Customer Reviews

TNA Wrestling: Sting - Return of an Icon

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Sting is one of those people in wrestling who never had a major promotional machine behind them (Hulk Hogan) or wasn't always put in a position to be the top draw of the company (Ric Flair) but was always over with the fans & had some of the biggest respect in wrestling today.

This DVD is structured in three different sections in a main program, bonus material, and interviews with Sting about his background & history. Throughout the interview, photographs along with Sting going through his different outfits throughout his career are used instead of footage to illustrate certain points & different time periods. Sting touches on him getting into the business with Ultimate Warrior, the seeds of his relationship with Jerry Jarrett & how it led to him in TNA, the differences between WCW & WWE's corporate structures and used an incident at a NAPTE convention to illustrate his point, the different changes to his character, his personal problems in the business & family life, him being a born again christian, and how he's trying to make things well for his family & community. The main point (in my opinion) was him talking about how he felt he wasn't going to be well in WWE & used an incident that happened between The Rock & Booker T during the invasion angle to illustrate that point as well.

Bonus materials include a music video, picture gallery, and TNA stars giving their memories of Sting. There are also extra Sting interview outtakes such as clips & him speaking on his christian movie "Moment Of Truth" and talking about his face paint. Sting also gives his thoughts on such wrestlers like Bret Hart ("You took my jacket look & finishing move"), Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Lex Luger & others.

The main feature however is following Sting's TNA run so far with not only matches but also the promos & incidents such as the tease at the end of Turning Point, the announcement of him signing with TNA, his "goodbye" speech on Impact, the Alex Shelley camera footage of Sting's family, and all the video packages leading into the matches on the disc.

Matches Include:
w/Christian Cage vs. Jeff Jarrett & Monty Brown - This was Sting's debut in the Impact Zone & his full-time TNA debut with getting one of the loudest ovations in TNA at that time. Christian started out against both men briefly before tagging in Sting who got the chants of "You Still Got It!" after his first series of offensive moves against Jarrett while Christian payed a tribute to Sting delivering Stinger Splashes onto both Jarrett & Brown. Jarrett had to resort to dirty tactics in order to gain the advantage from a low blow to both Brown & Gail Kim working on Christian on the floor when the referee wasn't looking. Christian was separated from Sting building up to the hot tag which Sting eventually got clearing house leading to Team Canada getting involved but it still wasn't enough for Sting to be triumphant in his return match & getting his moment.
Final Resolution '06

vs. Eric Young - This was Sting's first match on "Impact" & the first time he was on national television since the last WCW Monday Nitro over 5 years earlier. Eric Young was still playing his character that was similar to the character "Tweek" on South Park to where he's always paranoid so he kept trying to avoid Sting which didn't work out as Sting dominated him early leading to Alex Shelley coming to ringside to help out. This was an overall dominate performance from Sting with the aftermath setting up...
"Impact" Apr. '06

Lethal LockDown Match w/A.J. Styles, Ron Killings, Rhino vs. Jeff Jarrett, AMW, Scott Steiner - ...this match (joined in progress right before Sting enters the match) where it was the first Lethal Lockdown match where they had the top of the cage lowered onto the Six Sides Of Steel after everyone entered. Team Jarrett always had the one man advantage (notice how in War Games history, the good guy team NEVER won the backstage coin toss?) & was the typical formula of the faces fighting from behind against the heels but once Sting enters, the top of the cage lowers & that's where the match gets interesting as A.J. Styles & James Storm go to the top where A.J. hits a splash from the ceiling through Storm on a table while Steiner hits his famous frankensteiner off the top rope.
LockDown '06
(Jeff Jarrett: King Of The Mountain; Best Of Bloodiest Brawls: Scars & Stitches)

w/Samoa Joe vs. Jeff Jarrett & Scott Steiner - The main story here was if Samoa Joe can hang with the wrestlers outside of the X division & be considered a legit main eventer and he proved himself during this match. Sting knows exactly what to do to get the crowd to go wild including going aerial at one point, Jarrett & Steiner were great as heels with Steiner being a "human suplex machine" while both men were able to cut the ring off & distract the referee to make sure tags weren't made. Good tag team match.
Sacrifice '06
(Jeff Jarrett: King Of The Mountain)

