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Sting: Give Me Some Respect

Posted: Oct 30th 2008 By: CMBurnham

He?s the current TNA World Heavyweight champion, an icon of the wrestling business and simply one of the greatest grapplers of all time. Yet Sting feels he is not shown enough respect ? both by the young guns of his current group and the business as a whole.

Below, in another world exclusive SunSport interview, the Stinger talks about his true feelings behind TNA?s current old school v new school feud, why he?s never gone to the WWE despite many attempts by Vince McMahon to hire him and how he definitely plans to retire by the end of 2009.

You are currently the leader of TNA?s faction of veterans against newer stars like Samoa Joe and A. J. Styles. How much of the storyline is based on real animosity between the two sets of stars?

A huge part of it. When I came back to wrestling, after WCW folded, I did have a choice. There was WWE and there was TNA. I would have probably gone into the WWE if it was about money. I came here very humble, believe me. But I wasn?t welcomed with big, wide open arms from everybody. I didn?t know it was going to be that way, but it was. It would surprise you if I named some of the guys that didn?t receive me that well. You?d never guess. There are a lot of the young guys that want us ?dinosaurs? to move out of the way, once and for all. And you know what? I can sympathise in some ways. I can. When I was a young Sting, back in the day when it was Ric Flair, Macho Man Randy Savage, Hulk Hogan, Dusty Rhodes, The Four Horsemen and all those guys, I had those moments of frustration. But I still always respected what they did. So yes, there?s a lot of realism in this story.

So do you feel there is a lack of respect sometimes towards veterans in the wrestling business as a whole?

That was starting to happen back towards the end of the WCW days when wrestling exploded and became so mainstream. There?s a mentality out there, guys that just believe that it?s a matter of coming up with some weird personality to grab attention and then they can be a pro wrestler. But there?s a lot more to it than that. A lot of them came in expecting the big contract. It was like: ?I have arrived and I want to sign on the dotted line for the big bucks. I want to fly on the jets and have the limos come pick me up and I want people to ask me for my autograph.? Those are the guys right there that I think just don?t have the respect. When I started we drove all over the place. It was 300+ days a year, sometimes you were wrestling in front of a few hundred people for a $50 payoff. For a TV taping I got $25 when I first started. When you are working that much and working in front of small crowds you?re learning the craft. And one thing you are learning is respect for who went before you.

You mentioned the old days of WCW, and there is an interesting parallel with what we are talking about here at the moment. They had the New Blood v Millionaire?s Club angle which was met with a lot of criticism. Do you think this is a fresh take on it and will it work?

That?s a really good question. I?ve never heard it asked quite like that, it makes me even think. I don?t know. Only time will tell. I do believe it?s different. We do have the past, whether or not you are the younger generation or you are my generation - old school, new school, whatever ? you?re still going to look and remember what happened with WCW. Even me. I?m not pointing the fingers. I was part of it. I was in with the whole bunch of us, and what happened, happened. Nobody wants that to be repeated.

You are famous for being probably the one top wrestling star of the last 25 years never to have worked for the WWE. Did Vince McMahon ever try to sign you?

Yes, I was really close at least three, four times over the years. A few times in the early 1990s, when I chose TNA and once at a real key moment when WCW had overtaken WWE as the No1 group in wrestling. And I was pretty much at the peak of WCW, in their peak days. I forget how many weeks in a row WCW beat them in the ratings wars but it got really bad for WWE - WWF at the time. That was a key moment, and I was really close to jumping.

What stopped you going to the WWE?

There was always something in me that thought that Vince McMahon wanted me more to undermine WCW than he wanted me as a talent. I just always believed that. I saw a lot of guys from WCW that went to WWE and that happened. Anyone who made it to a higher level within WCW and then tried to jump over ? it just didn?t work. The other thing was that WCW ended up giving me what I wanted in my contract.

We truly believe that Sting is up there with Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair and Steve Austin as one of the greatest of all time. However you rarely feature highly in polls and Halls Of Fame. Do you think not working for WWE has harmed your legacy in the wrestling business?

I?m not going to try and cover it up ? there?s no question that is the case. WWE are a worldwide, huge, massive machine and always have been. The guys that have had any kind of run up there are now recognised all over the world. If there was something missing in my career, that would be it.

What do you think is the one step TNA needs to take where you can get to the level to go head-on with WWE?

The only thing I can do is look back on track record and what I have seen work in the past. And what I have seen work in the past was names. When Lex Luger jumped ship he was set to be on WWE Raw, but there he was on WCW Nitro. That created such a buzz. Then soon after that Scott Hall and Kevin Nash joined WCW and this momentum just built and built and built. With Kurt Angle, and now Mick Foley, I believe there are going to be more people watching TNA. The other thing I?m hoping for is a bigger commitment from our channel Spike TV and seeing them even further step up to the plate. I hope I don?t get in trouble for saying that ? this might be the last you see of me on TV!

After the big Ric Flair retirement this year, people were saying that Sting would be the next to hang up his boots. Is that something you are thinking about?

Yes, because I cannot go on much longer. I don?t want to embarrass myself, or embarrass Spike or embarrass TNA. We all know it?s a wave that is coming in to shore. I don?t know when exactly it will hit, but it?s gonna hit. I thought probably this year. Actually it?s over the last couple of years it seems the thought has been in-and-out, in-and-out, in-and-out these thoughts of retirement and everything else but under the circumstances I think that I want to stick it out for one last ? and this is THE last ? hurrah. I don?t know when it will end for sure, but as long as I stay healthy into 2009. But how far into 2009 I don?t know.

What do you want to achieve in that time for both you and TNA?

I want to protect wrestling and TNA so we don?t se another WCW story. I want to start laying the foundations now with some of the younger guys. Despite everything, the Samoa Joes, the AJ Styles, they are the future. I?m not, they are. And I honestly do want some of the younger guys to remember and look back and reflect and say: ?You know, he really wasn?t out for himself.?

Is there anyone, in TNA or the rest of the world, who you look at and think: ?Before I retire, I really want a match with that guy??

In TNA, I?d love to have a match or two with AJ. I?ve just had my first one with Joe. I think another one with Jeff Jarrett would be good. Outside of TNA, I?ve always thought Undertaker v Sting would be really something. And we just did this huge autograph session and I had so many wrestling fans come and say: ?How about one more match with Ric Flair?? I think I could be 80-years-old and they?d still be saying that.

Tags: TNA, Sting, WWE, A. J. Styles, WCW, Ric Flair, Dusty Rhodes, WWF, Mick Foley, Jeff Jarrett