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116-407: Outside sports, the term battle royale has taken on a new meaning in the 21st century, from Koushun Takami 's 1999 Japanese dystopian novel Battle Royale and its 2000 film adaptation of the same name , referring to a fictional narrative genre and/or mode of entertainment also known as death games and killing games , where a select group of people is instructed to hunt and kill one another in

232-628: A Coal Miner's Glove match at Halloween Havoc , Sting defeated Vader, who had lost the WCW World Heavyweight Championship in August, in the "King of Cable" tournament final at Starrcade . The Sting-Vader feud continued into 1993, with Vader, who was again WCW World Heavyweight Champion, defeating Sting in a bloody Strap match at SuperBrawl III . Sting exacted revenge by beating Vader for

348-533: A Gold's Gym health club. Borden had no interest in professional wrestling and no television access to it within his home community, but decided to pursue a career in the industry after being taken to an "incredible" World Wrestling Federation (WWF) event in Los Angeles where he saw Hulk Hogan , The Iron Sheik , The British Bulldogs , André the Giant and others perform. Borden, originally wrestling under

464-402: A baseball bat as a weapon, began appearing in the rafters at WCW events and began painting his entire face with black and white corpse paint . In retaliation, nWo Sting, who was still imitating Borden, began painting his face this way as well. Sting's new gimmick was directly inspired by the title character of the 1994 film The Crow , and Borden credits Scott Hall for suggesting the idea of

580-459: A diving elbow drop to help DDP win the match and the title. Sting defeated Page on the April 26 episode of Nitro to win the WCW World Heavyweight Championship for the fifth time. Later that night, Sting defended the title in a four-way match featuring DDP, Goldberg, and a returning Nash. DDP pinned Nash, allowing DDP to win the title without directly beating Sting. Sting's 90-minute reign was only

696-568: A new world order in professional wrestling. The name stuck, and Sting became one of WCW's stalwarts against the New World Order, or nWo for short. As part of this, Sting and Luger went up to rivals and Four Horsemen members Ric Flair and Arn Anderson some time after Bash at the Beach and asked them to team with him, saying that they needed to put aside their personal differences for the greater good of WCW. Flair and Anderson agreed and

812-424: A "Lethal Lottery" by WCW, due to the potentiality of rivals being forced to work as a team. Numerous variations of the battle royale also exist, including: In the 21st century, the 2000 Japanese film Battle Royale , itself based on the 1999 novel of the same name , redefined the term "battle royale" in popular culture . The term "battle royale" has since been used to refer to a fictional narrative genre where

928-538: A "free agent" as he refused to join the nWo although WCW Vice President Eric Bischoff , also one of the leaders of the nWo, declared he would not be allowed back in WCW if he didn't. For the next few weeks, the two were seen in the rafters together and coming to the ring together. This story, however, petered out at SuperBrawl VII in February; Sting and Savage had come to the ring together to watch Roddy Piper face Hogan in

1044-545: A Battlebowl championship ring. Sting then became embroiled in a feud with the Dangerous Alliance , headed by manager Paul E. Dangerously . The stable targeted Sting because he was the so-called "franchise" of WCW, and the Alliance vowed to destroy both Sting and the promotion he was the face of. At the same time, Sting was being targeted by Luger, who had once again turned heel and, as WCW Champion, viewed Sting as

1160-636: A baseball bat, wielded by Lex Luger, eleven months later. Sting returned to Nitro in March 1999, sporting the black and white Crow -inspired attire he debuted in 1996 and began to participate in more mic work. By this time, the nWo storyline had faded, and Sting was not aligned with any of its factions. Sting competed in the main event of April's Spring Stampede , a Four Corners match for the World Championship, against Hogan, DDP, and champion Flair. Savage served as special guest referee and delivered

1276-537: A black and white nWo shirt, but he soon tore off the shirt to reveal the red and black of the nWo Wolfpac. Sting began wearing red and black face paint and tights as a member of nWo Wolfpac. Sting and The Giant won the WCW World Tag Team Championship at Slamboree in May when Hall turned on his teammate Nash. Sting and The Giant then split due to each man joining opposite sides of the nWo, and

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1392-546: A casket, attacking Vampiro. Sting went on to feud with Jeff Jarrett and then Scott Steiner. Steiner attacked and injured Sting in November 2000. Sting remained absent from WCW programming until the final episode of Nitro on March 26, 2001. By this point, WCW had been purchased by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), and the final match in WCW history pitted Sting against his longtime rival Flair;

1508-554: A disqualification, giving neither man the championship. Eventually, Muta won a No Disqualification match against Sting at a live event in September by using a blackjack to get the win and the title. In the main event of that year's Great American Bash, Flair defended the NWA World Heavyweight Championship against Terry Funk , who was a member of Gary Hart 's J-Tex Corporation . After Flair got

1624-508: A falling out between the two (with Steiner siding with Gilbert). Shortly afterwards, following a match against Terry Taylor in mid-1987, Gilbert interfered on Taylor's behalf, costing Sting the match. Taylor and Gilbert then ganged up on Sting until Taylor's former tag partner Gentleman Chris Adams came to Sting's aid. Adams cleared the ring and then asked Sting if he was with him or against him in his feud with Taylor and Gilbert. Sting turned face by declaring his allegiance to Adams. Behind

1740-578: A heel. The duo beat Harlem Heat for the WCW World Tag Team Championship on the January 22 episode of Nitro . The team often retained the championship as a result of Luger's cheating tactics, to which Sting remained oblivious. When Luger was temporarily unavailable for WCW Uncensored in March, Harlem Heat member Booker T teamed up with Sting to successfully prevent the titles from changing hands. Sting and Booker T developed

