The legendary career of Sting is over after his epic retirement in AEW, but he found himself in many wild moments before it ended. Everyone thinks about the great Sting matches, like his classics against Ric Flair or fun AEW tag matches with Darby Allin. However, there are many weird matches and moments from his time in the ring.

WCW, WWE, TNA, and AEW all used Sting at different stages of his career. Each company witnessed Sting having some strange matches dictated by their creative or other variables in play. Sting was considered the ultimate professional to make bad ideas work. The following matches are viewed as the weirdest to ever come from Sting.

10 Vs. Hulk Hogan (WCW Starrcade 1997)

Hogan’s Backstage Politics Ruined WCW's Biggest Match

• Hogan Changing The Finish Ruined WCW's Biggest Match
• Match Restarting Took Away From Sting's Big Win
• Eric Bischoff Still Gets Criticized For This Today

Starrcade 1997 set a WCW buyrate record due to the fan interest in Sting challenging Hulk Hogan for the WCW Championship. The story played out for over a year and a half until Sting finally returned to challenge Hollywood Hogan at WCW's biggest pay-per-view event.

Hogan’s creative control caused the booking of the match to change from a clean Sting win to a lot of confusion. The match ended with Hogan scoring a perfectly clean win over Sting, only for it to be restarted due to shenanigans (that never actually happened). Sting ultimately won but the match was ruined.

9 Tagging With Darby Allin Vs. Team Taz (AEW Revolution 2021)

AEW Found Positive Results From Sting’s Cinematic Match

• Sting's First AEW Match Was Filmed In A Warehouse
• AEW & WWE Did A Few Cinematic Matches During The Pandemic
• Great Match Made The Weird Dynamic Worth It For Sting

Sting returned to the wrestling ring in AEW as he wanted to end his career on better terms after a weak WWE stint. Revolution 2021 saw Sting & Darby Allin facing Ricky Starks & Brian Cage of Team Taz.

The street fight was filmed in a warehouse for the cinematic match vibe during the pandemic era of wrestling. Even though the match was weird to watch unfold due to the challenging circumstances, the wrestlers turned it into a positive since Sting was able to show his best and hide any weaknesses.

8 Vs. Sid Vicious (WCW Halloween Havoc 1990)

• Fans Thought Sid Won The NWA Championship After He Pinned A Fake "Sting"
• Fake Sting Was Revealed To Be Barry Windham
• The Real Sting Came Back And Retained The Title

The use of a fake Sting became popular in the late 1990s with the New World Order having their own impostor. However, WCW tested this idea earlier in the decade at Halloween Havoc 1990 against Sid Vicious.

WCW ran a swerve of Sid seemingly winning the NWA Championship from Sting after pinning Sid's Four Horsemen teammate Barry Windham under the Sting paint. The referee realized it wasn't The Icon, and the real Sting arrived to defeat Sid and retain the belt. WCW tricked the fans by having balloons and confetti falling from the rafters for Sid's celebration.

7 Vs. Abyss (TNA Destination X 2007)

Reverse Casket Match Led To “Fire Russo” Chants

• Last Rites Match Was Too Confusing For TNA Fans
• "Fire Russo" Chants Ruined The Purpose Of Match
• Disappointing Match Ruined The Sting/Abyss Feud

TNA booked their fair share of strange gimmick matches that fans refused to go along with. The Last Rites match may have been the worst, with Sting facing Abyss in TNA’s version of a casket match at Destination X 2007.

The purpose of the match was to place your opponent into a casket in the middle of the ring and have it rise above the ring with the lights going out. Live fans were so confused about the odd match and reacted with “Fire Russo” chants calling out Vince Russo.

6 Vs. Jeff Jarrett (WCW Halloween Havoc 2000)

Multiple Fake Stings Haunting Him Gave Jarrett The Win

• Jarrett Used Fake Stings To Get The Upper Hand In This Match
• Different Face Paints Represented Past Eras Of Sting
• This Was One Of Jarrett's Biggest Wins Of His WCW Career

WCW went back to the Fake Sting trope a while after the New World Order act ended. Jeff Jarrett had an upper card feud with Sting heading into Halloween Havoc 2000, but WCW took it in a wild direction.

