Sting was a recent guest on The Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling podcast where he spoke about his legacy in wrestling and his legendary feud with Vader. “The Icon” will also be part of #BeGood this Saturday, July 25 at 4 pm Pacific / 7 pm Eastern, available on: http://youtube.com/rickbassman and http://talking-tough.com.
Being apart of Be Good:
Well, it was a humbling experience of course with all these incredible athletes and celebrities. Even with Rick Bassman, we go back to the very beginning, without Rick I would have never even gotten into pro wrestling. So again kudos to Rick, who is a guy, in a way I’ve come full circle with. To be doing stuff like this is an honor of course, and I was humbled to be on with guys like Rusty Coones, Butterbean, the Angel of Skid Row Deon Joseph, Deron Malibu McBee, Mike O’Hearn, Bas Rutten, and Benny the Jet. It’s just great to be on with guys like that and the variety of people.
What is Be Good:
Be Good is a group of the toughest stars, athletes and celebrities talking about lives. It’s so simple and it’s so cliché, but the message is treat others the way you want to be treated. If everyone lived by that standard, the world would be a much better place. Like the old saying goes, the only way for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing. If you don’t stand for something, you fall for anything. I have used that line so much in the past, but it is so true. We need to be other orientated and not self-orientated. It’s so interesting to hear the perspective from all these guys. Trying to make a change and shift in the culture. I think people’s lives will truly change after listening to it.
His legacy in the professional wrestling business:
Man, I hope people remember things like my worth ethic, being dependable, I didn’t pull no-shows, I didn’t milk injuries, I had longevity. When I was in the ring I tried to bring in every night. I tried to be as entertaining as I could, keep the crowd involved in the match. I’m hoping fans will remember my gear, staying in shape, being believable, trying to always be better, always be innovative, and creative, the way I was able to change and evolve. I hope they remember those things about me. Connection to the fans: There was just something about my character, that resonated with the fans. The fans shared with me a thousand times, that there was something about me that connected with the fans. Whether it was my demeanor, I helped fans get through tough times, I helped them through bullying, or whatever their issue was at the time. Fans have told me the relationship with their fathers was watching wrestling and watching me, so it’s very powerful stuff. Whether I came out of the babyface locker room or the heel locker room, it didn’t matter, there was something about the character Sting that there is something even beyond wrestling that was connecting with them.
His epic feud with Big Van Vader:
You know, it’s amazing, I don’t have one match with Leon, Vader that stands out. I have images, pictures, moments of matches, memories that really stand out with him, both in and out of the ring. There are so many great moments I shared with him, which to me ranks right up there with my feud with Ric Flair. I was solely responsible for taming him when he came over to the United States from Japan. I preferred for my matches to be stiff and believable. I didn’t want to leave any doubt in the fans’ minds that Vader was literally trying to kill me. I was able to spend the last 8 months of his life with him. I live in the Dallas area now and he was living in the area at the time. I was able to go to his funeral and speak at the funeral. So it was great to connect with him before he died because we always had a great relationship and had great matches.
Also in this RARE interview, Sting talks about the time Big Van Vader got sick before their first match, another match where he had his ribs broken by Vader, Ric Flair, Rick Bassman, character evolution through the years and much more!
