The question is; "The Icon" Sting; is he an icon; what makes you an icon; who else (if anyone) would you consider an icon from the past, or present?Tony Slammetie here, and it's time for me to give my thoughts on this topic. I've thought feverishly to give you the best possible point of view on it, so enough beating around the bush.
First of all, to answer this question, we need to first establish what makes an "Icon." According to "Slammetie's" Dictionary: The highest authority of wrestling definitions, 3 things are needed to make a wrestler an "Icon."
- Maintain a high level of deserved popularity for over a baker's dozen years. (13 for you non-bakers) This is subjective, but still valid. There are some wrestlers out there who are popular and don't deserve it, and the greatest wrestling minds in the game will agree for the most part on who these wrestlers are... but that's for a different time.
- Be able to silence the crowd by simply picking up the microphone. It's easy to establish yourself as a face and have the fans cheer whenever you pick up the mic. It's even easier to establish yourself as a heel and have people boo at the sight of you holding a microphone... heck, even Vicki Guerrero can do it. But it takes an "Icon" to command the full and utter attention from the audience
- Every time you enter the ring, you put it all on the line, every time. Many older wrestlers go out there, and just go through the motions, or even younger wrestlers for that matter. They go out there, hit their spots and exit. It takes an "Icon" to continue telling a story with each match, every time.
But I digress.
Many people consider Sting to be "The Icon" and by the end of this blog I intend to prove my point to you. I agree and disagree with these people. Sting is indeed an icon in wrestling.
He has maintained his well deserved popularity for well over a baker's dozen years. From his Warrior face paint, hard working, strong monster of a wrestler; to his dark, Crow reincarnation, bat wielding, psychopathic son of a gun, he has been around and garnered a boatload of respect as both incarnations.
He commands respect on the microphone, and will go down as one of the best promo men in the history of the business. Turn on TNA any Thursday night, and you will see the crowd hush as he raises the microphone to his lips. Even as a heel, they respect his skills.
But most importantly, he tells a story with each match. Meaning that he has a beginning, a middle, and incredible climax, and a finish. These are the main components in a story, and are the main components in making a match memorable. Sure, he hits the stinger splash, the revers DDT, and on occasion the Scorpion deathlock, but what makes him different from people that people may consider icons... like Bret Hart for example... he will use them only to enhance the story of the match, and not to enhance himself.
That being said, it is clear to see that Sting IS and icon.
(I only mention Hart because he has a new book coming out, and though many may consider him one of the best of all times, he is not an "Icon" which is what this article is about.)
But is Sting THE Icon. This to to assume that he is the only icon in wrestling history, and to say this would be ABSOLUTELY FALSE!
The Undertaker may be the only "Phenom"...a word they had to make up just for this man. The Hulkster and his legacy is certainly deserving of the title "Immortal." But can we honestly say that the Stinger is the only icon, thus deserving to be called "THE ICON."
Off the top of my head I can think of two men that can be considered Icons. Ric Flair and Shawn Michaels. These men absolutely deserve (or deserved in Flair's case) their popularity for well over 2 decades, and both clearly command(ed) respect on the mic. And they go (went) out there each and every and put on the greatest show they could, and always try to top the last one. Their match together I believe can be called Iconic.
To me, the Stinger is a first ballot hall of famer. He is a man of men, a champion of champions.
Sting is truly... an ICON!
2 comments:
Not "The Icon"
Noah Webster is rolling over in his grave. I guess scholarly research has left the world of wrestling blogs, as evidenced by Slammitie creating his own dictionary out of thin air. I don’t know about you Tony, but from where I’m from, we use real books to make our points.
According to Webster’s New World Dictionary for Young People, the word “icon” means “an image or picture” (Webster, 362). An icon is an image that represents something. In professional wrestling, an icon should be someone that fans and non-fans alike associate with wrestling immediately. Sting is not that person.
Part of the problem is that Sting was in the NWA/WCW for most of his career. He was the top face in the company for the late 80’s and early 90’s but was overshadowed by Hulk Hogan when he came to WCW in 1994. His “Crow” persona was popular with the fans but WCW wasted this gimmick with bad booking.
Despite WCW’s shortcomings in regards to booking Sting, the onus of Sting’s lack of “icon” prowess has to be on him. Don’t get me wrong. With the exception of drug and alcohol addictions (and let’s face it- that’s not unique for a wrestler), Sting has had a good career and he’s respected as a worker. His character development is not the best, though. Ric Flair said of Ricky Steamboat that Steamboat wasn’t the best wrestler ever because he never played a heel. Sting has and is currently playing a heel but he’s not good at it. He doesn’t inspire hatred and I think he holds a lot of his heel ability back.
He also hasn’t had the great wrestling “moments” that true icons have had. There are a few exceptions. Those instances when the Crow Sting would stalk the NWO from the rafters are one. Another was his feud with Jeff Jarrett in TNA in 2006. That was a classic battle between a mega babyface and a mega heel and it was booked well. Other than that, there’s no other great Sting moments that people will remember and talk about twenty years from now.
I wrote before that an icon in wrestling is someone that fans and non-fans can make an immediate connection to when they think of wrestling. In that case, the two icons of professional wrestling are Hulk Hogan and Steve Austin. Both have the most star power of any wrestler in history, have played both heel and face personas exceptionally, and have had countless “moments” that wrestling fans can remember forever, whether it was Hogan facing Andre or joining the NWO or Austin’s feud with Vince McMahon (McMahon peeing himself with a toy gun to his head is a personal favorite of mine).
Sting’s great but he’s no icon. Labeling him one is a TNA marketing tool that wrestling fans can see through.
-Cliff Ropes
Ok lots to digest here. To wrestling fans (ie: Marks like you and Me) Sting is an Icon. We know who he is, we can remember our favorite/most hated match that he was involved in. For me it was the Clash of the Champions, I think it was 1990, when he was kicked out of the 4 Horsemen. We know who he is and we all know what he has done for wrestling and for us as wrestling fans. BUT Sting is not an Icon...Non Wrestling fans have no idea who he is...He did not have a cartoon in the 80's. He did not Wrestle Hulk Hogan during the Height of Hulkamania. Now with those two fact defined I can now give you my opinion...Sting is an Icon! His feuds with Flair make wrestling "The Sport of Kings". The fact that Sting would never dance with the Devil and sign with Vince McMahon But can still be a main event performer in TNA (like it or not the WWE's best rival since ECW) proves Icon status. His level of success spits in the face of WWE. He did it without having to go to Conneticut and sell his soul. He didn't have to job for Hogan, Piper and Savage. They jobbed to him. They went to WCW and bowed down to Sting. I am not a Mark for Sting...I just want the truth to be told.
-Peat
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