Wrestlers Sting Was Close To During His Career

The legendary career of Sting ended in early 2024 with AEW giving him a tremendous send-off. Sting was able to get his ideal farewell by having this run in AEW after a disappointing WWE stint. Most fans associate the iconic WCW run as Sting’s peak, and TNA also had him for almost a decade as a top star.

Each promotion to employ Sting saw him building great connections and friendships with names at various stages. Sting was generally a friendly person that had the respect and love of many names in the industry. The following names were quite close to Sting throughout his long career.

UPDATE: 2024/09/12 22:00 EST BY JOEY HAVERFORD

Wrestling fans still talk about Sting despite his retirement from the ring ending his in-ring career. AEW recently brought Sting back for
All In 2024
, but it was not for a match, nor will he break his retirement. A legendary career ending sees more stories coming out about such a historical figure.

Sting’s friendship was valued by many wrestlers to work with him and develop a real connection. Wrestlers have joked that someone had to be a jerk if they didn’t like interacting with Sting. The names to become friends with Sting provide a deeper look at his time behind the scenes.

Scott Hall Helped Sting’s Career As Friends

Sting Took Hall’s Passing Hard When Losing A Loved One

• Sting Was One Of The Few WCW Stars Hall Clicked With
• Hall Suggesting Sting’s Crow Gimmick Made Him Bigger Star
• Sting Was Heartbroken When Finding Out Hall Passed Away

The passing of Scott Hall saw many wrestlers who worked closely with him mourning the loss. Sting not only thanked Hall for many years of friendship, but he showed appreciation for Scott coming up with the Crow gimmick to make him the hottest star in WCW.

Their paths crossing in WCW, TNA, and wrestling conventions saw Sting always getting along with Hall. Sting talked about the heartbreaking feeling of finding out Hall passed away and reminisced on the strong memories they had working together.

Diamond Dallas Page Never Stopped Appreciating Sting

DDP Went Out Of His Way To Attend Sting’s AEW Retirement Match

• Sting & DDP Had One Of The Greatest Nitro Matches Ever
• WCW Pushing DDP Saw Him Learning A Lot From Sting
• DDP Wanted To See Sting’s Final Match Live As A Friend

WCW witnessed many friendships forming during the company’s long run in the spotlight. Diamond Dallas Page became a major star during the Monday Night Wars and never lost sight of the names who helped him reach that level.

Sting was someone Page praised for helping him both in and out of the wrestling ring. DDP made sure he attended AEW Revolution 2024 as a friend to see Sting ending his career with all the fanfare by adding to the love and appreciation.

Bret Hart Viewed Meeting Sting Among Rare WCW Positives

Both Wrestlers Earned Respect For Each Other With Many Similarities

• Became Friends Despite Dream Feud Not Living Up To Hype
• Both Wrestlers Using Same Submission Finisher Bonded Them
• Formed Friendship During Weaker Years Of WCW’s Downfall

Sting vs Bret Hart was one of the biggest wrestling dream matches when Hart jumped ship from WWE to WCW. Bad creative unfortunately took away from their matches, but Sting and Bret still loved getting to work with each other.

Both wrestlers using the same sharpshooter/scorpion death lock finisher made it an easy sell to compare them. However, the friendship saw little competition as Hart called Sting a real friend with no ego. Sting repaid the compliment by talking about his love of working with Bret in rare matches

Ric Flair Bonded With Sting Over Iconic Feud

AEW Hired Flair As Favor For Sting’s Retirement Run

• Flair Helping Sting Become A Star Made Them Close
• Always Held Strong Friendship Through Multiple Decades
• AEW Bringing Flair In Was Influenced By Sting’s Retirement

The history between Sting and Ric Flair goes back over two decades when Flair helped make Sting a star. Classic storytelling saw fans getting behind the new top babyface that proved his worth against the most respected heel.

WCW kept their rivalry going for many years to help them define the company as their top two core stars. AEW hired Flair to add to Sting’s retirement tour, and it was a surprise for the legend. The two expressed great happiness working together one more time.

Darby Allin Truly Became Sting’s Protégé In AEW

Had Similar Relationship Off-Screen To On-Screen Dynamic

• Sting Was Placed With Darby To Help Him Get Over
• Became Close Friends Outside Of The Ring Bonding
• Sting Called Darby The Best Tag Team Partner Of Career

AEW found an interesting selling point for Sting’s purpose in AEW by arriving and showing interest in Darby Allin. The natural mentor/protégé dynamic worked perfectly with the two face-painted wrestlers having strong chemistry.

Sting had some of the best tag matches of his career teaming with Darby against various AEW top heels. Allin has talked about Sting helping him outside of the ring and wanting to do literally anything in his power to make Sting’s retirement match a classic.

Buff Bagwell Earned Sting’s Friendship In WCW

Sting Shouted Out Buff When Announcing Retirement

• Bagwell Felt Welcomed In WCW Locker Room Thanks To Sting
• They Spent 10 Consecutive Years Working Together In WCW
• Buff Was Part Of Sting’s Traveling Crew On Road During WCW Years

Former WCW star Buff Bagwell has had many ups and downs in his life, but he has been talking more about his career in recent years since cleaning up his life. Sting is one name that Bagwell always praises for helping him out early in his career.