1856-559: A large arena until there is only one survivor. In 18th century England , bare-knuckle boxing conducted according to Jack Broughton 's rules included matches involving eight fighters. Referred to as "Broughton's Battle Royals", these events were spoofed in political cartoons of the era. The practice eventually fell out of favor in the United Kingdom, but it continued in the American colonies. Lower-class white people who lived in

1972-414: A main event pitting Hogan and himself against Nash and Vicious. Sting vacated the presidency the following week because he only wanted Flair out of the position rather than wanting the power for himself. Along with Goldberg, Sting and Hogan feuded with Nash, Vicious and Rick Steiner for the next month. Sting began to question Hogan's trustworthiness and credibility in the weeks leading up to Fall Brawl . At

2088-489: A match against Anderson and Brian Pillman at Halloween Havoc . Anderson and Pillman had attacked Flair earlier in the night, rendering Flair unable to come out for the first part of the match. Sting fended off his opponents until Flair emerged. Later in the match, Flair turned on Sting and reformed the Four Horsemen with Anderson and Pillman, later adding Chris Benoit to fill out the group. Sting defeated Flair on

2204-627: A match for the WCW World Championship. As Sting left, Savage did not follow suit, instead opting to go to the ring and help Hogan win the match, thus going back on his word and joining the nWo. Over the next couple of weeks, Sting would accompany the nWo, indicating that he too had joined the group. However, at Uncensored in March 1997, as the nWo celebrated a victory in the main event battle royal which guaranteed them title shots whenever they desired with their newest recruit, Chicago Bulls NBA star Dennis Rodman , Sting rappelled from

2320-573: A mutual respect that showed itself when Sting and Luger granted Harlem Heat a rematch. During the tag title run, Sting received a world title shot against The Giant at Slamboree in May, but lost after accidental interference from Luger. Harlem Heat eventually won the titles back on the June 24 episode of Nitro . In the summer of 1996, Sting was the first WCW competitor to stand up to The Outsiders : Kevin Nash and Scott Hall , who had recently competed in

2436-844: A one-hour draw in Atlanta's Omni on New Year's Day. He would also have his first experience in Japan with a brief tour in All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), with his most notable match in AJPW against Dan Spivey at Nippon Budokan in June 1989. After a long push, Sting won his first title in the NWA when he defeated Rotundo for the NWA Television Championship at a live event in March. In mid-1989, The Great Muta challenged Sting at The Great American Bash . The match

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2552-545: A promotional crossover, Sting was rescued by his buddy RoboCop . After Borden's recovery, Sting finally defeated Flair for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship on July 7, 1990, at The Great American Bash . Sting went on to feud with title contenders Flair and Sid Vicious . Vicious appeared to defeat Sting in a title match at the 1990 Halloween Havoc , but the "Sting" that Vicious pinned was revealed to be an impostor played by Horseman Barry Windham . The real Sting appeared soon after and pinned Vicious to retain his title after

2668-525: A rematch for the title at Bash at the Beach 1995 . Sting competed on the first-ever WCW Monday Nitro in a match where Flair defeated Sting by disqualification as a result of a run-in by Arn Anderson, who attacked Flair. At Fall Brawl , Sting teamed with Hogan, Luger, and Randy Savage to defeat the Dungeon of Doom, consisting of Kamala , Zodiac , Shark and Meng, in the event's WarGames match . In October 1995, Flair convinced Sting to team with him in

2784-621: A rematch from Starrcade. In the same month, WCW seceded from the National Wrestling Alliance, in the process of recognizing a WCW World Heavyweight Championship and a WCW World Tag Team Championship . Sting then took part in what many consider to be the best match of 1991, teaming with Luger to face The Steiner Brothers at the SuperBrawl I pay-per-view for the world tag-team titles. The Steiners won by pinfall after Koloff, who had been feuding with Luger, interfered in

2900-447: A select group of people is instructed to kill one another until there is one survivor. The "battle royale" phenomenon became especially popular in the 2010s. Battle Royale set out the basic rules of the genre, including players being forced to kill each other until there is a single survivor and the need to scavenge for weapons and items. The "battle royale" concept first gained mainstream popularity in Japan, where Battle Royale inspired

3016-562: A six-man tag team match against Gilbert, Steiner, and Larry Zbyszko that ended in a 15-minute time-limit draw. Having established himself as a rising star, Sting was one of the few UWF alumni to be pushed in the NWA. At Clash of the Champions I in March 1988, Sting challenged Ric Flair for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship . The match ended in a draw after the 45-minute time limit expired and

3132-405: A slight pause, first called out the nWo Sting as a "cheap imitation," before telling the nWo, "the real Sting may or may not be in your price range," and then concluded by saying "the only thing that's for sure about Sting is nothing's for sure". With that, Sting left the ring and would not speak (on the microphone ) on WCW programming again for over a year. A silent, almost ghostly Sting, carrying

3248-639: A subsequent Nitro with the Scorpion Deathlock , refusing to let go until Luger persuaded him to do so. Sting defeated Flair again at the World War 3 pay-per-view. Later in the night, Sting competed in the World War 3 battle royal for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, which was won by Randy Savage. Sting's alliances with Hogan and Savage led the Horsemen to attack them as well. Sting's second U.S. title reign lasted until November 13, when he

3364-474: A threat. Sting engaged in many matches with Dangerous Alliance members, especially Rude, who was the group's biggest star. It was during this feud that Sting won the first of his six WCW World Heavyweight Championships, defeating Luger on February 29, 1992, at SuperBrawl II . The feud ended when Sting formed Sting's Squadron, consisting of allies Ricky Steamboat , Dustin Rhodes , Windham, and Koloff, and defeated