vs. Scott Steiner - This was a qualifying match for the King Of The Mountain match at the upcoming Slammiversary PPV. This was a short match that went a little over 5 minutes but both men made the best of it as they traded momentum along with brawling on the floor & Sting even using a chair before settling in the ring before Jeff Jarrett & Gail Kim got involved that caused an unwanted result for them.
"Impact" June '06

w/Christian Cage vs. Jeff Jarrett & Scott Steiner - Knowing the past few months of history between all of these men, this started exactly how you would expect it to be, everyone brawling before the bell. It was a good fast paced match between everyone with the underlining story being if Sting & Christian get along after what happened between the two in the King Of The Mountain match at Slammiversary but stay tuned afterwords as the post match brawl just added to the issues between Jarrett & Sting.
"Impact" July '06

vs. Christian Cage vs. Samoa Joe vs. Scott Steiner - This was a 4 way dance to determine the challenger for NWA Champion Jeff Jarrett at the next PPV, Hard Justice. Sting & Steiner fought all the way back to the stage with Sting hitting Steiner with a chair while Christian & Joe fought it out in the ring early on before Jarrett got involved spraying gasoline in Sting's eyes taking him out of the match while the rest continued. The match really picked up here as we saw all 3 men pull out the stops here such as Steiner doing a unique DDT on Joe on the apron before putting him through a table, Steiner botching his top rope samoan drop from the top rope on Christian, Christian delivering a drop toehold on Joe that caused him to headbutt Steiner on the mat while later Christian drove Steiner's head into the turnbuckle that was also a lowblow to Joe who was sitting on the turnbuckle. Sting came back with his eye taped up & won the match but the way it happened furthered the issues between Christian & Sting.
Victory Road '06

Bonus: w/Jeff Jarrett vs. A.J. Styles & Sean Waltman - This was from TNA's first anniversary show & it should be noted that Vince Russo (who was feuding with Jarrett) was on commentary & couldn't control his foul language. This was just a wild brawl between all four men that saw interference from Shane Douglas & Raven & Russo himself along with Sting's baseball bat coming into play various times. Again, a wild but fun brawl.
June 03
(Jeff Jarrett: King Of The Mountain)

Bottom line, this was the best effort TNA has put into a DVD release up to this point and does the best job it could with a icon named Sting. However, if your strictly looking for high quality wrestling action only...I would check out other releases first (X division, Samoa Joe, ect.) before picking this one up.

In a business with numerous claimants to the title of Icon, Sting stands out as one of the more under-appreciated candidates. Sting, above all others in the world of professional wrestling, maintained a rare sense of respectability and dignity.

Back in 2001, when Vince McMahon purchased World Championship Wrestling, Sting decided to finish his 16-year wrestling career and come to terms with his retirement from the industry he loved so much. His newfound faith in the Lord would carry him onto the next phase of his life. A year and a half later, Sting crept back into the world of pro-wrestling with sporadic appearances with an international promotion known as World Wrestling All-Stars; by the middle of 2003, he was appearing in the upstart NWA: Total Nonstop Action, as a favor to the man who gave him his first big break, Jerry Jarrett. As the first big name to give TNA his endorsement, Sting lent a much needed atmosphere of legitimacy which undoubtedly helped TNA grow by leaps and bounds. After a brief hiatus, Sting returned with much fanfare at the beginning of 2006 with a new passion for his life, his career, and most importantly, for the growth of TNA.

