The Sting Watch -- Sting's History

The man we call Sting is one of the most popular and charasmatic Pro-Wrestlers in the history of the sport. Long the "Franchise" performer in WCW, Sting is the only major WCW star who has faithfully remained with the company since its formation and not spent a significant period of time with another promotion.
Sting, who's real name is Steve Borden, was born in Omaha, Nebraska. He would later move to Venice Beach, California, and make his home there. Like many Wrestling icons, Steve Borden started out small-time, but in just a few years, he would rocket to stardom.
1985
While training for the Mr. America contest in 1985, Steve Borden met up with a man by the name of Jim Hellwig and the pair toyed with the idea of entering pro-wrestling. Later the pair would find a manager willing to give them a shot in Rick Bassman. Hellwig and Borden, using the names Rock and Flash respectively, along with another pair of wrestlers made their debut later that year after some training under Red Bastien. The group, called Powerteam USA, was raw, but popular. However, both Borden and Hellwig wanted to find better competition and ended up moving to the Mid-South area on their own. Renaming themselves the "Freedom Fighters", the pair won their debut match against Jerry Bryant and Lou Winston in less than 3 minutes.
1986
As they continued on into 1986 their popularity grew. The pair renamed themselves once more, calling themselves "The Blade Runners", and Borden would take on a different wrestling alias, calling himself "Sting". Along with the new names, came a new look. Steve and Jim began to paint their faces with black designs. They donned black mouthpieces, and also dyed their hair. This is where Sting developed his blonde buzzcut, which he would retain for many years. Soon, Jim Hellwig would depart the team in order to Wrestle solo. He was replaced by Eddie Gilbert. The Mid-South conference would later re-dub itself the UWF, and in August, the Blade Runners would capture the Tag Team titles from the Fantastics, in a match in Tulsa, Oklahoma. By December, Sting was teaming with future star, Rick Steiner.
1987
The pair would wrestle successfully until a loss in Febuary of 1987 to Terry Taylor and Chris Adams in Fort Worth, Texas. However, the team would go on to recapture the title from Taylor and Adams in April.
However, soon thereafter, Rick Steiner and Sting would break up their tag-team, and begin to feud. They then left the UWF for the larger NWA, where they continued their feuding. There he made an alliance with the Fabulous Freebirds, who would escalate the feud against Steiner. The feud would continue to escalate, and Rick Steiner would be aided in his efforts against Sting by Larry Zbyszco and Eddie Gilbert. This would culminate in a match in December of '87 at Starrcade, where Sting and the Freebirds went on to victory against Steiner, Zbyszco, and Gilbert.
1988
Sting, who's popularity is on the rise, begins the year by teaming with Nikita Koloff, and would end up winning the Crockett Cup tag team tournament while teamed with up-and-coming Lex Luger.
1989
1989 would be a huge year for Sting. His stardom was blossoming, and he would go on to defeat Butch Reed at the Chi-Town Rumble at the UIC Pavillion in Chicago, IL on Feb. 20th. On March 31st, he would go on to victory against Mike Rotundo in Atlanta, and in doing so he would win the NWA TV title. On the 7th of May, Sting would notch a victory against the Iron Sheik at the Music City Showdown at Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, TN...and on June 14 he defeats Bill Irwin at Clash of Champions VII: Guts and Glory at Ft. Bragg in Fayettville, NC.
Then...the real fun begins as Sting aligns himself with "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair.
On July 21, Sting Loses to The Great Muta via a reverse decsion, when the instant replay showed that Muta's shoulder was up at the count of two...and thus Sting also looses the NWA TV Title. This controversial decision would lead to a rematch of sorts at Fall Brawl '89 at the Carolina Colesieum in Columbia, SC. Sting and Flair went on to defeat Dick Slater & The Great Muta in this huge match.
It wasn't over yet, however, as Muta would team up with Terry Funk in a thuderdome cage match at Halloween Havoc '89 at the Philadelphia Civic Center in Philadelphia, PA. The team of Flair and Sting once again proved victorious against all comers.
