Sting has emerged victorious in his last match and will now retire as an AEW Tag Team champion. Sting and Darby Allin beat the Young Bucks in the main event of Sunday’s Revolution after the iconic boxer got Matt Jackson to tap out to the Scorpion Death Lock. Sting, real name Steve Borden, is famously known for the monochromatic paint on his face, which many dubbed as the ‘Crow gimmick’. However, Borden shared that he never modeled himself after Brandon Lee’s The Crow.
Borden modeled his Sting character after other influential figures like Batman. His other influences also included the Rock band Kiss and the 1975 musical comedy horror film, The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Not The Crow, But Batman Influenced Sting’s Persona
When Steve Borden began his wrestling career on WCW in 1988, he was known to most people as ‘Surfer Sting’. He had this multi-colored paint on his face that helped with his ‘Surfer’ persona. His moves were also named to align with this persona like The Stinger Splash. However, in 1996, the WCW moved to a new era of realism with the emergence of the New World Order (nWo), consisting of Hulk Hogan, Scott Hall, and Kevin Nash.
The clash between Steve Borden and the nWo is well-known to the fans of the earlier WCW. After a few storylines involving Borden standing up to nWo and betrayal from his own teammates, he came up with an eerie persona dressed in black with white face paint. Many fans called this character “Crow Sting” after they drew parallels between the character and Brandon Lee‘s cult movie The Crow.
However, during an interview with Doc-Chris Mueller of Bleacher Report, Borden revealed that his character was never modeled after The Crow. He admitted that he didn’t even watch the film from start to finish. Borden revealed his inspiration was Batman, the Rock band Kiss, and the film The Rocky Horror Picture Show. He shared with Bleacher Report:
“I do remember those movies and I was dubbed that name, Crow Sting, and I took from many many different people that influenced me. From the band Kiss to even Rocky Horror Picture Show. That was like a cult movie in California. You know, Batman. So many people influenced me over the years.”
While he did not reveal what exactly about Batman influenced his persona in the ring, the wrestler later embodied some elements of Heath Ledger‘s The Joker in his career with the TNA. On a 2011 episode of Impact Wrestling, Sting began displaying a more maniacal character similar in look and style to The Joker. In the Bleacher Report, Borden shared that it was his co-wrestler and member of nWo, Scott Hall, who suggested the idea to change up his look.
Sting Retired As An AEW Champion
Sting’s last match in the AEW featured all the drama necessary for a thrilling wrestling match. The match between the two tag teams, Sting & Darby Allin and Matt & Nick Jackson, saw its share of ladders, table bumps, and panes of real glass. Matt & Nick Jackson aka the Young Bucks are former two-time AEW Tag Team champions.
His record was impeccable before going into his final match, as he stood at 27-0 since making his debut in Revolution in March 2021. His wins come from tag team matches, trios, and eight-man matches. After the match, he thanked his fans, Allin, and Ric Flair before the pay-per-view feed was cut off. In the rest of the promo shared by AEW on X, the entire locker room came out onto the stage to applaud him.
EXCLUSIVE! After #AEWRevolution went off the air, #TheIcon @Sting shared some final words. pic.twitter.com/CnMS8KSksO
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) March 4, 2024
Steve Borden’s first televised appearance was in a tag team match which makes this match a perfect ending to his TV wrestling career. He is the only wrestler to have won the NWA, WCW, and TNA world titles. He was also inducted into the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame in 2016.