This DVD was produced by TNA Entertainment and is appropriately divided into two parts; 1) The Return, and 2) The Career. "The Return" portion chronicles the first eight months of Sting's big return to pro-wrestling, and helping to catapult TNA to bigger and better things. With a runtime of about 4-hours, this DVD features most of Sting's matches on TNA iMPACT and Pay-Pew-View complete and unedited. Including Sting & Christian Cage vs. Jeff Jarrett & Monty Brown, Sting's farewell speech, Sting vs. Eric Young, Sting's Army vs. Jarrett's Army in Lethal Lockdown, Sting & Samoa Joe vs. Jeff Jarrett & Scott Steiner, Sting vs. Scott Steiner, Sting & Christian Cage vs. Jeff Jarrett & Scott Steiner, and Sting vs. Christian Cage vs. Jeff Jarrett vs. Scott Steiner in the Road to Victory 4-Way Ladder match, plus a whole bunch of extra stuff in between to glue it all together.

"The Career" segment includes candid interviews with Steve Bordon talking about his professional career as Sting and his private life as a husband and father. Bordon shows off his collection of ring jacket that paint a vivid picture of the heights that the famed wrestler has achieved. On top of all of this, there is a section of bonus material including a Sting Music Video, Sting playing the "Name Association" game, TNA wrestlers talking about Sting, a plug for the Sting: Moment of Truth movie, Sting demonstrates his face-paint techniques, Sting's first TNA match back at the First Anniversary Show (Sting and Jeff Jarrett vs AJ Styles and Sean Waltman) and a lengthy picture gallery set to music.

The footprints that Sting has left behind him, tell an inspirational story, much of which can be experienced in the movie Sting: Moment of Truth. However, TNA's "Sting: Return of an Icon" is more oriented to the wrestling audience, and fans of Sting can experience the breathtaking story of one of wrestling's top performers in the last twenty years. This was an intense four hour tribute to a man that is incredibly well respected among his friends, his family, his peers, and especially his fans.

Sting is one of my fovarete wrestlers. I will buy this dvd when it comes out. Here are the matches that will be on this dvd.

Final Resulation 2006
Sting and christan cage vs Jeff Jarett and Mony Brown

iMPACT! 2006
Sting vs Eric Young

Lockdown 2006
Sting's team vs Jarret's team

Sacrifice 2006
Sting and Samoa Joe vs Jeff Jarret and Scott Steiner

iMPACT 2006
Sting vs Scott Steiner

Victory Road 2006
Sting vs Crishtan cage vs Samoa Joe vs Scott Steiner

June 2003
Sting and Jeff Jarrett vs AJ Styles and Sean Waltman

Sting is without a doubt one of the all time greats in Professional wrestling, no doubt. Him coming to TNA was a good move whihc helped that company. However with the release of this DVD, one can't help but feel that maybe one day we will see a true Sting career DVD.

The DVD covers 2 parts, his run in TNA and him discussing his career. The problem with this is that both feel like it could be aired on TNA Impact as a promo for the man. The highlight of his run is shown in matches and clips of his promo's. Then when he discusses his career, it's all in an intervew segment with no video footage of matches and such. The best we get are photo's contributed through outside sources and his personal collection.

The downside of this DVD is something which was not TNA's fault. They used what they had available and it unfortunatly shows. With pretty much his entire legacy owned by WWE, there was no way that TNA could do a good Sting Career DVD and do the man justice. I give them props for doing good with what they could, but it leaves one to think if maybe one day we will see a true Sting Career highlight DVD.

-The man called Sting, one of the greatest stars of wrestling in the late `80's, `90's and into `01 on the final WCW Nitro telecast. Loved this DVD, though more could be done if and when WWE and Sting come to an agreement in the future to show a truly comprehensive DVD set on Sting's career, since Vince owns pretty much all of the footage of Sting's career.

-The DVD is divided into two parts: Sting's return to TNA in `06 and his own words on his career.

-The return portion starts out with a voiceover describing how Sting was a great catalyst for the wrestling boom in the `90's and how he quietly left wrestling after WCW closed down.

-Then goes to Turning Point `05, when Rhino lost to Jeff Jarrett and then scorpion graphics hit the screen to a huge pop from the crowd. We then see the trench coat and baseball bat of Sting on a chair in the middle of the ring.

