AEW star Sting is regarded as potentially the biggest legend in TNA history. He is a multi-time world champion in the company and has main evented numerous pay per views in the company.
His spell in the company lasted for a decade and produced some memorable (and controversial) moments. His run was incredible and he was rightly inducted into the TNA Hall of Fame in 2012 as the first ever inductee.
In this article, we’ll look at the first ever match in Sting’s TNA career and how Sting’s TNA debut came to be.
Sting’s TNA Debut
Sting’s TNA debut came in 2003, during the early years of the company. It was founded by Jeff Jarrett, the former WCW Champion who was friends with Sting during their time in the company.
The company was founded as an alternative to the WWE, which had become a monopoly in pro-wrestling after purchasing both ECW and WCW. It featured a host of former WCW Stars (Jarrett, DDP, Steiner) and some of the brightest young wrestlers in the business (AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, CM Punk).
It gave fans something brand new to watch and a product that as far away from what the WWE was offering at the time than you could get in the US.
Sting did flirt with the WWE after WCW closed down in 2001, but ultimately decided against it. He claimed that he didn’t like the way fellow WCW stars like DDP and Booker T had been treated during the Invasion angle.
Sting did not want his character ruined out of spite like many of his fellow alumni had suffered under Vince McMahon. He instead decided to sign for the World Wrestling All-Stars, an Australian-based promotion that toured the country after WCW went under.
He signed a four appearances deal with the company, starting with the TNA First Anniversary show. He was not set to sign full-time with the company and had no ambitions of going back in wrestling on weekly basis.
Sting’s first TNA match was on June 18th, 2003 when he teamed with Jeff Jarrett to take on AJ Styles and Styxx (X-Pac) in a tag team bout. The two former WCW Champions defeated the younger tag team which kicked off a series of backstage interviews with Sting and three additional matches in TNA in 2003, which were;
- Sting vs Jeff Jarrett (NWA World Heavyweight Championship)
- AJ Styles & Sting vs Jeff Jarrett & Lex Luger
- Sting vs Jeff Jarrett
