Sting Ultimate Anthology – The UWF Years:
For those with a good memory, I tried a while back to do a thing where I review every Kane match I had access to… and, well, I don’t need to explain why I couldn’t sit through 40 hours of Kane matches. Even I know my own limitations of mental stability. Anyway, along with my vast collection of crap, and a nice selection of stuff online, here’s part one in my Sting recapping of crap. This part will be a bit more sloppy, since I’m not exactly finding lots of detail when it comes to match dates and stuff like that. All matches are from the UWF circa 1986-1987, and all of this is available still on YouTube.com.
- The Bladerunners (w/ Eddie Gilbert) vs. Steve Doll & Peter Jackson:
According to the website, this is the debut of the Bladerunners in Mid-South wrestling. Sting locks up with Doll, and we get a clean break from the babyface loser. The commentator makes a Road Warriors reference while talking about them. Sting tries for something, but Doll ducks out of the way of danger. Doll applies a side headlock, but gets floored trying a shoulder block. Sting with a sloppy scoop slam, followed by stomping. Rock tags in for more of the same, looking roided up. Rock with a choke lift and slam, followed by a jumping elbow drop. Rock with a press slam on Doll, followed by more stomping. Jackson tags in and gets hammered down to the canvas by Rock. Sting tags back into the ring, and nails Jackson with a clothesline while Rock holds him in a bearhug. That’s enough for the three count at 2:45. Awful looking match, and it goes to show how much both men improved. Yes, even Rock (Warrior) improved from these days.
- Perry Jackson, Jeff Gaylord, Brett Sawyer vs. The Bladerunners (Sting & Rock) & Korchenko (w/ Eddie Gilbert):
I think it’s rather obvious, but the babyfaces are nothing more than Jobbers. I’m not sure of Brett Sawyer, but in NWA around this time he was working along with Buzz Sawyer as brothers. I’d check wikipedia, but I’m too fucking lazy. The heels have generic EVIL music, which sounds like a revamped version of Love Theme from Halloween. For those who completely forgot, Rock is the Ultimate Warrior before… uh… fuck, he always sucked. Gilbert gets on the microphone before the match and shows off a picture of Bill Watts being laid out with a Russian flag planted over him. Sting starts with Sawyer. Lockup into the ropes, and Sawyer with a cross body press for a one count. Irish whip, and Sting with a big clothesline for a two count. Rock tags in, and they double whip Sawyer into their corner. Rock weakly rams Sawyer into the canvas, then press slams him without any emotion. Jackson tags into the ring, and gets killed with a clothesline for his trouble. Rock with another press slam, but this is a more delayed version. Sting tags in with a jumping splash for a three count at 1:27. Gaylord nor Korchenko figured into the match, so it’s basically a Bladerunners squash, and a not too good one, either.
- “Cowboy” Bill Watts vs. Sting (w/ Eddie Gilbert):
Before the match, Gilbert gets on the microphone, reminding us that Bill Watts injured his boys, Rock and Korchenko, leaving Sting to wipe the floor with him. Bill Watts comes out to Born in the USA… for the love of God, did anyone not pay attention to the lyrics of the song? Or maybe Watts is just a stupid fucking redneck. If Watts wins, he gets 5-minutes with Gilbert, and if Sting wins, Gilbert lashes Watts 5-times with a leather whip. KINKY BASTARD! Before the match, Watts cuts a promo, threatening Gilbert bodily harm. Sting starts the match with a side headlock, but a shoulder block goes Watts way. Lockup, and Watts locks Sting in the ropes and nails a fat-ass “cross body.” Watts with another as Gilbert tries to free Sting from the ropes. Watts knocks Gilbert off the apron, and Sting gets free from the ropes. Irish whip into the corner, and for whatever reason, Sting dives through the ropes. Watts drags Sting back into the ring, and plants Sting with the “Oklahoma Stampede” (taught to him by Steve Williams, according to Jim Ross) for the three count at 1:42. Wow, Sting jobbed in less than 2-minutes to an old out-of-shape redneck. After the match, Watts hammers away on Gilbert, and whips the shit out of him. He’s whipping him like a Government mule! The Fabulous Freebirds rush the ring and stomp away on Watts, and now Sting joins in for the fun for a Mega 5-on-1 beating! Terry Gordy nails a referee, and nails the Oriental Spike from the top rope. Everyone stomps away on Watts, and Michael Hayes chokes away. Gilbert, who did a monster blade job, stands around, acting like he’s doing anything. Gordy with the Oriental Spike applied on Watts as another referee gets taken out by the Freebirds. Suddenly the crowd goes nuts as Jim Duggan, Dr. Death, and some other guy rush the ring to make the save of Bill Watts from the Freebirds and Sting. Watts is dead… but not for long, he comes to, and pushes his son in WCW about 5 years later. Not much of a match, running only 90-seconds in full, but the post-match stuff was entertaining and continued advancing the storyline, without looking too ridiculous.
