Jan. 99 PWI magazine on Sting in a press conference with several PWI editors.
Of all the changes the advent of the New World Order brought to WCW, the transformation of Sting has been most perplexing. In the summer of 1996, the affable three time former WCW World champion took to the front lines in the war against Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, and their expanding stable of cohorts. When an impostor Sting attacked Lex Luger in a parking lot, doubt was cast over the allegiance of WCW's most visible warrior.
When Sting's friends publicly questioned his motives, he withdrew from active competiton, lurking in the rafters of WCW arenas across the country and swooping down to deliver random vengeance on WCW and NWO wrestlers alike. WCW Executive Committee Chairman J.J. Dillon offered Sting matches, but the silent, white-faced enigma's only reply was to point a black baseball bat in the direction of NWO kingpin Hollywood Hogan.
At Starrcade '97, Sting captured the WCW world title in controversial fashion after Bret Hart instead of referee Nick Patrick had made a fast count on Sting and had the match restarted, allowing Sting to win the strap. The title was eventually held up, only to be won by Sting again. Yet more than a year of stalking Hogan yielded only a three month title reign, as Randy Savage profited from Nash's interference to win the belt at Spring Stampede.
The mystery continued as Sting, at Luger's urging, set aside his differences with Nash and Savage and joined the NWO Wolfpac. With face painted red and black, Sting showed signs of becoming his old self. Yet when Luger was laid out in the locker room attack by Bret Hart, Sting left his friend in the locker room and reappeared, face painted white again, to exact vengeance on NWO Hollywood.
BILL APTER: Sting, on behalf of the three of us and the thousands of readers of PWI, I'd like to thank you for taking time to answer some questions. We have a lot to ask you, so I'd like to start right off by asking you why you decided to join the Wolfpac after being on your own for so long.
STING: Bill, we've known each other for a long time. You know all about my friendship with Lex Luger. It's been strained before, especially due to the NWO, but I've always wanted to make peace with him. If you recall, when Lex Luger came back to WCW, everyone thought he was going to betray us, and I swore Lex was on the up and up. Well, three years later, Lex has been one of WCW's fiercest and most reliable soldiers. When he asked me to join him again, I felt I owed him my loyalty. I trusted that he made the right decision by joining, and I've never regretted joining myself. The red and black attack is stronger than it's ever been.
DAN MURPHY: But how were you able to forget your differences with Kevin Nash and Randy Savage? I mean, those guys took your belt, and Nash was one of the guys who drove you away from the ring for so long back in '96. You were at war with those guys, and now you're all suddenly best friends.
STING: That's a complicated question. Let me just say this: I respect Kevin Nash, and he respects me. As for "Macho Man" well sometimes he can be hard to figure out. I don't think I've ever seen someone that intense. But I know him well enough that I can say for certain that he and I are on the same page.
DAVE LENKER: When Luger was attacked by NWO Hollywood that one night, you went back to the old face paint. Why? Was there any significance to that? I mean, you wore the black and white, which are the colors of NWO Hollywood.
STING: I was as angry as I've ever been that night. Those guys in NWO Hollywood are just such cowards. They have no guts at all. I guess sometimes you have to get back to basics and send people a message. Sometimes you have to follow the rage.
APTER: What exactly does that mean?
STING: Hogan fears me; he always has and always will. He still has nightmares about me coming down from the ceiling to take his soul. Now that I'm running with the Pac, he's relaxed a bit. I wanted to remind him that I am not to be forgotten. I like to see that look of fear on his face every now and then.
MURPHY: What are your goals now that Goldberg has the belt? He has beaten you three times already. Do you feel ready to challenge him again, or are you still focused on NWO Hollywood?
STING: The battle is certainly not over yet. It's about more than the world title. It's about right and wrong. NWO Hollywood has left a strench around WCW that has corrupted everyone. Hogan and all his underlings will have to be eliminated.
LENKER: What about Goldberg?
STING: Dave, I'm not one to make excuses. Goldberg is as every bit of good as people say he is. But I almost had him until Hogan interfered. Like I said, Goldberg is great. But he is not unbeatable. In time, I know I can beat him.
APTER: Sting, as you said before, we've known each other for a long time. I know that the WCW title is something very near and dear to your heart. Are you looking to go after the belt anytime soon?
STING: You know what the great thing about WCW is, Bill? Between Nitro and Thunder and our pay per view schedule, there are plenty of marquee opportunities for different guys to get shots at titles. At least we have an honorable world champion who regularly defends his belt. When I am ready, and when Goldberg is ready, I'm sure we can work something out. I do want the belt back. That goes without saying.
LENKER: Lately you've been quite active in tag team competition, first with The Giant, and then with other members of the Wolfpac. Now that the Giant and Scott Hall have the tag team belts, I notice you've been teaming with both Nash and Luger, but you don't seem to be making a real aggressive run at the belts with either guy. Why not?
STING: It's not that easy getting both those guys to put the belts on the line. As far as I'm concerned, me and "Big Sexy" and me and Lex are both better teams than the Giant and Hall, so I don't need to stick with one guy as my tag team partner. I've been a part of some great tag teams in my day. You remember the Warrior and I teamed as the Blade Runners. Lex and I won the last Crockett Cup tournament and had a nice run as tag team champions. Maybe the Giant and me could have done some great things, but unfortunately, The Giant decided to turn against me and try to make a name for himself with Hogan again. Then Kev and I lost the belts after Bret Hart's interference. The time I spent with Nash did a lot to erase the bad feelings of the last year, and the experience with the Giant reminded me that as long as Hogan is around, you never know who to trust.
MURPHY: I'm a little curious about something Kevin Nash said a few days ago when he was talking about Dallas Page. He essentially said if your not with the Wolfpac, you'll be hunted by the Wolfpac. That sounded a lot like what Eric Bischoff said a few years ago when he threatened every WCW wrestler who refused to to convert his WCW contract in an NWO contract. I didn't think you guys would be that, well, I guess the word is aggressive.
STING: Well, like I said, you don't know who to trust when Hogan is involved. If you're not willing to run with the Wolfpac, we can't be sure that we can trust you. But I hope you guys don't blow this out of proportion. We're not planning to go around sneak attacking people left and right to show we're tough. But when we're dealing with Hogan and his flunkies, anything goes.
LENKER: But the NWO is the NWO, isn't it? Whether it's Hollywood faction or the Wolfpac faction, it's still the NWO. Aren't you at all worried that some people are down on you for joining an NWO group after fighting against the NWO for so long?
STING: Not at all. The letters N-W-O don't mean anything by themselves. They're just letters. The NWO only becomes bad when people in the NWO do bad things and project a bad image. NWO Wolfpac projects positive image for people. We love all our fans and try do the right thing for them.
MURPHY: Bret Hart claims to have respect for you and said he wanted to make peace with you, then he attacked you on Nitro? What's his problem?
STING: (Laughs)For the life of me, I can't get a handle on what Bret Hart is trying to accomplish in WCW. First he sticks up for me, then he joins NWO Hollywood, then he claims to respect me but tries to break my leg. Looking back I guess I should have known Bret was trying to goad me into a feud.
LENKER: Any feelings on the Warrior?
STING: I'm just glad to see anybody going after that piece of garbage Hogan.
APTER: Good luck to you, Sting. Thanks for your time.
Credit: Jan. 99 PWI magazine