Then, trouble began when Sting won the Ironman competiton at Starrcade '89, pinning Ric Flair in the finals. Sting thus gained a shot at Ric Flair's NWA title. In order to avoid giving Sting the shot, Flair invited him into the Four Horsemen, but Sting still wanted the shot.
1990
On Feb. 6, 1990, the Horsemen kicked Sting out of the group. Later the same night, Sting injured his knee trying to climb a cage to get at Flair. That injury would require surgery and keep Sting out for four months.
However...Sting would get his due.
Later in that year, July 7, 1990, Sting came back from the injury to defeat Ric Flair for the NWA World title at the Great American Bash '90 in Baltimore in one of the greatest Pro-Wrestling matches of all time. Sting immediately became the focus of the fans; he had comics written about him, his merchandise became top-sellers, and he sold out arenas everywhere. In short, Sting became the man!
But, Flair held a grudge, and it wasn't over. Throughout the year, Sting would be plagued by the 4 Horsemen and a strange, new threat. The man called "The Black Scorpion". In the words of Xavier Doom (of Xavier Doom's Slayground)..."The Scorpion said he was from Sting's past -- that he wanted revenge on Sting. He'd attack Sting now and again. Sting would chase him, and The Scorpion would disappear into thin air. And when the Scorpion would evade Sting, a deep, dark voice would boom over the public address system to mock Sting and laugh. The voice was that of head booker Ole Anderon, who came up with The Black Scorpion idea. The whole thing was embarrassing and stupid. Various clues were dropped about The Scorpion's identity. The Scorpion said he once teamed with Sting. He mentioned California and Tulsa. The truth was that even head booker Anderson didn't know who The Scorpion would turn out to be. And this was his idea. Several men were stuck in the costume in the months that it took for this angle to play out. Apparently, Anderson wanted The Angel of Death to be The Black Scorpion. One problem: The Angel of Death wasn't under contract to WCW, and never came to take the role. Anderson struggled to resolve the storyline as Starrcade '90 approached. And Ole Anderson was under serious pressure: the main event at Starrcade was a match that put Sting's world title on the line against The Black Scorpion's mask. Desperate, Anderson was saved by Ric Flair. Flair agreed to play The Black Scorpion on the condition that he would take the world title from Sting a few weeks after Starrcade. So, the pay-per-view came, Flair did the job, and two weeks later, he was world champ for the seventh time. This embarrassment could have been avoided if Anderson would have forgotten about the stupid masks and smoke crap, and simply built a credible storyline leading to a Sting-Flair match at Starrcade."
During all this "Black Scorpion" nonsense, Sting was slated for an NWA Title shot in October. Before the match, the Horsemen tied Sting up in the locker-room, and had Barry Windham dress like Sting to job to Sid Vicious for the title. When the truth is found out, the match was restarted, and Sting went on to defeat Vicious.
1991
In fallout from the whole Black Scorpion debacle, Sting looses the NWA title to Flair at the Meadowlands Arena in East Rutherford, NJ. In the interim, the NWA would become part of a new organization, WCW. Then, on May 19th, he and Luger lose to the Steiners after Nikita Koloff hits Sting with chain-loaded Russian sickle. The two begin to feud.
In August, Sting went on to defeat "Stunning" Steve Austin in the finals of the WCW US title tournament in Atlanta, GA. In November, Sting lost the US title to Rick Rude, after WCW champion Lex Luger injures Sting's leg earlier in the night in Savannah, GA. This marks the turning point of a huge fued between two of WCW's biggest stars.
Sting and Luger matched up at Starrcade 1991 in a battlebowl match in which the looser would be the one who went over the top rope. After a pitched battle, and despite the aid of Luger;s manager, Harley Race, Sting sent Luger to the floor and won battlebowl.