3480-640: A wave of manga , anime , and visual novel works during the 2000s, before the concept gained global mainstream popularity in the 2010s. There are a number of popular battle royale video games , films, manga, anime, and visual novels. Along with the Battle Royale franchise itself, other examples of battle royale films include The Big Brawl (1980), Mean Guns (1997), The Hunger Games franchise (2008), The Purge (2013), Assassination Nation (2018), Ready or Not (2019), and The Hunt (2020). Battle Royale inspired television series include

3596-599: A wrestling company based in Memphis, Tennessee , and became known as the Freedom Fighters. Fans were slow to respond to the lumbering hulks, so the team turned heel under "coach" Buddy Wayne and soon afterwards manager Dutch Mantel . The Freedom Fighters left the CWA after an uneventful run, the highlight of which was an angle in which they broke the leg of veteran wrestler Phil Hickerson . The duo surfaced in

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3712-652: Is a Japanese author and journalist. He is best known for his 1999 novel Battle Royale , which was later adapted into two live-action films , directed by Kinji Fukasaku , and four manga series . Takami was born on 10 January 1969 in Amagasaki , Hyōgo Prefecture near Osaka and grew up in the Kagawa Prefecture of Shikoku . After graduating from Osaka University with a degree in literature, he dropped out of Nihon University 's liberal arts correspondence course program. From 1991 to 1996, he worked for

3828-478: Is under a "Legends deal". Borden is best known for his time spent as the face of two American professional wrestling promotions : World Championship Wrestling (WCW) from 1988 to 2001 and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) from 2006 to 2014, as well as his retirement run in AEW from 2020 to 2024. Although the World Wrestling Federation (WWF; renamed WWE in 2002) purchased WCW in 2001, Borden did not sign with them at

3944-760: The Battle Royale manga (2000 debut), other examples of battle royale manga, anime, and tokusatsu , include Gantz (2000 debut), Kamen Rider Ryuki (2002 debut), Basilisk (2003 debut), Bokurano (2003 debut), the Fate/stay night franchise (2005 debut), Future Diary (2006 debut), Deadman Wonderland (2007 debut), Btooom! (2009 debut), the Danganronpa franchise (2010 debut), Magical Girl Raising Project (2012 debut), Darwin's Game (2012 debut), and Kamen Rider Geats (2022 debut). Examples of battle royale visual novel games include

4060-643: The Fate/stay night series (2004 debut), Dies irae (2007), the Zero Escape series (2009 debut), and the Danganronpa series (2010 debut). In-universe battle royale video games were depicted in Btooom! , and in the Phantom Bullet (Gun Gale Online) arc of the light novel series Sword Art Online (2010 in print) as the "Bullet of Bullets" tournament. Koushun Takami Kōshun Takami ( 高見 広春 , Takami Kōshun , born 10 January 1969)

4176-645: The Bash at the Beach in July to take on Vicious and Savage of Team Madness . Savage pinned Nash and won the World title as a result. Hogan returned from injury on July 12 as a face to win the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. Sting defeated Flair on the July 19 episode of Nitro to become the on-screen president of WCW. Later that night, Nash turned heel by attacking Hogan during a title defense against Vicious. Sting remained president for just one week and used his power to book

4292-475: The Scorpion Death Drop , two jumping elbow drops, a Stinger Splash and a Scorpion Deathlock while the rest of the nWo stood around ringside. Rather than intervene and save their stablemate, they simply stood by and watched. After Sting was done, the nWo came into the ring. Ted DiBiase , Scott Hall, and Kevin Nash made Sting an offer to join the nWo and get back at WCW for betraying him. Sting, after

4408-679: The Southern United States but eventually spread to the North. However, the events fell out of favor, especially in the North. In New York, the State Athletic Commission banned battles royal in 1911. They continued in the South from the 1910s to the 1950s but with less popularity. The 1952 novel Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison contains a depiction of a battle royal. By the 1960s, battles royal had been banned in

4524-630: The Universal Wrestling Federation (UWF), an organization run by Bill Watts and based in Alexandria, Louisiana , where they were known as the Blade Runners . Borden changed his ring name from Flash to Sting, while Hellwig became known as Rock. They soon joined Hotstuff & Hyatt International, a heel stable headed by "Hot Stuff" Eddie Gilbert and Missy Hyatt . Together with "Russian" wrestler Kortsia Korchenko,

4640-656: The WWA World Heavyweight Championship , before joining the then-upstart TNA in 2003. Over the following 11 years, he won the NWA World Heavyweight Championship on one further occasion and the TNA World Heavyweight Championship four times . As a result, he became the only wrestler to have won the NWA, WCW, and TNA world titles. He was also the inaugural inductee into the TNA Hall of Fame in 2012 before leaving

4756-580: The WWE World Heavyweight Championship in a losing effort. Borden headlined the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2016 on April 2, where he announced his first retirement; he remained with the company under a legends contract until early 2020. In late 2020, Borden signed with AEW, making his first appearance at Dynamite : Winter Is Coming , subsequently coming out of retirement where he had his first match in over five years at

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4872-487: The backcountry practiced "free-for-all" as well as rough-and-tumble fighting. The practice also spread to American enslaved people , who held mass fights as a form of entertainment. Frederick Douglass wrote that such distractions, as well as the consumption of alcohol, were "among the most effective in the hands of the slaveholder in keeping down the spirit of insurrection." After the American Civil War ,

4988-441: The "Crow" character. Sting still maintains the core aspects and aesthetic of his "Crow" persona to this day, occasionally with different designs and use of color integrated into the face paint. In a series of unusual loyalty tests over the next months, Sting would confront a random WCW wrestler in the ring and shove the wrestler several times with his bat until the wrestler was provoked enough to advance on him. Then Sting would draw