Various fakes under old face-painted looks of Sting arrived throughout the match to haunt the real Stinger. Jarrett benefited from Sting having to attack a handful of impostors. WCW went the creative route to prospect Sting, while giving Jarrett a huge win.

5 Vs. Triple H (WWE WrestleMania 31)

New World Order Involvement Was Strange But Popular

• New World Order Helping Sting Made No Logical Sense
• Triple H Defeating Sting Upset Many Diehard Sting Fans
• Sting's WWE Tenure Is Remembered Negatively For This

WWE booked Sting in his first match for the promotion at WrestleMania 31 against Triple H. Wrestling fans waited decades to finally see Sting in a WWE match, but most were upset by Triple H scoring the victory in Sting’s debut match.

The match grew even stranger when the New World Order showed up on behalf of Sting to attack D-Generation X. Sting feuding with the nWo in WCW created a plot hole for the moment. Fans reacted positively due to the shock of the moment, but the match didn’t hold up due to the flaws.

4 Vs. Hulk Hogan (WCW Halloween Havoc 1999)

Fans Still Have No Idea Why Hogan Laid Down For Sting

• Vince Russo's Booking Confused Fans
• Hogan Left WCW For Months After Laying Down
• Sting Had Confusing Match Vs. Goldberg On The Same PPV

Everyone remembers Jeff Jarrett laying down for Hulk Hogan to pin him at Bash at the Beach 2000, but WCW ran a similar angle the previous year at Halloween Havoc 1999. Sting defended the WCW Championship against Hulk Hogan in a match that never happened.

Hogan laid down for Sting to pin him, with the implication of Hogan being unhappy with WCW management and refusing to wrestle if booked to lose. Fans were just confused since it was never explained, and this hurt Sting’s final stint as WCW Champion with such a terrible moment.

3 Vs. Vampiro (WCW The Great American Bash 2000)

Vampiro Setting Sting On Fire Was Too Much

• Became Rivals During New Blood Vs. Millionaire's Club Feud
• Human Torch Match Required Ridiculous Stunt Involving Fire
• Sting Had Stunt Double Set On Fire & Thrown Off The Stage For Him

WCW tried to get Vampiro over during the New Blood vs. Millionaire’s Club feud by opposing Sting. The similarities of being mysterious characters that wore face paint made them an interesting pairing, but WCW overbooked their matches together.

The Great American 2000 featured an absurd stipulation of a Human Torch match having to set your opponent on fire. WWE’s Inferno Match at least took place in the ring with ropes on fire. A stunt double was set on fire on top of the stage in this unique match against Vampiro.

2 Vs. Jeff Hardy (TNA Victory Road 2011)

Sting Was Put In An Unfair Position In This Controversial Match

• TNA Allowing Jeff Hardy To Wrestle Under The Influence Was A Terrible Move
• Sting Was Visibly Upset As The Match Had To End Quickly For Safety Purposes
• Jeff & Sting Made Peace Later On

TNA made a terrible decision to allow Jeff Hardy to compete in the Victory Road 2011main event against Sting while under the influence. Hardy was in no position to compete, but TNA tried to get a short match out of him.

Sting was visibly upset and tried his best to end the match as soon as possible. Cameras even caught Sting agreeing with fans chanting negative things about the show ending like that. Sting did his best, but this was all outside of his control.

1 Vs. Rick Steiner (WCW Great American Bash 1999)

Sting Was Attacked By Wild Dogs During This Match

• Rick Steiner Started Referencing Dogs As A Heel
• Scott Steiner Had Dogs Attack Sting Backstage During The Match Vs. Rick
• The Pinfall Didn't Even Took Place On-Screen

WCW booked a Falls Count Anywhere match between Sting and Rick Steiner at Great American Bash 1999. The match went backstage with cameras following the action of Scott Steiner and Tank Abbott helping Rick.

Scott unleashed a group of wild dogs to attack Sting for a ridiculous visual. A referee later claimed that he counted the pin for Rick to defeat Sting. The finish was confusing with fans not seeing the pin, and the ridiculous visual of Sting getting taken down by dangerous dogs.