to be a top babyface to lose a title? Could a Rude - Sting program been drawn out more and possibly made more money?

This is also going to be leading to BattleBowl for Starrcade 91 and there’s already advertising out for SuperBrawl with Lex vs. Sting for the title. Should Sting and Lex had been the main event at Starrcade instead?

Sting & Abby team up at Starrcade to defeat Bobby Eaton & Brian Pillman to advance to the battle royal and Sting eventually defeats Luger to earn a title shot as the last two men in the BattleBowl.

Is Sting in a better position at the end of 1991 compared to 1990? Was Sting ready to reclaim the WCW Title?

Is Sting the last survivor from the NWA to WCW transition?