5104-469: The 450-pound Big Van Vader . During the match, Vader splashed Sting, cracking three of Sting's ribs and rupturing his spleen. Sting recovered and defended his title on July 12 against Vader at The Great American Bash , dropping the belt to Big Van Vader after missing a Stinger Splash, hitting his head on the ring post, and receiving a powerbomb . After beating Cactus Jack in a Falls Count Anywhere Match at Beach Blast and WCW newcomer Jake Roberts in

5220-555: The Alliance (Rude, Austin, Arn Anderson, Zbyszko, and Bobby Eaton ) in a WarGames match at WrestleWar in May 1992. Dave Meltzer awarded the match his highest rating of five stars. Near the end of Sting's battles with the Dangerous Alliance, the seeds were sown for what became arguably one of the most famous feuds of Sting's career. Sting defended his WCW World title on April 12, 1992, at The Omni in Atlanta against

5336-587: The Andersons, Arn and Ole (kayfabe cousins). Sting finished out the year by winning a four-man round-robin Iron Man tournament at Starrcade '89 . In the final match of the night, Sting defeated Flair to accumulate the necessary points to win the tournament. The victory made Sting the number one contender for Flair's NWA World title, leading to tension within the Four Horsemen. Sting was summarily dismissed from The Four Horsemen on February 6, 1990, at Clash of

5452-693: The Blade Runners became henchmen in Gilbert's on-screen feud with Watts. Hellwig left the promotion in mid-1986, leaving Sting without a partner. Sting won the UWF World Tag Team Championship twice with Gilbert in 1986 and a third time with Rick Steiner in 1987. Sting and Steiner lost their tag titles to the Lightning Express after Gilbert accidentally hit Sting with his boot during a title defence, leading to

5568-538: The CWA as the Freedom Fighters. In 1986, they joined the UWF as the Blade Runners , with Borden changing his ring name to Sting. His association with JCP and its successor WCW began in 1987, which saw him win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship for the first time in 1990. He rose to main event status and is described as the WCW counterpart to the WWF's Hulk Hogan . Dubbed "The Franchise of WCW", he held 15 championships in

5684-484: The Champions X: Texas Shootout after refusing to relinquish his title shot against Flair, thus restarting their rivalry. Later that evening, Borden experienced a legitimate knee injury while interfering in a steel cage match featuring the Horsemen. Borden's injury forced the bookers of World Championship Wrestling (WCW), the dominant promotion in the NWA, to find a new opponent for Flair for

5800-628: The Japanese TV series Alice in Borderland (2020) as well as the South Korean show Squid Game (2021). Popular examples of battle royale games include PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (2017), Fortnite Battle Royale (2017), Rules of Survival (2017), Garena Free Fire (2017), Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 (2018), Apex Legends (2019), Call of Duty: Warzone (2020), and Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout (2020). Along with

5916-459: The October 21 episode of Nitro , Sting returned for the first time since the night after Fall Brawl in a match where the impostor Sting was wrestling Mr. JL . Sting emerged wearing a trench coat and white face paint with black marks around his eyes. He went in the ring and attacked nWo Sting (who was still imitating Sting's old mannerisms at this point) with his new finisher, an inverted DDT dubbed

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6032-429: The September pay-per-view, Luger brought a baseball bat to the ring and Sting used it to beat Hogan for his sixth and final WCW World Heavyweight Championship, turning heel for the first time in WCW. Sting's heel turn and subsequent attitude change did not resonate with the WCW fans. They still cheered Sting despite the fact he was supposed to be the villain (reminiscent of The Road Warriors ' heel turn in late 1988). It

6148-673: The Sharpshooter and the Scorpion Deathlock. Hart cost Sting and Nash the Tag titles by interfering in their match with Hall and The Giant on the July 20 Nitro . Sting and Hart squared off at Halloween Havoc , where Hart, the United States Champion, attacked Sting with a baseball bat, putting Sting out of action for several months. Ironically, Hart would eventually be pinned by Sting after he himself fell afoul of

6264-439: The South. The battle royal was a way for an aspiring boxer to get noticed, and successful battle royal champions gained enough prestige to participate in more respectable boxing matches. Jack Johnson , Joe Gans , and Beau Jack are three successful boxers who started out in battles royal. In professional wrestling , the battle royal is a match involving anywhere between four and sixty wrestlers that takes place entirely inside

6380-541: The WCW World Heavyweight Championship on March 11 in London , England, but lost it back to Vader six days later in Dublin , Ireland. Sting then teamed with WCW newcomer Davey Boy Smith to beat the team of Vader and Vicious at Beach Blast in a match that was set up by a mini-movie in which an evil midget blew up Sting's boat. At the end of 1993, Sting was one of the first people to congratulate Flair, who had just returned from

6496-515: The WCW banner, and I have given my blood, my sweat, and my tears for WCW! So for all of those fans out there and all those wrestlers and people that never doubted the Stinger, I'll stand by you if you stand by me! But for all of the people, all of the commentators, all of the wrestlers, and all of the best friends who did doubt me, you can stick it! From now on I consider myself a free agent. Declaring he would visit "from time to time", Sting threw

6612-399: The WWF, whose alliances and agenda were unclear, and who had been infiltrating and causing chaos at various WCW events. Sting teamed with Luger and Savage to defend WCW against Hall, Nash, and a mysterious third Outsider to be revealed at the Bash at the Beach . Hall and Nash started the bout without their third partner, but the WCW's temporary three-on-two advantage was short-lived: Luger left