-Next the announcement from Mike Tenay that Sting is joining TNA wrestling.

-The rest of the return program is Sting's matches and footage, from his return at Final Resolution '06 to Victory Road `06.

-Final Resolution: Sting & Christian Cage vs. Jeff Jarrett & Monty Brown: Sting's return got a huge and I mean huge pop from the crowd. The tag match itself is pretty basic, but a lot more fun because the crowd was so into it. Good offense showing from Sting, a shoulder block, a leapfrog, hip toss and a dropkick all on Jarrett. Crowd chants "You've still got it" after this display. There was a nice hurricarana by Gail Kim onto Cage on the outside. After a while Sting gets the tag, nice offense from Sting on both men, then locks in the Scorpion Death Lock on Jarrett. The finish sees Jarrett get his guitar, but it's smashed by Sting's baseball bat. Sting hits the Scorpion Death Drop on Jarrett for the win in about 15 minutes. Loved the post match stuff with Sting & Cage. 8/10.

-Impact after Final Resolution, Sting announces he's leaving, he's proven he could still wrestle. He thanked the fans and left much to the dismay of the fans and fellow wrestlers.

-Then we see Alex Shelley's footage of Sting's family, that leads to his return at Destination X. Interview footage with Sting saying he's coming to Lockdown with his army so Jarrett better be ready.

-Impact-4/13/06-Sting vs. Eric Young: Good match, Sting even hit's a cross body block over the top rope on Young, Shelley and Coach D'Amore. Young dominates for a bit, after Sting misses a Stinger splash on the outside, hitting the guardrail chest first. Sting fights back and the finish comes when Sting hit's the Scorpion Death Drop on Young for the win, in about 8 minutes, including the commercial break. 6/10.

-Lockdown: Sting's Army (Sting, AJ Styles, Rhino and Ron "The Truth" Killings") vs. Jarrett's Army (Jarrett, America's Most Wanted and Scott Steiner): Joined in progress just about a minute before Sting enters the cage. Weapons come into play as the roof on the cage is lowered. Nice spot with AJ doing a sick splash off of some scaffolding on the ceiling, onto James Storm. Sting makes Chris Harris tap out to the Scorpion Death Lock shortly after. Just about 10 minutes of match time. 7/10, for what I saw of the match.

-Sacrifice: Sting & Samoa Joe vs. Jeff Jarrett & Scott Steiner: About what you'd expect, especially from older stars like Steiner and Sting, a decent match overall. Nice diving clothesline from Sting onto both Steiner and Jarrett. The match was a lot better once both Steiner and Joe faced off, as it was a great display of power, by both. Steiner did look pretty sloppy and tired, when he wasn't executing suplexes on Joe. Nice splash by Sting onto the outside on Steiner. Joe battles with Jarrett for a bit and hits the muscle buster for the win in about 14 minutes. 8/10. Loved the post match stuff where Joe shook Sting's hand after a bit, but wouldn't come to his aid as Steiner & Jarrett, beat up Sting.

-Impact-6/8/06-Sting vs. Scott Steiner: Fairly quick one, very slow especially from Steiner. Nice crossface submission hold by Steiner though and he does hit some good suplexes. Jarrett causes a DQ finish when he stops Sting from pinning Steiner. About 12 minutes including the commercial break.

-Impact-7/6/06: Sting & Christian vs. Jeff Jarrett & Scott Steiner: Decent tag match, Cage and Sting work well together. Some brawling and basic offense from all four men. Cage hit's a frogsplash on Jarrett and Sting makes the cover for the win in about 11 minutes including the commercial break. 6/10. Nice post match brawling from all four men afterwards.

-Victory Road: Road to Victory 4-Way: Sting vs. Christian Cage vs. Scott Steiner vs. Samoa Joe: Good four way match, liked the offensive exchanges between Cage and Joe. Jarrett comes in a sprays some gas in Sting's eyes, Sting leaves the arena running. The match continues, there's nice spot where Steiner hits an elbow drop on Joe through a table on the outside. Joe has the Kokina clutch on Steiner then goes after Cage, when Sting returns to the ring after about 10 minutes of being away. Sting hits the Scorpion Death Drop on Steiner for the win in about 15 minutes.