- Jim Duggan & Koko B. Ware vs. Sting & Korchenko (w/ Eddie Gilbert & Rock):
More tag team action, from sometime around the Spring 1986 I would say, considering Koko was in the WWF by October, and Sting has his Blade Runner tights on for this match, but for whatever reason, “Rock” isn’t his partner. We join the match in progress, with Sting hammering away on Duggan. Duggan mounts the comeback though, and does some of his own pounding in the corner. Ware comes in, and connects with a dropkick on Sting for a two count. Korchenko tags in, and Ware gets whipped into the corner. Korchenko rams Ware into the canvas, and nails a forearm. Ware dances around the ring before tagging out to Duggan. They exchange blows until Sting comes in to get in on the action. Duggan/Sting pair off as Rock runs in to hammer on Koko for the Disqualification at 1:22. Rock tosses Ware out of the ring, and Duggan gets triple teamed by the Bladerunners and the fat Russian. Korchenko tosses the referee out of the ring and clotheslines Duggan. Irish whip, and another by the fat-ass Russian wearing a red shirt under his singlet, with furry boots. He tries to plant the Russian flag on Duggan, but Williams runs in to make the save, and hammers away on Rock. Sting makes the save for his partner, briefly, but gets noggin knockered. The Bladerunners eventually take control of Williams, and Eddie Gilbert orders for Akbar to come into the ring… and he throws a FIREBALL in the direction of Duggan, but it’s blocked with a chair. Duggan uses the chair to clear the ring.
- UWF Tag Team Championship Match:
The Fantastics © (Tommy Rogers & Bobby Fulton) vs. Sting & Eddie Gilbert (w/ Missy Hyatt):
If this is the match I think it is, we’re from an episode of UWF T.V., broadcasted on July 20th, 1986. Eddie Gilbert is from “Every Girl’s Dream”, for those that give a shit. Michael Hayes joins the commentary position, along with Jim Ross. I can’t make out the Fantastics theme, but I’m sure if WWE bought the footage, they couldn’t use it. They also spend a good 2-minutes hugging would-be-groupies in the front row. Gilbert and Fulton start the match for their teams. Lockup, and Fulton applies a side headlock. Irish whip to escape, and a criss-cross leads to a Gilbert strut. Fulton nails him from behind and mocks his strutting. Lockup, and Fulton with another headlock. Rogers tags in and holds Gilbert in place for a free shot. Tommy Rogers with a side headlock takeover, followed by a sunset flip for a two count. Another side headlock takeover by Rogers. Irish whip into the corner, and Rogers surprises Gilbert with a cross body for a two count. Fulton tags back in for some more head-locking. Sting tags in for the first time and grabs a headlock of his own. Irish whip, and Sting applies a… BEARHUG! Fulton hammers away on Sting to no avail. Sting sends Fulton into the corner, but misses a splash. Both men tag out, with Rogers controlling on Gilbert. The heels try the whip spot, but they get sent into each other instead. Double dropkick to Sting, and a press slam drop on Gilbert, but Sting takes out Fulton, and referee Tommy Gilbert (Eddie Gilbert’s father I think, at least according to storylines). Another referee comes to the ring as Rogers hammers on Gilbert in the corner. Whip into the corner, and Rogers gets knocked into the new referee. Gilbert misses a splash, but there’s no referee to make the count. Hyatt nails Rogers with a “loaded” purse, and Gilbert comes off the middle rope with an elbow drop for the three count and the UWF Tag Team Championship at 4:54. * Not much in terms of quality (all headlocks and punching, if you notice), but the finish was pretty hot and it lead to Sting’s first (real) Championship reign.