1992
The fued continued on into the year, and at Superbrawl '92 in Milwaukee, WI, Sting once again went on to defeat the World Title holder Lex Luger, thus winning the World Title once again. Luger dominated much of the match, but then Sting took over. Sting hit Luger with everything and eventually won the title with a flying bodypress off the top rope. However, Sting would loose the title in a match against Big Van Vader on July 12th in Albany, GA. A fued with Jake Roberts begins soon afterwards. This cuminates in an incident on August 2nd in which Jake Roberts attacks Sting and delivers the DDT finisher to Sting...twice. Sting is taken to a local hospital.
This culminates in a coal miners glove match at Halloween Havoc '92 at the Philidelphia Civic Center in Philadelphia, PA. Roberts tries to get his snake to bite Sting, but Jake ends up getting bit....Sting goes on to win. WCW banned all animals from ringside after that incident.
In November, Sting and Rick Steiner reunite to feud with Catus Jack & Abdula the Butcher, and on the 18th, Sting battled Rick Rude at Clash of Champions XXI at the Macon Coliseum in Macon, GA. Sting went on to win by decision. In December, Sting wins "The King of Cable" tournament on the 28th, pinning Big Van Vader. The two eliminated each other earlier in the night, when they made it to the Battlebowl battle royal.
1993
On January 13th, Sting, with Dustin Rhodes and a late-coming partner Catus Jack, defeats Barry Windham, Big Van Vader, and Paul Orndorff in a thundercage match at Clash of Chmapions XXII at the Mecca in Milwaukee, WI. In February, Sting starts to tag with Catus Jack in his battles with Harley Race's stable...long a thorn in the side of the Stinger. On February 21st, he looses in a "White Castle of Fear" strap match to Vader at Super Brawl III at the civic center in Ashville, NC. However, Sting would make a comeback against his old nemesis, and on March 11th, Sting wins the WCW World title from Vader in London, England.
But, a mere 6 days later, Sting looses the title to Vader. Thus begins a period of troubles for the Stinger.
On June 17th, he loses with partners Dustin Rhodes & Davey Boy Smith against Vader, Rick Rude, & Sid Vicious at the Clash of Champions at the Scope in Norfolk, VA.
The next year would begin another upswing.
1994
At Clash of the Champions, on January 27, 1994: Sting and Ric Flair take on Vader and Rick Rude - Sting and Flair Win. At SuperBrawl, on February 20, 1994, Sting, Brian Pillman, and Dustin Rhodes challenge Paul Orndorff, "Stunning" Steve Austin, and Rick Rude - Sting's team wins once more.
WCW held their first ever Spring Stampede PPV that year, and Sting was involved in a fued with WCW International champ Ric Rude ( By this time, The international title is actually the NWA World Title ). Rude would not give Sting a shot at the belt until a young woman asked Rude for an autograph during a TV taping. What Rude actually signed was a contract to face Sting at the Stampede on April 17th. And there, Sting won the WCW International title. However, he looses the title shortly thereafter...and the title is declared vacant.
At Slamboree, on May 22, 1994 Sting battles Big Van Vader yet again for the vacant ( NWA ) international title, and Sting is victorious yet again.
Also around the same time, Hulk Hogan was signing to compete in WCW and he wanted the World title. So in June of 94 at the Clash of Champions, WCW unified the WCW World and International ( NWA ) titles when Sting met Ric Flair. Flair cheated his way to victory over his rival Sting that night, and Sting disappeared from the title picture for about a year.
Though not in the hunt for a title belt, Sting did manage to win the one and only "King of Cable" tournament at Starrcade in 94 with one of his few pinfall victories over Big Van Vader.