-Sting's Career: Good interview segment.

-He describes his childhood, how he played sports, his start in wrestling, especially how he at first had no interest in wrestling. His wrestling career is shown through a few pictures provided by outside sources and told by the man himself. Great stories by Sting on his character change and others things, like how he became born again Christian during his final few years in WCW. Loved how he talked about he almost went to WWF, but couldn't after he saw how WCW wrestlers were used. Good storytelling by Sting, quite touching sometimes.

-The extras include:

-A music video showing highlights of his comeback up to Victory Road in July. Good music too.

-Sting: Word Association on his peers: Great segment, where he states his opinions on various wrestles, including, Ric Flair, Kevin Nash, Jeff Jarrett, Lex Luger and others.

-TNA stars look back on their favorite Sting moments: David Young, Elix Skipper, Sonjay Dutt and others talk about their most memorable moments from Sting's career. Good overall segment.

-Moment of Truth: Sting talks about his born-again Christian movie, "Moment of Truth". Good segment, with some footage of the film included.

-The face paint: Talks about the look of his paint and how he gets pumped up for the match.

-A match is next from Sting's short lived return to TNA in June of '03, where he made about four appearances for the company, when TNA was just doing weekly PPV's.

-Jeff Jarrett & Sting vs. AJ Styles & Sean Waltman: Good tag match, very well done. Liked AJ here as a heel, his does a great springboard leg drop of the top rope onto Jarrett. Run-ins by Vince Russo, Shane Douglas and Raven lead to the finish where Jarrett hit's a second rope stroke on AJ for the pin in about 12 minutes. Great post match as Jarrett and Sting go nuts on Russo and AJ with the bat. 8/10.

-Photos: A photo gallery of Sting is next, good shots.

Overall this is a great DVD, wish the documentary could've had footage from Sting's career, but it was fine for what they had to work with.

"Sting: Return Of An Icon" is the first Sting DVD release in nearly a decade and is a comprehensive look at the career of the wrestling legend from the man himself. The DVD will include two major parts - the first being an extensive look back at his career, the second being his return to TNA.

Included on the four-hour DVD will be the following:

- In-depth interviews with Steve Borden from his home in California, including such topics as:

Steve Borden growing up
How he got into wrestling
The hardships early in his career
His thoughts on being a catalyst of the wrestling boom of the 1990s
Making the transition from the "colorful" Sting to the darker Sting
His candid thoughts on the downfall of WCW
Why he stepped away from wrestling after WCW
Why he ultimately chose to return to wrestling for TNA
Positive and negative ways wrestling has changed
Some of the craziest moments from his career
His personal favorite matches and moments
Comparing the Sting of today to the Sting that first entered the ring
Maintaining a family with a career in wrestling
Finding religion in his life and being saved
What he would like to do once he finally hangs up the boots
And much, much more

"Sting: Return Of An Icon" DVD also includes:

- A complete chronicle of Sting's return to TNA Wrestling, including the following complete and uncut matches:

Final Resolution: Sting & Christian Cage vs. Jeff Jarrett & The Alpha Male
Impact: Sting vs. Eric Young
Lockdown: The Lethal Lockdown with Sting's Team vs. Jarrett's team
Sacrifice: Sting & Samoa Joe vs. Jeff Jarrett & Scott Steiner
Impact: Sting & Christian Cage vs. Jeff Jarrett & Scott Steiner
Impact: Sting vs. Scott Steiner
Victory Road: Sting vs. Christian Cage vs. Scott Steiner vs. Samoa Joe

- Never-before-seen photos of "The Man In Black" from his childhood, growing up, early days in the sport and more

- Footage of Sting at home with his family

- Bonus footage includes Sting's first TNA match in June 2003 with Sting & Jeff Jarrett vs. AJ Styles and Sean Waltman from the Nashville "Asylum", footage of the star putting on his facepaint, Sting music videos, exclusive backstage footage and more!

the return of a icon is that sting is the most loyal wrestler of all he is a true icon he was the franchise of wcw and he tryies to help other young wrestlers who else can you say that about i also recommend stings moment of truth sting is here for the fans and i for 1 enjoy his ability to living up wrestling

Anti-Spoiler Review.