6728-642: The World Wrestling Federation, after his WCW World Heavyweight Title victory over Vader at Starrcade . Sting feuded with Vader and Rude through the first half of 1994. Sting won the WCW International World Heavyweight Championship from Rude in April. Rude recaptured the title on May 1 at Wrestling Dontaku 1994 in Japan , but the decision was reversed because Rude had allegedly hit Sting with

6844-697: The Year " on four occasions, a record he shares with John Cena . In 2016, Borden was inducted into the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame . Slam! Sports wrote that he holds "a lofty level of prestige that few will ever touch". Borden was born in Omaha, Nebraska , and raised in Southern California . He played football and basketball in high school and later embarked on a career in bodybuilding , once co-owning

6960-487: The battle royal became even more popular, but the events were also increasingly considered shameful and disreputable. Promoters of boxing events arranged for brutal free-for-alls with few rules, generally between black boxers. The audience for these spectacles was almost always white, unlike the pre-war entertainment within the enslaved communities. A battle royal was a frequent opening event for boxing and wrestling shows from 1870 to 1910. They originated and were most popular in

7076-425: The belt. Sting responded with his first words (on mic) since October 1996 when he told Dillon, "You've got no guts!" Sting turned to Hogan and said, "And you... You're a dead man!". As 1998 began, the nWo began to splinter. Sting recaptured the vacant WCW World Heavyweight Championship in February at SuperBrawl VIII with the help of Savage, who was beginning to split from the nWo. Sting went on to successfully defend

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7192-420: The company in early 2014. Previously described by WWE as the greatest wrestler never to have performed for that promotion, Borden finally joined the company in late 2014, making his first appearance at Survivor Series and having his debut match at WrestleMania 31 the following year. His last match in WWE came at Night of Champions in September 2015, which also marked his sole WWE pay-per-view main event for

7308-407: The contracts, often tearing them up in Dillon's face. Finally, during an episode of Nitro, a confused and frustrated Dillon asked Sting who he wanted to face. Sting went out to ringside, picked up a fan's sign, and pointed out one name on it: Hogan. Eventually, Sting got his wish and he and Hogan finally met in December at Starrcade for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. The finish of the match

7424-427: The decision claiming that Patrick's decision should have been considered final and a rematch was granted. The match ran over Nitro's allotted time slot and the finish was aired later in the week on the inaugural episode of Thunder . Similar to the Starrcade result, two different referees declared both men as the winner. Later that night, Dillon vacated the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, forcing Sting to surrender

7540-465: The designated "Ring #1" out of the three and fight until there was a winner. The winners of the four World War 3 battles royal were Randy Savage , The Giant , Scott Hall , and Kevin Nash . World Championship Wrestling also held an event called Battlebowl in which 20 men started in one ring and would have to throw the others into a second ring. From that ring, they would be thrown to the floor for elimination. The last man in ring one would rest until one

7656-453: The final moments of the match when Sensuous Sherri turned on Sting and took Flair's side. Sting spent the second half of 1994 and most of 1995 teaming with WCW's newest signee, Hulk Hogan in his battles against Kevin Sullivan 's Three Faces of Fear and its successor stable, The Dungeon of Doom . At The Great American Bash 1995 , Sting defeated Meng to win another tournament for the WCW United States Championship. Sting defeated Meng in

7772-496: The finals against Scott Steiner, leading to an intense feud between Sting and Vampiro. Sting pinned Vampiro at Slamboree in May, and Vampiro beat Sting in a Human Torch match at The Great American Bash the next month; for the climax of the match, Borden switched with a stuntman, who was set on fire and thrown off the top of the frame of the stage's entrance video screen. At Bash at the Beach , he returned wearing another Sting mask as men wearing cloaks and Sting masks carried him in

7888-418: The following March. WCW officials Vince Russo and Eric Bischoff , in an attempt to save the fading company, rebooted all current storylines on April 10, 2000, and declared all titles vacant. At Spring Stampede the following week, Sting advanced to the finals of the United States Championship tournament by defeating Booker T and Vampiro in the first two rounds. Vampiro then cost Sting the championship in

8004-452: The forthcoming WrestleWar pay-per-view event. Lex Luger was chosen to challenge Flair at WrestleWar. During the match between Flair and Luger, Sting came down to motivate Luger to come back and beat Flair. Before this, Sting and Luger had been at odds. When Luger was close to winning, Sting was attacked by Ole Anderson. Luger opted to save the already injured Sting and ended up losing the match by count-out while assisting his friend. Behind

8120-427: The four wrestlers composed Team WCW for the annual WarGames match at Fall Brawl in September 1996. They would be facing the nWo's team of Hall, Nash, Hogan, and a fourth member yet to be determined. On the final Nitro prior to the event, however, the nWo played a trick on WCW claiming that Sting was joining their side. A vignette was shown where the nWo had a recording of Sting's voice playing in its limousine as Luger

8236-420: The guest referee for the match between Larry Zbyszko and Eric Bischoff earlier that evening, order the match to be restarted and Sting would emerge victorious by forcing Hogan to submit to the Scorpion Death Lock. However, Patrick did not do his part properly and instead counted the pin at normal speed, which added an unintentional level of controversy to the finish. The next night on Nitro , Hogan protested

8352-519: The main event of the final episode of WCW Monday Nitro . Borden would later face Hogan and Flair in their last televised matches, which occurred in TNA, defeating both, although Flair would later have one final match in 2022. Following the expiration of his contract with WCW's parent company AOL Time Warner in March 2002, Borden held talks with the WWF, but did not join the promotion and instead toured with World Wrestling All-Stars (WWA), winning

8468-418: The match after he was accidentally injured by a mistimed Stinger Splash. The two-on-two match continued until Hulk Hogan, who had been a face character for nearly fifteen years, emerged at ringside. Hogan appeared ready to back up the WCW wrestlers, until he attacked Savage with his leg drop finisher in one of wrestling's most famous swerves . The match was ruled a no-contest, and Hall, Nash, and Hogan declared