1995
Sting begins to team up with Randy "The Macho Man" Savage, who had recently signed with WCW. On February 19th, the team of Sting and Savage defeat Big Bubba and Avalanche at SuperBrawl V in Baltimore, MD. Sting's feud with Bubba continues, and on May 21st, Sting defeats Big Bubba at Slambouree '95 in St. Petersberg, FL

Soon thereafter, the U.S. title was declared vacant and once again a tournament would determine a new champion. Sting gained the right to wear the U.S. title again by defeating Meng at the Great American Bash on June 18th, in a memorable match of Power and Martial arts skills against Sting's speed and unpredictable style. He would battle Meng once more a month later on July 16th, at Bash at the Beach in Huntington Beach, FL and would once more prove victorious.
Sting would continue to hold the U.S. title until October when he was upset by Japanese sensation Kensuke Sasaki.
At Halloween Havoc, on October 29, 1995, Sting and Ric Flair took on Arn Anderson and Brian Pillman. Sting and Flair Win by DQ when Flair turned on Sting after being tagged in. This led to World War III, on November 26, 1995 when Sting took on Ric. Flair. Sting won the match, but fails to win title in the battle royal
Down but not out, Sting rebounded and gained revenge on Sasake in December at Starrcade 1995. Though the title was not up for grabs, pride was as WCW faces new Japan in the World series of Wrestling, a best-of-seven between WCW stars and new Japan stars. Sting won the deciding seventh match over Sasake, thus claiming WCW as the best Wrestling in the world. Sting also battled in a triangle match between Sting, Luger and Flair. Sting lost the match to Flair.
1996
1996 would prove to be a transition year for the Stinger. He would enter the year as the blonde haired hero everyone loved but end it with a new look and his loyalty under heavy scrutiny. In January of 1996, Sting won the World tag team titles with his buddy Lex Luger by defeating the Bluebloods at Clash of Champions 32 in Las Vegas, NV.
Then on February 11th, Sting and Luger defeated the Harlem Heat at SuperBrawl '96 in St. Petersberg, FL. At the time, Luger was on the fence between face and heel. Fans told Sting not to trust him, but he did. It was the first time when fans were not fully supporting of the Stinger's actions, and their doubts were hard for him to deal with.
It would get even harder later in that year.
On March 24th, Luger deserted him before their match with the Road Warriors at Uncensored in Tupelo, MS, but Sting kept the tag belts with the aid of Booker T of Harlem Heat.
Sting ended this comparatively easy period by defeating Steven Regal at The Great American Bash on June 16th.
Luger then began to wise up, and just in time, because on May 28, Scott Hall reared his head on Nitro. Sting was the first one to meet his challenge head on. At Bash at the Beach on July 7 three men of WCW, Sting, Luger and Macho Man, fought Hall and Nash, the Outsiders.
The 3rd man siding with the Outsiders remained a mystery throught the match, and speculation was rampant about that man's identity. Things took a turn when Hulk Hogan strolled down the walkway, and the announcers thought that the tide had turned towards WCW's favor. However, Heenan wondered who's side Hogan was on, and he turned out to be right. Hogan leg-dropped the prone Macho Man, and sided with the Outsiders.
That night the New World Order was born.
Sting focused his attention on Hogan and the rest of the nWo in several inconclusive matches.
On August 11th, Sting and Luger lose to Kevin Nash & Scott Hall after the referee Nick Patrick made a quick 3 count, at hog Wild in Sturgus, SD. Then on the 15th, Sting and Luger would lose the WCW Tag Titles in a triangle match to the Harlem Heat at Clash of Champions 33 in Denver, CO. The Steiners also lost the match.
The nWo grew in size in the weeks following Bash at the Beach. They convinced the Giant to join the nWo and then one week before Fall Brawl where WCW would meet the nWo in the War Games Main Event, the nWo pulled another surprise.
Lex Luger was wrestling a match that night when Nick Patrick ran out and told Luger that Sting needed his help. Luger ran outside and looked for Sting, then "Sting" came out of the nWo's Limo and viciously attacked Luger.