THE MATCHES (3 Hours) All Matches Except For Lockdown 06' Are In There Entirety With All Superstar Enterances And Are In A Story Form Doing A Great Job Of Covering Sting's Career In TNA Until End Of Victory Road.

-Sting & Christian Cage VS Monty Brown (Marcus Corvon) & Jeff Jarret @ FINAL RESOLUTION 06'
-Sting Vs Eric Young @ TNA IMPACT 4/13/06
-(Partial Match) Sting's Team Vs Jarret's Team @ LOCKDOWN 06' (Picks Up When Sting Enters The Match)
-Sting & Samoa Joe VS Scott Stiener & Jeff Jarret @ SACRIFICE 06'
-Sting VS Scott Stiener @ TNA IMPACT 6/8/06
-Sting & Christian Cage Vs Scott Stiener & Jeff Jarret @ TNA IMPACT 7/6/06
-Sting VS Samoa Joe VS Scott Stiener VS Christian Cage @ Victory Road 06'

Next Match Is In The Bonus material Sction (14 Minutes)
-Sting & Jeff Jarret VS AJ Styles & Sean Waltman (X-Pac @ TNA 1ST ANNIVERSARY SHOW June 2003

BONUS MATERIAL

-Sting Talks About His Career (30 Minutes)
-Sting Talks About His Peers (Many From WCW/WWF) (3 Minutes)
-Sting Talks About His Movie: Moment Of Truth (4 Minutes)
-Sting Talks About His Face Paint (1 Minute)
-TNA Stars Talk About Sting Memories (WCW) (8.5 Minutes)

UNMETIONABLES

-Sting Music Video (3 Minutes)
-Sting Picture Gallery (3 Minutes)

Ever Since I Watched My 1st Sting Match In 2004 I Have Been A Fan Of Sting, But I Thought After His Stay At WCW He Could Never Make Such An Impact In TNA, But When I Watched This DVD I Became An Instant Believer. I Guess You Cant Miss With Sting. Must Own For Anyone Who Is A Sting Fan Or Enjoys Watching Wrestling !!!

TNA did a great job on this dvd. Sting is a great wrestler and I recently started to watch him more. I own a few WWE dvds with a couple of his matches and they are always fun to watch. He has a few good matches in TNA, so this is a good set for now. If Sting left TNA, he probably wouldnt end up in WWE. It would be nice, like most all other reviewers say, to have a complete career span of his matches and promos. This is a bit rushed but still a good set for now.

Hulk Hogan. Ric Flair. The Undertaker. Stone Cold Steve Austin. Shawn Michaels. The Rock. Bret Hart. Andre the Giant. Mick Foley. Triple H? Sting.

There are a lot of amazing professional wrestlers that will never get the credit outside the industry that they truly deserve, magnificent performers such as Chris Benoit, Terry Funk, Arn Anderson, Ricky 'The Dragon' Steamboat and countless others. These men spent years giving everything they had to the sport of professional wrestling, putting their families and health in a distant second to entertaining fans around the world. Then there are flash-wrestlers that capture the attention of the audience, opportunistic performers that impress the right person at the right time and skyrocket: Ultimate Warrior, Goldberg, Brock Lesnar. Men like this typically approach the business with the primary intention of gaining fame and money, fortunately aside from the genetic freaks most who aren't passionate about wrestling never make it near the top.

I apologize for the rant but my point is this: Sting is an iconic, legendary professional wrestler that will be remembered as long as any of the names I listed at the top of this review. I have long called him 'The Undertaker of WCW' because in the Monday Night Wars, and just before them, he was the face of the franchise, he was 'the guy' that you could always count on to deliver a great match and reaction no matter what, and even more importantly he was loyal to the bitter end of the company.