8584-525: The match by swinging a chain at Luger, but hitting Sting instead. Consequently, Sting feuded with Koloff throughout the summer of 1991. In August 1991, Sting defeated Steve Austin to win a tournament for the vacated WCW United States Heavyweight Championship . Sting held the title for 86 days before losing it to Rick Rude at Clash of the Champions XVII . At Starrcade '91 , Sting won the first-ever Battlebowl battle royal, for which he received

8700-579: The match was restarted. During Sting's title run, a masked man known as The Black Scorpion would taunt and attack Sting on many occasions. This feud culminated in a final showdown between Sting and The Black Scorpion at Starrcade: Collision Course in December. The cage match ended with Sting pinning and unmasking the Scorpion, who turned out to be Flair in disguise. Sting's first world championship reign ended January 11, 1991, when Flair defeated him in

8816-404: The match, Sting shook hands with Hart in a sign of respect, turning face again. Sting sought revenge against Luger the next month at Starrcade . Sting won by disqualification when Luger and Miss Elizabeth assaulted Sting with a steel chair and baseball bat, putting Sting out of action for some time. Sting ended his feud with Luger by defeating him in a Lumberjacks with Casts match at Uncensored

8932-475: The match, leaving Team WCW at a four-on-three disadvantage, which they did not overcome. The next night on Nitro , Sting came out unannounced during the middle of the show with no music or entrance pyrotechnics. He entered the ring and, with his back turned to the camera side of the audience, launched into an angry tirade about what had transpired over the last week: I want a chance to explain something that happened last Monday night at Nitro . Last Monday night, I

9048-682: The microphone down and left the ring. Days after the infamous promo, he was booked for shows in New Japan Pro-Wrestling, to take part in the Japan/U.S. Superstars Tournament, where he defeated Masahiro Chono in the first round, but was eliminated in the second round by Shiro Koshinaka . His last match of 1996 took place on September 23 at the Yokohama Arena, where he and Lex Luger teamed up to defeat Arn Anderson and Steven Regal. It would end up being his last tour of Japan. On

9164-503: The monochromatic paint of the "Crow" gimmick; he also incorporated elements of The Joker in the later part of his time in TNA. Borden started his career in 1985 as Flash in the independent promotion All-California Championship Wrestling, where he was in a tag team with Jim "Justice" Hellwig (who would later become famously known as The Ultimate Warrior) as members of the Power Team USA stable , before he and Hellwig joined

9280-491: The nWo by themselves. Sting told Luger that he did not attack him, but Luger refused to believe him. Later, during the match, Sting entered as the fourth and final man for Team WCW, after the impostor Sting had entered for the nWo. Once in the ring, Sting immediately took out all four members of the nWo. He then stopped, turned to Luger, and angrily said to him, "Is that good enough for you right there? Is that proof enough?!?" Sting then gave Luger an obscene gesture and walked out of

9396-511: The nWo, and employed decoy "Stings" to play mind games with the nWo during the closing segments of Nitro . Sting's appearances to fight the nWo at the end of almost every Nitro helped WCW keep and widen its television ratings advantage over the WWF's Monday Night Raw throughout the summer. In the midst of all this, on-screen WCW commissioner J. J. Dillon tried many times to get Sting to return to wrestling by making contracts to fight various nWo members. Sting, however, did not accept any of

9512-434: The news company Shikoku Shimbun , reporting on various fields including politics, police reports, and economics. Kōshun Takami was born Hiroharu Takami ( 高見宏治 , Takami Hiroharu ) . His new given name is a play on word on his original one. Hiroharu is a homophone of ''large spring''. The author then adopted the kanjis 広春 (large spring) and used their on'yomi pronunciation to form his new name: Kōshun. Battle Royale

9628-414: The next match. Early in 1996, Sting's appearance started to change: he grew longer, darker hair, replacing his blond flattop haircut, and he often wore black tights with a multi-colored scorpion , although he occasionally wore his colorful ones and maintained his colorful face paint . Sting teamed with his old friend Luger , who had returned to WCW from WWF in September 1995, despite Luger's standing as

9744-659: The promotion's pay-per-view , Revolution , on March 7, 2021, a tag team victory with partner Darby Allin . Borden and Allin would continue to work as a team, going undefeated and winning the AEW World Tag Team Championship in February 2024. Sting then had his official retirement match at Revolution on March 3, 2024, retiring both as an undefeated tag team with Allin and as champion. Borden held 26 total championships throughout his career, including 22 between WCW, TNA, and AEW. Readers of Pro Wrestling Illustrated named him " Most Popular Wrestler of

9860-508: The promotion, including six reigns with the WCW World Heavyweight Championship and two reigns with the WCW International World Heavyweight Championship , and made more pay-per-view (PPV) appearances than any other. Against Hogan, Borden headlined WCW's highest-grossing PPV event , Starrcade , in December 1997. Upon the WWF's acquisition of WCW in March 2001, Borden and rival Ric Flair were chosen for

9976-440: The result and issued an open challenge for later tonight. Later that night, Sting lost an unsanctioned match to Goldberg, who accepted his open challenge and then attacked referee Charles Robinson . Sting was stripped of the title the next night for attacking the official. Sting entered the 32-man tournament that was set up to award the vacant WCW World Heavyweight Championship. Sting defeated Brian Knobs , Meng, and Luger to reach

10092-556: The ring name Flash, teamed with Jim "Justice" Hellwig (who would later gain fame as The Ultimate Warrior in the WWF) as two members of Power Team USA in independent All-California Championship Wrestling. Power Team USA was a four-man unit also featuring Garland "Glory" Donahoe and Mark "Commando" Miller, plus manager Rick Bassman. Hellwig and Borden later moved to the Continental Wrestling Association (CWA),

