In 1996, former WWE superstars Scott Hall and Kevin Nash showed up in WCW and said they were there to take over. At the time, there were a few main event stars in WCW who were there and ready to take the battle to The Outsiders, but the one that fans looked to the most was Sting.

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Sting had been part of WCW since before they broke away from the NWA and became the number two wrestling promotion in America. However, the war between Sting and the nWo took many twists and turns, including one of the best builds in wrestling history that resulted in a botched landing. Here is a look at the Sting vs. nWo storyline.

STING AND HULK HOGAN IN WCW

Scott Hall and Kevin Nash were not the first WWE superstars to make their way to WCW. Before The Outsiders even invaded WCW, names like Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Jim Duggan, and more made their way down from up north to start an invasion many years before.

Of course, WCW fans welcomed Hulk Hogan as a beloved star, but they also had another homegrown star groomed to be the next big thing. Hogan showed up and immediately moved into the world title scene, but what did that mean for Sting? The seeds were planted here.

THE OUTSIDERS ARRIVE

Up next, Scott Hall jumped over the rails on WCW Monday Nitro and said that he was there to take over. Fans knew him as Razor Ramon from WWE, and then soon Kevin Nash, the former Diesel, joined Hall in WCW. The two started to attack wrestlers and claimed that more invaders were coming.

This was a huge move. While Hogan, Savage, and others signed with WCW and were huge additions to the company, Hall and Nash acted as if they were invading the company. It was one of the most unique angles in professional wrestling history and helped launch the Monday Night Wars.

BASH AT THE BEACH

Sting, Lex Luger, and Randy Savage all stepped up to help fight back this invasion. At Bash at the Beach 1996, those three men were scheduled to face Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, and a mystery opponent — the third new invader that wanted to take over WCW.

Luger was hurt and removed from the match, and many fans expected him to be the man to turn on WCW and join the nWo. However, that didn't happen. Instead, Hulk Hogan marched down to the ring to help WCW, before turning on them and pinning Savage. The nWo was born on that night.

FAKE STING

Sooner, the nWo was adding more wrestlers. Ted DiBiase turned on the Steiner Brothers and joined as a manager. The Giant betrayed WCW and joined the nWo. Syxx joined as the sixth member. Eric Bischoff proved to be the mastermind behind the group. Then, nWo recruited Sting.

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No one believed that Sting would join the nWo, but when someone who looked like Sting attacked some WCW wrestlers, people started to doubt his allegiance. It was a fake Sting (Jeff Farmer), but it was enough to begin to change the babyface into something darker.

WAR GAMES 1996

The doubt and mistrust that the nWo planted in the WCW locker room boiled over at Fall Brawl in 1996. Sting and Lex Luger convinced Ric Flair and Arn Anderson to help them battle the nWo. However, as the match closed in, even Sting's best friend, Lex Luger, said he wasn't sure whose side Sting was on.

The match started, and it was Hollywood Hogan, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, and the Fake Sting against Luger, Sting, Flair, and Anderson. Sting eventually came into the match, went wild on the nWo, and then walked out on his partners, allowing the nWo to win the match.

STING DISAPPEARS INTO THE RAFTERS

Because Sting watched as Lex Luger and the WCW locker room started to doubt him, he finally left. He came out the night after Fall Brawl and said that if no one trusted him, he was going to leave. He said that all the WCW locker room could "stick it" and he was now a free agent.

Sting did say he would be back from time to time. One month later, Sting showed up in the balconies of events, now with his face made up like the Crow character from comics and movies, and he didn't wrestle another match for WCW for the next year.

THE CROW STING ATTACKS

While the war between the nWo and WCW raged on, there were more betrayals and more WCW wrestlers switching sides to the black and white faction. During all this, Sting just watched from afar, standing in the rafters, and refusing to say anything to anyone.

However, soon, he started to come out of the rafters, either repelling into the ring or just appearing. Sting now wore a trenchcoat and carried a baseball bat. He would attack anyone and everyone, from WCW guys like Rick Steiner to nWo loyalists. It was what was deemed as "loyalty tests."

STARRCADE

Finally, after over a year in the rafters, it was time for Sting to take it to the nWo. Sting pretended he was joining the nWo and had them all fooled until he took out Scott Hall and Kevin Nash. It was at that time that he made it clear that he was going to take on Hollywood Hogan for the WCW world title.

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The match should have been the ultimate climax to this entire angle, but WCW screwed up big-time. Nick Patrick was supposed to do a fast count for Hogan on Sting, where Bret Hart would show up and force the match to restart. However, he did a regular count, Hart showed up anyway, and then Sting won the world title. It was a complete botch.

STARRCADE FALLOUT

To try to cover up for the botch, WCW set up an angle the next night between Hollywood Hogan and Sting, where they had to fight again for the WCW world title. WCW accidentally went over the time slot on TNT, so the episode ended with the two men still fighting, angering many fans.

WQCW showed the end of the match on WCW Thunder that week, which saw two different referees giving two different decisions. WWE stripped the belt from both men, and what should have been Sting finally giving the good guys a win over the nWo turned into a swerve.

THE WOLFPAC

Sting finally won the WCW world title at SuperBrawl VIII, but the damage was done. His title reign ended up lasting only two months, and Randy Savage beat Sting for the title when Kevin Nash interfered to help. After this, Nash and Savage broke away from the nWo and started the Wolfpac.

Even though Nash cheated to help Savage win the world title from Sting, they recruited him for the Wolfpac, and both Sting and Lex Luger ended up joining the new faction, basically ending Sting's two year battle with the nWo.

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