- The Fantastics & The Missing Link (w/ Dark Journey) vs. Eddie Gilbert, Sting, John Tatum (w/ Missy Hyatt):
Judging by the commentary of Jim Ross and what sounds like Ted Dibiase, this is not-too-long after the previous match. Tatum gets knocked off the apron, and a double dropkick sends Gilbert out of the ring. The Missing Link works over Tatum outside the ring and gives him a headbutt across the chest. Inside the ring, and Gilbert takes an ass-kicking from both fantastics, and here comes the Link with… a headbutt! Sting in, and he gets a headbutt. And another headbutt! I sense a pattern. Dark Journey comes into the ring (a black valet for the babyfaces… I say black, because she’s DARK Journey) for whatever reason. Back in the ring, and Rogers locks up with Tatum into the corner. Rogers controls and rams Tatum into the boot of Fulton. Fulton with a series of rights, and gets rammed into the head of Missing Link. Gilbert tags into the ring, and talks smack to Fulton. Gilbert with a boot to the midsection, followed by ramming Fulton into the knees of Sting and Tatum. Fulton comes back, though, and rams Gilbert into Link’s…. head. Sting tags in, and applies a side headlock. They have to break in the corner, and Sting gets rammed into the head of… Link. Fulton applies an armbar, but gets nailed in the back by Gilbert from the apron. Sting stomps away, and nails Fulton with a stiff looking clothesline. Tatum tags in, and does an AWFUL strut before nailing Fulton with a roundhouse right. Tatum stomps away as we take a commercial time out (edited out). Inside the ring, Gilbert drops an elbow on Fulton for a two count. Irish whip, and Gilbert with a diving clothesline for another two count. Irish whip, and Sting comes in to apply a BEARHUG. Fulton pokes the eyes of Sting to escape, but Tatum comes in to cut off a tag attempt. Irish whip, and Fulton with a sunset flip for no count, as Sting tags back in to stomp on his head. Gilbert tags in, and both men go down nailing each other with rights at the same time. Rogers gets the HOT tag, and hammers away on everything in the ring. DOUBLE NOGGIN KNOCKER to the champs, and the Link headbutts everyone. Tatum jumps into a front powerslam of the Missing Link. Link to the middle rope as Sting stand around, looking lost. All hell breaks loose as the women run into the ring now. IT’S A SLOBBER KNOCKER! Hyatt with a purse, but she nails Gilbert by mistake! Rogers drops an elbow on Gilbert, and that’s enough for the three count at 8:23! *** Really fun match, although it was basically a Fantastics vs. Gilbert/Tatum match, as the Link and Sting spent minimal time in the ring. I’ve always had a soft spot for 6-Man Tags, mainly because you get more bang for your buck, and it creates an opportunity for some weird tag combinations.
- "Dr. Death" Steve Williams vs. Sting (w/ Eddie Gilbert & Missy Hyatt):
This is, according to Jim Ross, a "Pro Wrestling Illustrated Tournament Match", and to further that, Sting is wearing a PWI shirt during the introductions. He's from every man's nightmare, you know. Eddie Gilbert is hanging around, "Blinded", but Jim Ross dismisses that as faking. Judging by a Orange Bowl comment (and the fact Jim Duggan and One Man Gang were still around), this is from around December 1986, and damn, Sting looks REALLY young. He also doesn't quite have his traditional surfer haircut. It's a bit longer on the sides. Steve Williams comes out to "Born in the USA"... I can't believe that song is used so damn much, especially since it's fairly unpatriotic. This match is a one fall, television time remaining match. Face-to-face, with Sting talking smack. Shove by Sting, returned by Dr. Death. Lockup, and Sting applies a standing side headlock. Irish whip, and Williams floors Sting with a football tackle, knocking him out of the ring. Back in the ring, and they lockup again. Sting with another side headlock. Sting with a boot to the midsection and a few rights, followed by a scoop slam. Irish whip, and Sting with a back elbow and jumping elbow drop. Sting with another elbow for a two count. Sting with a scoop slam, and he heads up to the middle rope... he meets the knees of Dr. Death on a splash attempt. Williams with a series of rights. Irish whip, and Williams with a charging clothesline for a two count. Whip into the corner is reversed, and Sting comes in with a clothesline. Repeat the spot, except reversed roles. Williams with his running powerslam (The Oklahoma Stampede, minus the ramming into the buckle part), and that's enough for the three count at 3:44, despite the attempt distractions from Missy Hyatt. 1/2* Not too good. Even though it was short (and in full for once), neither man did much more than punching. Sting's green-ness (is that a word?) was pretty obvious, here.
- Terry Taylor vs. Sting (w/ Eddie Gilbert):
From sometime in the spring of 1987 I believe (my knowledge of UWF is terrible at best, and am making a rough estimation based on the time frame of Sting's career and how far away UWF was merging into NWA). It's the post-match stuff that's important, though. Sting is (Technically) the heel, part of the stable headed by Eddie Gilbert, but was on the outs with him, and Terry Taylor is the frustrated babyface. Since the match is JIP, I should point out that Sting had a very unusual home town before adopting Venice Beach... "From every man's Nightmare." Commentary as Jim Ross and some other guy I don't recognize. As stated, this is Joined LATE in Progress, with Sting coming off the ropes with a clothesline, sending Taylor into the ropes. Sting heads out of the ring to get the referee, while Eddie Gilbert screams at Taylor to take his cowboy boot. Sting comes back in, but Taylor nails him in the jaw with the heel of the boot, and covers him for the three count at thr 49-second mark. Post-Match, Gilbert and Taylor shake hands while Jim Ross has a heart attack about the blatant betrayal of Gilbert to Sting (prior to this, Gilbert "accidentally" cost Sting and Rick Steiner the UWF Tag Titles by the same means, a boot shot). After Taylor walks off, Sting comes to and drags Gilbert into the ring. Sting nails Gilbert (complete with over-sell), and Sting mounts Gilbert with several rights. Taylor runs back into the ring to nail Sting from behind, and the two new-found companions lay a beating in on Sting. Out of "nowhere" comes Gilbert rival, "Gentleman" Chris Adams, swinging a chair like it's ECW, clearing the ring. Afterwards, Adams gets on the microphone for some trash talkin'. Adams bad mouths Taylor and prevents Sting from walking off. Adams talks about "sides being taken", and asks Sting who's side is he on. Sting climbs back onto the apron, as Adams asks if he's with him or not. The crowd approves of Sting, apparently, but Sting doesn't respond as the show goes to a commercial break. No rating for the clips, but the post-match stuff was cool, and it officially kicked off Sting's babyface run that would last for nearly 2-decades (I'm pretending the 2 month heel run in 1999 never happend, since fans still cheered him).