10208-609: The ringside judges could not declare a winner. Sting lost to Flair in several non-televised rematches following the Clash and, later that year, battled other members of Flair's stable, the Four Horsemen . Sting teamed with Koloff at The Great American Bash in July 1988 to challenge Horsemen Tully Blanchard and Arn Anderson for the NWA World Tag Team Championship ; Blanchard and Anderson retained

10324-480: The ring—a wrestler is eliminated when someone scores a pin against them or knocks them out, but there are rarely submissions. Some promotions allow over-the-top rope eliminations or enforce them exclusively, notably battles royal in the WWE , including in their annual Royal Rumble . Battle royals are often used to determine the top contender for a championship or to fill vacant championships. World Championship Wrestling

10440-428: The roof of the arena on a vertical zip-line . When Hall and Nash went to approach him, Sting attacked them as well as attacking Randy Savage when he tried to intervene, revealing his true allegiance to WCW. In subsequent weeks, Sting frequently rappelled from the rafters or came up through the ring to attack unsuspecting nWo members, came to the aid of wrestlers who were once subjected to his loyalty test as they battled

10556-501: The same.. more DOUBT. Which brings me to Fall Brawl. I knew I had to get to Fall Brawl and get face to face with the Total Package to let him know that it wasn't me. And what I got out of that was, 'No Sting... I DON'T BELIEVE YOU STING!' Well, all I gotta say is, I have been mediator, I have been babysitter for Lex Luger, and I've given him the benefit of the doubt about a thousand times in the last twelve months! And I've carried

10672-688: The scenes, Gilbert endorsed Borden by telling a dirt sheet that Sting would be a megastar in the future. Later that year, Sting was tabbed to win the UWF Television Championship , then held by Gilbert, until Jim Crockett of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) bought the company from Watts. Crockett's booker, Dusty Rhodes , decided to put the Television title on Taylor to set up a feud between Taylor and NWA Television Champion Nikita Koloff to unify

10788-477: The scenes, WCW officials had wanted Flair to drop the title to Luger at WrestleWar, but Flair refused, saying he had promised Borden he would hold the title until Borden could return to the ring. Despite the injury, Sting was still utilized on television and pay-per-views when necessary. At the Capital Combat event in May, Sting was accosted by the Four Horsemen and thrown into a metal cage at ringside. In

10904-498: The second shortest WCW World Heavyweight Championship reign in WCW history . Sting lost to Rick Steiner in a Falls Count Anywhere match at The Great American Bash after he was attacked by Steiner's three pet dogs backstage and Steiner forced the referee to prematurely declare himself the victor, claiming his dogs had pinned Sting for him. Over the next several months, Sting feuded with Goldberg, Rick Steiner, Vicious, and Savage. Sting teamed with WCW World Heavyweight Champion Nash at

11020-399: The semi-finals to be held at WCW Mayhem . At the November event, Sting lost to Hart, the eventual winner of the tournament, by disqualification after ostensibly "bungled" interference by Luger (in fact payback for Sting's quarterfinal win). This led to a falling out with Luger. However, Hart asked for an immediate rematch, which was granted, and won by submission to advance to the final. After

11136-456: The team was forced to vacate the titles 18 days later. Sting then defeated The Giant at The Great American Bash in June to take control of the Tag Team titles and chose Nash as his partner. Throughout the summer, Sting and fellow nWo Wolfpac members Nash, Luger, and Konnan feuded with Hogan and nWo Hollywood. Sting also got involved in a feud with Bret Hart over their similar finishing holds,

11252-406: The time; he would later sign with WWE from 2014 to 2020. Prior to WCW, he wrestled for the National Wrestling Alliance 's (NWA) Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP)—which became WCW in 1988—the Universal Wrestling Federation (UWF), and the Continental Wrestling Association (CWA). Borden wore face-paint throughout his career, and in 1996, changed from the multi-colored paint of his "Surfer" persona to

11368-660: The title against the likes of Hall, Nash, and Diamond Dallas Page (DDP). Like Savage, Nash began to pull away from the Hogan-dominated nWo, and Nash helped Savage beat Sting for the championship at Spring Stampede in April. Nash and Savage officially split from the original nWo on May 4, forming the face group nWo Wolfpac, while Hogan's heel faction became identified as nWo Hollywood. The two nWo factions vied for Sting's allegiance, with Sting's friends The Giant joining nWo Hollywood and Luger joining nWo Wolfpac. Sting seemed to have joined nWo Hollywood when he appeared wearing

11484-478: The title belt during the match; this was to cover for a real-life back injury Rude sustained in the match that forced Rude into retirement. Sting refused to have the title handed to him, and instead defeated Vader for the vacant WCW International World Heavyweight Championship at Slamboree . Soon afterward, Flair defeated Sting in a title unification match at Clash of the Champions XXVII , turning heel in

11600-400: The titles when the match ended in a 20-minute time-limit draw. Rhodes continued to book Sting in title matches throughout the year against both NWA United States Champion Barry Windham and NWA Television Champion Mike Rotunda . In the fall of 1988, Sting was attacked by Hawk and Animal of The Road Warriors after a televised match. Rhodes, as booker, identified Sting as the face who

11716-481: The two had also competed on the first episode of Nitro on September 4, 1995. Sting defeated Flair and the two embraced at the end of the contest. After the WWF chose not to buy out Sting's contract with AOL Time Warner , he rejected a buyout offer of 50 cents on the dollar from AOL Time Warner, instead waiting until his contract expired in March 2002 (he announced a short-lived retirement in February of that year). Borden then entered into contract negotiations with