The nWo had recruited an impostor Sting ( aka Cobra ) to fake out Luger. Even when the real Sting tried to explain it to Luger, his friend wouldn't hear it. All this took place right before War Games. Sting was so upset, he refused to help WCW at first. And the nWo took advantage of Sting's indecisiveness. The team of Lex Luger, Ric Flair, and Arn Anderson was without Sting to start the match, and was at a decided disadavantage against Hollywood Hogan, The Outsiders, and the impostor Sting. The nWo cme out strong, laying waste to WCW's forces, until the true Sting burst down the runway and entered the cage. He single-handedly turned the tide, destroying the nWo. It looked like WCW would win until distrust reared its ugly head. After battling tooth-and-nail to bring victory back to the WCW camp, his teammates refused to tag him and woould not trust him. Furious, Sting leaves his teammates to fend for themselves. Without Sting, the WCW team then falls to the nWo.
The following night on Nitro, Sting came out and addressed the crowd for the last time. He said that fans booed him and fans cheered him, but he didn't care anymore. If no one will trust him, then they can "Stick it!" He declared himself a "free agent" and departed in disgust.

Then a few days later, Sting would speak for the last time in over a year. The nWo fake Sting was wrestling when the real Sting came out dressed in a black overcoat and black and white facepaint. Sting attacked the fake, laying him out. Out came the nWo to offer him a chance to join. Sting politely said "The only thing is for sure about the Stinger, is nothing's for sure". Then he disappeared for several weeks...leading many to speculate that Sting had secretly retired.
However, the truth was even stranger than the fiction.
After a few weeks, Sting returned...his hair was longer, and his face was now completely covered in white paint trimmed with angry black slashes around his eyes and mouth. He was no longer the boisterous, high-flying fan-favorite. Now he was a dark, shadowy, brooding figure who lurked in the darkness.
In the following months, Sting would pop his head in whenever someone was talking about him. Jeff Jarrett insulted him, and he paid for it. So did Rick Steiner, Jim Duggan, and Lex Luger. His entrances varied greatly...at times he'd drop from the rafters on a cable. Other times he would emerge from the crowd. And sometimes, he'd even emerge from under the ring. These attacks led everyone to believe that Sting was part of the nWo.
1997
When Macho Man Randy Savage showed up in January, Sting sided with him. Macho then joined the nWo and everyone thought Sting was next. It even got to the point of Hogan giving Sting a hug on Nitro and claiming he had joined, but Sting didn't hug back. Then on March 17, at Uncensored, the questions were finally answered.
The nWo won a special challenge match against two other teams that night, and as they celebrated, Sting dropped from the rafters on a cable. Thinking Sting was there to congratulate them, nWo members entered the ring, where they were met with a baseball bat! Sting dropped all of them and pointed the black bat right at Hogan, who he then dropped as well. Sting had clearly aligned himself against the nWo.
Sting would continue to appear throught the year, thwarting the nWo at every turn with various stunts and tricks ( including Sting dummies and multiple men in Sting costumes and masks ). Fans would scream and chant "we want Sting" at every single WCW event hoping he would rapel down from the ceiling and electrify the crowd. By fall of '97, Sting was arguably the most popular wrestler in North America.
He became such a sharp thorn in their side that the match of the century was finally made possible.

Monday Nitro, August 18, 1997: After offering Sting several matches, JJ Dillon tells Sting that he must tell WCW what he wants. Sting grabs a fan's sign that reads "Hulk vs. Sting"
A match between Hollywood Hogan and Sting was signed for Starrcade 1997.
The 16,000 seat arena in Washington DC, The MCI center, was sold out within a mere three days.
It was assumed that Sting, a true icon of WCW who had never wrestled anywhere else for an appreciable period of time, would defeat evil Hogan.
But Hogan balked.
He had complete creative control in his contract, and he refused to put Sting over cleanly, despite the fact that everyone wanted to see it. So Starcade came (pulling a huge 1.8 PPV buyrate to see the main event) and before everyone's eyes, the mighty Sting entered the match and had Hogan pound on him nearly from the opening bell. Hogan hit his 'mighty legdrop' and referee Nick Patrick counted 1...2....3! Sting had been defeated!