Bagwell and Sting were two of the longest-tenured WCW employees, but Buff felt first accepted in the locker room thanks to Sting’s friendship. The two remained close through the years, and Sting even name-dropped Bagwell as one of the WCW names he wanted to show love to when announcing his retirement.

Kurt Angle Became Sting’s Close Friend During TNA Run

Main Event Mafia Teammates Had Chemistry In & Out Of Ring

• TNA Signing Both As Major Free Agents Sparked Strong Friendship
• Successful Main Event Mafia Faction Made Them Work Closer Together
• Underrated Rivalry Helped TNA Make Money Off Their Star Power

Sting joining TNA full-time in the mid-2000s gave fans the next chapter of his career years after WCW went out of business. Kurt Angle was one name that hoped to work with Sting, but the legend turned down WWE for his lack of confidence in the company’s booking of WCW talent.

Their paths finally crossed when Angle joined TNA after his controversial WWE exit. Both guys worked well together and bonded outside of the ring. Angle has shared that Sting is on the top of the list with the names he most respects in the industry, especially after working as partners and rivals in the Main Event Mafia.

Goldberg Says Sting Set Blueprint For His Wrestling Run

Respecting Sting’s WCW Work Made Him Understand Wrestling

• Sting Made Goldberg Respect Wrestling By How He Conducted Himself
• Goldberg Views Sting In Better Light Than Other Main Event Players
• Remained Close Throughout Years With Goldberg’s Respect Remaining

Goldberg and Sting were two of the most important WCW wrestlers during the company’s final few years. The wrestling industry was new to Goldberg when he joined and received the push of a lifetime after his NFL career ended.

Many fans and wrestlers felt Goldberg didn’t have enough respect for the business, and he admitted that he didn’t fully respect it until seeing the example Sting set. Goldberg named Sting as the person who helped him realize the importance of being a top star and how to conduct himself.

Lex Luger Was Sting’s Best Wrestling Friend

Friendship Has Existed From WCW Without Ever Ending

• They Have One Of The Most Beloved Friendships In Wrestling History
• Became Close Outside Of The Ring During Their WCW Careers
• Luger Made It A Point To Attend Sting’s Final Match At AEW

Many fans associate Lex Luger and Sting as one of the best stories of best friends using that connection on television. Sting and Luger had a couple of feuds against each other, but they were more known for their tag team run.

Both wrestlers trained and traveled together to continue spending time together outside of the ring. Luger is still a close friend of Sting and attended Sting’s final match in AEW. WWE had to give Lex the okay to attend since he’s under a legends contract, but he wasn’t going to miss that match.

Lance Archer Bonded With Sting Over Religion

TNA & AEW Tenures Saw Archer Learning From Sting

• Archer Learned From Sting As A Young TNA Talent
• Worked Closer Against Together In TNA Tag Matches
• Archer & Sting Bonded Attending Church Together

Sting worked with many new wrestlers of future generations after his prime during the TNA and AEW stints. Lance Archer has spoken glowingly about Sting’s impact on him backstage and outside of the ring.

The backstage advice from Sting helped Archer’s career, but they bonded over more personal things like religion. Archer referenced attending the same church as Sting a few times and enjoying that time during a Busted Open radio interview.

Ultimate Warrior Was Close With Sting In Early Career

Tag Team Run Ending Saw Friendship Fracturing For Years

• Formed Tag Team For First Taste Of Success In Wrestling
• Had Fractured Relationship During End Of Tag Team Run
• Reconnected During Warrior’s Short Time In WCW

Sting and the Ultimate Warrior had a fascinating run together as the Blade Runners tag team early in their careers. Both wrestlers showed potential together before moving on to massive success in their singles careers.

The two were great friends early on before things were fractured towards the end of their tag run. Sting and Warrior had tension, but they enjoyed working together again in WCW to heal old wounds. One final tag match during Warrior’s short WCW run gave their history together some closure on-screen.

The Steiner Brothers Became Friends For Life

WCW Homegrown Core Had Special Connection

• Steiner Brothers Instantly Became Close With Sting
• Lived Close To Sting For Families To Grow Friendships
• Stayed Close With All The Changes In Careers After WCW

Sting and Lex Luger get the obvious association for their friendship, but the Steiner Brothers became part of that crew. Many fans viewed them as the core four homegrown talents that WCW built to push with other names established coming in and out.

Rick and Scott Steiner lived close to Sting and Luger to spend a lot of time together outside of the ring. Scott getting to work with Sting in TNA as Main Event Mafia teammates showed their chemistry. Rick retired before the others, but Sting was one of the names he stayed in contact with.

Kevin Nash & Sting Proved Wolfpac Was For Life

Sting Asked Nash To Show Up For Final Match In AEW

• Wolfpac Run Placed Sting & Nash Closely Together
• Friendship Grew More In TNA Constantly In Same Angles
• Nash Turned Down Sting Invite To Attend Sting’s Last Match

The New World Order Wolfpac saw Sting and Kevin Nash growing closer together during their time in WCW. Nash having more time with Sting sparked the friendship that has been going strong for over 25 years now.

TNA reunited them in the Main Event Mafia and a few other storylines getting to work together again. Nash revealed that Sting offered a personal invite to his retirement match, but Big Sexy turned it down due to his association with WWE.