11832-452: The two titles. Rhodes used then-unknown Shane Douglas as the transitional champion from Gilbert to Taylor because Rhodes did not want to diminish Sting's growing stardom with a brief title run. Sometime after Sting's arrival to the NWA in July 1987, Dusty Rhodes used the opening bout of Crockett's first foray into pay-per-view , Starrcade '87 , to showcase the young superstar. Sting partnered with Michael P.S. Hayes and Jimmy Garvin in

11948-454: The victory, he was attacked by Funk's stablemate, Muta. Sting came to the aid of his old rival Flair, and the two feuded with Muta and Funk for the rest of the summer and fall, culminating in a Thunderdome Cage match between the two teams, which Flair and Sting won, at Halloween Havoc '89 . The alliance with Flair resulted in Sting joining the newly reformed and now-face Four Horsemen along with

12064-436: The weapon back as if he were going to assault him, causing the wrestler to stop. Sting would then hand the bat to the offended wrestler and turn his back, offering the wrestler a chance at retaliation. When the wrestler hesitated or declined, Sting would nod, retrieve the bat and leave the ring. In January 1997, a "blackballed" Randy Savage returned to WCW for the first time since Halloween Havoc and aligned himself with Sting as

12180-412: The world and has earned cult status . Since Battle Royale , Takami has not released any work. Sting (wrestler) Mid 20th Century 1970s and 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s and 2020s Steve Borden (born March 20, 1959), better known by the ring name Sting , is an American retired professional wrestler . He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he

12296-450: Was being lured into the parking lot. Once he was there a man dressed as Sting, played by Jeff Farmer , attacked him and the crowd at home, as well as the live audience and commentators, were led to believe that Sting had joined up with the nWo and would be their fourth man against what was now a three-man WCW team. Sting, however, was not at that episode of Nitro, and showed up at Fall Brawl just as his teammates declared that they would face

12412-407: Was booked with a classic, controversial Dusty finish even though Rhodes (the namesake of the technique) had been fired months earlier. Sting got the three-count and was announced as the winner, but a replay showed Muta's shoulder was up at the count of two. The NWA decided to declare the title vacant. Sting and Muta battled in many rematches for the vacant Television title, but they always ended in

12528-403: Was completed after Takami left the news company. It was rejected in the final round of the 1997 literary competition Japan Grand Prix Horror Novel, due to its controversial content depicting Junior High School children forced to kill one another. When finally published in April 1999, it went on to become a bestseller, and only a year later was made into both a manga and a feature film. The novel

12644-403: Was defeated by Kensuke Sasaki in Japan. At Starrcade , Sting defeated Sasaki, representing New Japan Pro-Wrestling , in a non-title match to win the "World Cup of Wrestling" for WCW. In the next match that night, Sting lost a Triangle match involving Flair and Luger; Flair won by count-out to become number one contender for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, which Flair won from Savage in

12760-413: Was during this heel turn that Sting and Luger, with helpful interference from DDP, defeated supposed faces Hogan and Hart in a tag-match, Sting pinning Hart after Luger hit him with a bat. Then, at Halloween Havoc , Sting retained the WCW World Heavyweight Championship against Hogan after Hogan entered the ring in street clothes and lay down for Sting to pin him. After the match, Sting sounded his disdain of

12876-424: Was known for having the largest battle royal in wrestling, held annually at their WCW World War 3 pay-per-view events. The three-ring, sixty-wrestler events consisted of all sixty wrestlers parading to the ring (usually without formal introductions to save time) and beginning to fight at the bell. Once the number of wrestlers in each ring was down to a number suitable for a single ring, the wrestlers would all move to

12992-477: Was left in ring two. Those two men would battle until one man was left and declared the winner. In 1991, Sting won the match after it came down to him and Lex Luger . Every year thereafter, Battle Bowl took place with only one ring and a normal battle royal. The entrants were decided through tag-team matches consisting of randomly selected partners, where the winning team would advance to the BattleBowl, called

13108-484: Was most over with the fans, despite knowing that turning the Road Warriors heel would be no easy task. Rhodes himself teamed with Sting to challenge the Road Warriors for the tag team championship at Starrcade '88 that December. Rhodes and Sting got the win by disqualification, allowing the Road Warriors to retain the titles. Sting returned to singles matches in 1989, starting the year off by wrestling Flair to

13224-743: Was on an airplane flying from L.A. to Atlanta. When I got to Atlanta, I tuned in the TV to Nitro . And I thought I was watching a rerun! It was a very convincing film. Often imitated, but never duplicated though! And what else did I see? I saw people, I saw wrestlers, I saw commentators, and I saw best friends DOUBT... the Stinger. That's right, doubted the Stinger! So I heard Lex Luger say, 'I know where he lives, I know where he works out, I'm gonna go get him.' So I said to myself, 'I'll just go into seclusion. I'll wait and see what happens on Saturday Night '. And I tuned in Saturday night, and what did I see? I saw more of

13340-545: Was supposed to echo the Montreal Screwjob finish that the WWF had used to double-cross Bret Hart just one month earlier at their annual Survivor Series event. Nick Patrick , the referee for the contest, was supposed to execute a fast count on Sting while Hart, whose signing with WCW was the linchpin for the Montreal Screwjob, would come out to protest the decision and, since he had already served as

13456-472: Was translated into English by Yuji Oniki and published by Viz Media in 2003. An expanded English edition was later published by Haika Soru , a division of Viz Media, in 2009. The first manga also began being released in English in 2003, by Tokyopop , with the last volume published in 2006. As well as being critically acclaimed, the Battle Royale series has become infamous not only in Japan, but around

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