But then Bret Hart came to the ring and accused Patrick of making a fast count ( But it wasn't a fast count. The whole thing was a huge botch-up.) Hart punched Patrick anyways and the match resumed, with Sting eventually getting the scorpion deathlock on Hogan and Hogan submitting. But as the ring was filled with Sting's friends he responded by climbing the ringposts and ending his silence with his trademark Stinger screams, the truth was that Hogan had already dispelled the myth of the unbeatable Sting.
The next night, the title was declared vacant by J.J. Dillon. And Sting would then speak for the first time in months. He pointed his bat at Dillon and said "You got no guts!"...then, he pressed the bat to Hogan's neck and followed up saying "And you...you're a Dead Man!"

1998
Sting would win the rematch at Superbrawl with another screwy ending, thanks to Randy Savage. But by then all the heat that he had built over the past YEAR was gone. Hogan continued to be booked ahead of Sting.
Sting's first title defense against Scott Hall at Uncensored '98 wasn't even the main event. Hogan's cage match with Savage was. Savage went on to beat Sting at Spring Stampede on April 19th, due to the interferences of Miss Liz (who was stinger splashed by Sting after hitting him with a chair) and Kevin Nash, and would drop the belt to Hogan the next night before undergoing surgery on his knee. ( The Savior Sting was dead, but Hollywood survived unscathed and went on to headline most of WCW's PPVs this year while Sting has never competed in a PPV main event since. )
On the April 22nd Thunder from Columbia, SC, Sting goes on to defeat Big Poppa Pump ( Scott Steiner ) via DQ, and ends up getting on the mic at the end and ranting for a while before challenging Nash and Hall at Slamboree for the WCW World Tag Team titles..

On the Monday/Tuesday Nitro ( 04/27-28/98 )at the Scope in Norfolk, Virginia... Sting, the Giant, and "The Total Package" Lex Luger take on Konnan, Brian Adams, and Big Poppa Pump and win via a countout after Adams decides to leave.
Sting was hit with a bit of a dilema, when his tag team partner, the Giant, joined NWO Hollywood one week before the pay per view. He and Giant went on to win the match at Slamboree and become the new Tag Team champions, after Scott Hall turned on his own partner, and bared his true colors, black and white.
Sting was then asked to join NWO Hollywood and stand united with his partner. But Sting was a wanted man, as he was sought by NWO Wolfpac as well. We waited for a few weeks to see where Sting would go.
On the May 25th NITRO from Roberts Stadium in Evansville, IN. In the main event, Lex Luger and Sting take on the Giant and the nWo Sting. After defeating the nWo pair, the Wolfpac comes out, offering Sting a Wolfpac shirt. The program ends with no descision made. ( After the show ended, Sting evidently put the Wolfpac shirt on to a huge crowd pop. )
With three options at hand, he dropped from the rafters on the June 1st NITRO, wearing the white and black shirt of NWO Hollywood. He stepped forward to embrace Hulk Hogan, only to pull back and clothesline him down to the ring floor. He ripped off the black and white NWO shirt to reveal his true decision....a red and black Wolfpac NWO shirt. Soon afterwards, Sting's black-and-white facepaint became black-and-red. Also, his demeanor changed...he was no longer the silent, dark avenger. Sting was now boisterous and loud...resembling his old self.

With Sting and his tag team partner on opposing sides, they set up a match for The Great American Bash that would put Sting and his partner, the Giant, against one another, in a winner takes both belts and chooses a partner match. Sting walked away victorious after unleashing 5 Scorpion Deathdrops and several Stinger Splashes upon his huge foe, and the following night on Nitro, announced his new tag team partner to be none other then Wolfpac leader, Kevin Nash. They defended the belts well together, with Lex Luger filling in for Nash occasionally when he was not available. On Monday, July 20th, at Monday Night Nitro, Kevin Nash and Sting lost their tag team belts to the Giant and Scott Hall, with some assistance and interference by Bret Hart.