- Sting & Shane Douglas vs. Eddie Gilbert & Terry Taylor:
More from the Summer of 1987 during the UWF's declining days, and no doubt a direct result of the post-match happens from Sting vs. Terry Taylor a few matches up. Shane Douglas couldn't have been more than a year into his run as professional wrestler at this point of his career. Once again, we're Joined REALLY late in Progress, but it's the post-match stuff that once again is the whole point of the clip. Jim Ross is on commentary, just so you know. Sting and Gilbert brawl outside of the ring, with Douglas and Taylor being the legal men in the ring. While Sting beats on Gilbert, Douglas applies the Figure-Four on Taylor. Out of nowhere comes Rick Steiner, a Gilbert lacky, and Taylor and Steiner plant Douglas with a Spike piledriver. Taylor makes the easy cover at the 41-second mark, as the referee comes back into the ring. After the match, Chris Adams comes out to argue the decision. Gilbert runs back into the ring to nail Adams, and now Sting gets back into it. Sting chases Gilbert down the aisle while Adams and Taylor brawl in the ring. Sting throws Gilbert into a set of stairs and smashes him in the head with a garbage can! Sting rams Gilbert onto a table, and Gilbert returns the shot with a beer toss. Gilbert stabs Sting in the forhead with something, then nails him with a trash can. Gilbert continues ramming Sting into concession stands, and both appear to be bleeding. Sting grabs a beverage tray, and smashes Gilbert over the head with it a few times. Sting takes Gilbert down, and mounts him with some roundhouse rights. Here comes Adams and Taylor, brawling through the crowd, and they wind up in the concession area. Taylor dumps a bucket of beer on Adams! It's a SLOBBER KNOCKER! Taylor continues pounding on Adams, and Sting bashes Gilbert again with a trash can. Sting throws Gilbert into a table, but it doesn't break. Adams serves up Taylor a helping of table right after. Sting and Gilbert trade rights until Gilbert takes off for the locker room. Sting keeps following him though until they're completely out of site. Back in the crowd, Taylor and Adams keep fighting, and both men are bleeding too. Referees finally manage to break them up, just as the show is about to go to a commercial break. Not much for the finish of the match, but an entertaining brawl for the last 5-minutes.
- Sting vs. Gary Young:
Commentary by Jim Ross and (I think) Missy Hyatt, who was still manaing the stable lead by Eddie Gilbert. We’re well into Sting’s face run in the UWF at this point. We’re Joined late in progress once again, with Young covering Sting for a two count. Young with a scoop slam, and he heads to the top rope as Jim Ross announces 90 seconds left of air time. Young comes flying off the top rope with a knee across the chest. Irish whip, and Sting nails Young across the back of the head with an elbow. Sting with a series of rights to the back of the head and a boot to the midsection. Irish whip, and Sting with a baaaack body drop! Sting drops an elbow, and heads to the middle turnbuckle, but Rick Steiner runs in to knock Sting off the top rope for the Disqualification at 1:20, and hammers away on Sting. Irish whip, and Steiner plants Sting with a belly-to-belly suplex. Steiner with a series of elbow drops, as Young holds Sting in place. Here comes Gentleman Chris Adams to sends the heels running from the ring and to save Sting from further harm. Not much of a match, but it’s nice to see classic stuff like this.
Final Thoughts: Obviously, there’s not a lot to review for the UWF stuff with Sting, since the stuff isn’t exactly around in abundance. If you’ll notice, for most of the early matches as a Bladerunner, Sting really sucked. He did nothing outside of headlock and bearhug, and if he were to have kept going with this kind of offense, I doubt he would’ve made it. Despite there only being a handful of matches worthy of being labeled “Good”, it’s fun to watch some of this old stuff, like a lot of Hot Stuff Eddie Gilbert, the teaming up of the Bladerunners, the Sting face turn, and The Missing Link headbutting people. Just kidding on that last one. Coming up next, the early days of Sting’s run in the National Wrestling Alliance, and from there, you can probably guess.