With tremendous charisma, excellent conditioning and the ability to convey emotions with his face on a level matched only by Vince McMahon and The Rock, Sting was in many ways the perfect babyface (good guy) wrestler. He never turned heel, but he didn't exhaust his gimmick either, he constantly reinvented himself, his character, his performance in the ring, and thus his reaction from the fans.

I am greatly looking forward to this DVD as, despite being an adamant Sting fan since I started watching professional wrestling in the late 80s, his career remains incredibly mysterious to me. I got some semblance of closure a few months ago when he made his initial return to TNA in an interview on their television show, but until that moment I was just sad that I never got to see Sting in the WWE where he belonged: main-eventing a WrestleMania with the likes of Stone Cold, The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels and The Rock.

I always assumed 2 key friendships he maintained over the years deeply influenced his opinion of Vince McMahon and caused him to refuse to ever work for the WWE because these people were all but blacklisted by Vince: Lex Luger and The Ultimate Warrior. UW was Sting's original tag-team partner; I've always wondered 'what if ... what if Sting were put over Hulk Hogan instead of The Ultimate Warrior at WrestleMania 6, what if they had switched places at the top of their companies?' Warrior got the ultimate launch a superstar can get: a clean victory over the most popular wrestler of all-time. He repaid this by flaking out, missing shows, demanding more respect and money and otherwise being a drama queen.

Vince's curiosity and hope for Warrior's potential are obvious: he hired him on 3 separate occasions with the hope of resurrecting the initial magic he possessed, but Warrior always let him down. Sting wouldn't have. As for Lex Luger, he was meant to be what the Warrior couldn't be either: Hulk Hogan 2.0. If he had ever chosen the sport over himself, drugs and whatever else he was into, I think Vince would have given him the title for years and years and maybe he could be a legend instead of the wrestling equivalent of Mike Tyson. Lex Luger abandoned Vince and, while working on a promise while his new contract was being negotiated, showed up on live television on the first broadcast of WCW the same day after attending a WWF event.

Anyhow, these relationships may have influenced Sting to some degree, but I can't imagine him basing his entire opinion of someone on those 2 outcasts, surely people like Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan and Kevin Nash would have told him Vince McMahon was a creative genius who always ALWAYS lived up to his word. In the interview I alluded to earlier it felt as though Sting was talking directly to me, as all of his interviews throughout his career did. He said he wasn't given the chance to end his career the way he wanted to because of the circumstances with the WWE buying WCW and not giving him the mic on the final broadcast of WCW Nitro, and that he just wanted to give the proper goodbye to the fans that had been so loyal to him over the years. I was incredibly touched by this interview, whether it was an honest shoot or a seed to launch a feud with Jeff Jarrett, I appreciated what he had to say.

My dream would be for Sting to sign for a few months with the WWE and to WIN the main event at WrestleMania against ... The Undertaker. The Undertaker is 14-0 at 'Mania and this streak is the holy grail of the event, for him to recognize Sting as the one blemish on that record would be the ultimate sign of respect in my opinion, and I know millions of fans would love to see the two most respected and loyal performers from the Monday Night Wars together in a symbolic match.

As for this DVD itself, I cannot give it 5 stars despite my deep respect for Sting for the simple reason that Vince McMahon essentially owns the video rights to every wrestling match before 2003, and obviously he wouldn't be giving freebies to TNA to release with this DVD, no matter how much Sting may deserve to promote and distribute his own ringwork. If you buy this DVD, do so for the interviews, do it to get a better understanding of the career of a professional wrestling legend, not for any advertised extras or matches.

If anything, I would recommend the Ultimate Ric Flair anthology and the Jake the Snake Roberts DVD sets just to see Sting in his prime working with great opponents. I truly hope someday Vince and Sting shake hands and work together to release a set that encompasses Sting's entire career inside the ring, for now this will have to do.