Sting was named to become part of team Wolfpac at PPV Fall Brawl War Games, and ended up being punked from behind by Hogan when the leader of the Black and White NWO entered the cage prematurely, and used the slapjack (carried by Stevie Ray) to smack the heads of all the other wrestlers, including Bret Hart. It took two blows from the foreign object to lay Sting low, but in the end only Stevie Ray and Hogan were left standing. Then, the Warrior appeared and chased Hogan out of the cage. Hogan grabbed the keys and locked the cage, seemingly trapping the Warrior inside. However, Warrior kicked the cage open and chased down Hogan again, but the pair was restrained by security. At that point, the still-woozy DDP arose and applied the Diamond-Cutter to Stevie Ray for the pin and the victory. Thus, DDP gained the title shot against the seemingly unbeatable phenom, Goldberg at the next PPV.
However, on the September 14th Edition of Monday Nitro, Sting himself went head-to-head with WCW Champ Goldberg. Though I knew that there was no way that the WCW would drop Goldberg yet, as they had spent far too much time building him up to have Sting beat him, especially when the huge match between Diamond Dallas Page and the reigning World Champ was scheduled for the next PPV, Halloween Havoc.
However, I was pleasantly surprised by the match, which I figured would be another squash by the over-hyped Goldberg. Shockingly, the match was a good one, with momentum seesawing back and forth for a while until Goldberg rammed himself into a turnbuckle post in an attempt to spear Sting, who sidestepped nicely. Sting then took advantage of Goldberg's discombobulated state and managed to get the champ locked in the Scorpion Deathlock. Though Goldberg was attempting to fight off the submission hold, Sting reasserted the Deathlock and clamped down on the champ. It was at that time that Hollywood Hogan decided to intervene in the match, kicking Sting in the head. When Sting fell, Goldberg rose up and speared the woozy Sting. He then applied his jackhammer finisher for the pin. Then, Hogan climbed into the ring and attacked the Champ himself. Suddenly, Bret Hart ran (limped) to the ring and drove Hogan off. Goldberg then went to Sting and helped the former WCW champ to his feet.
Good sportsmanship, and a good match...even if Sting did loose.
Sting was betrayed by Brett Hart ( who had supposedly turned to side with Sting ) shortly thereafter during a match against Hollywood Hogan. In fact, the entire Wolfpac was laid waste that night. The result of this betrayal was quick revenge.
On the following NITRO, the Wolfpac was in revenge mode. They went backstange and took on the entire nWo roster. They continued through the building until Sting found Brett Hart. Sting and Hart locked horns until seperated by WCW security. However...it wasn't over yet.
The Wolfpac attacked again, and Sting himself took a forklift and overturned the nWo limo.
That night, Hart and Sting were schedueled for a match. But Hart turned tail and walked backstage after his into. Sting pursued and the two fought backstage, with the outcome becoming undecided.
A tag match pitting the Warrior and Sting against Hart and Hogan became a melee' when the nWo stormed the ring. Sting cleaned house with two baseball bats.
Later still, Hart and Sting battled again and the match ended when Sting Deathlocked Hart, who grabbed the ropes. When Sting refused to release his foe, the nWo came out to seperate the two. The Wolfpac emerged and the two groups battled until the Black and White nWo was repelled. Sting and Hart were then slated to fight at Halloween havoc.
The night came and after a grueling match, Sting overshot Hart attempting a Stinger Splash, knocking himself unconcious in the process. Hart took advantage, Striking the prone Sting several times with Sting's own baseball bat. Sting was rushed to the hospital, and afterwards remained in seclusion.
Until almost 5 months later...

Credit for this information goes to Susanne Rothenhoefer and Internet Wrestling Zone, as well as direct quotes from Michael Naimark and Xavier Doom. Photos are from various sources including DDT Digest