10 Things Fans Should Know About The Sting Vs. Vader WCW Rivalry

As many WCW fans know, Sting was arguably the heroic face of World Championship Wrestling, especially when feuding with all-time great heel and fellow WCW icon Ric Flair. But Sting had a variety of foes during his time in the promotion, and one of his greatest rivals was dominant monster heel Big Van Vader.

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From 1992 to 1994, Sting and Vader met in the ring countless times, and in several instances produced some of the best matches in WCW history, if not wrestling history overall. Unfortunately, it’s not as well-remembered among modern fans, so let’s take a look at their rivalry and how it played out.

10 First Met In The Chamber Of Horrors

Sting’s first in-ring encounter with Vader was not only in a multi-man gimmick match, but in a match where Vader wasn’t the focus. Instead, the big rivalry going into Halloween Havoc ‘91 was between Sting and Cactus Jack, who introduced Abdullah the Butcher as some seriously dangerous backup. The opening bout of the show was the infamous Chamber of Horrors match, a four-on-four affair that involved zapping an opponent from the other team in an electric chair. Vader was on Cactus Jack’s team, who lost the match due to a miscommunication (Jack fried Abdullah).

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9 Big Van Vader Injured Sting’s Ribs At A House Show

Backed by manager and in-ring legend Harley Race, Big Van Vader proved a dominant force in WCW, so a World Title shot for the big man was inevitable. With WCW World Champion Sting in his sights, the two clashed at untelevised events leading up to their big pay-per-view match. Unfortunately, at a April 1992 house show at Atlanta’s Omni Coliseum, Vader would injure Sting’s ribs following a particularly nasty Vader Bomb. This ended up keeping Sting out of action for a couple of months.

8 Big Van Vader Won The World Title At Great American Bash

Sting returned from injury in time to defend the World Title against Vader at the July pay-per-view The Great American Bash. The bout had real David vs. Goliath vibes, with the Stinger holding his own against his larger opponent.

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However, it was Vader who got the win in this title bout. When Vader dodged a Stinger Splash, Sting hit his head on the ring post, allowing for Vader to put the champion away with a powerbomb to win the belt.

7 Vader Lost The Title To Ron Simmons During Their Feud

After The Great American Bash, the rivalry between Sting and Big Van Vader seemed to dissipate. Sting’s pursuit of his lost belt would go on hold after an attack from WCW newcomer Jake Roberts, while Vader needed to take time off due to a knee injury. As a result, Ron Simmons was chosen to dethrone Vader in a landmark match on an episode of WCW Main Event. In ending Vader’s 21-day reign, Simmons earned the distinction of being the first black world champion in wrestling history.

6 Met Again In The King Of Cable Tournament At Starrcade '92

Upon recovering from surgery, Big Van Vader returned back to action in the fall of 1992 and subsequently entered the King of Cable tournament, the finals of which would go down at Starrcade. When December rolled around, the finalists were Vader and his rival, Sting. While Starrcade ‘92 is generally considered a disappointment, the King of Cable final round was a highlight of the show, with Sting able to put away Vader and win the tournament in an acclaimed match.

5 Had Short Films Leading Up To Their SuperBrawl 3 Match

Two days after Starrcade, Big Van Vader managed to win back the World Title from Ron Simmons at a house show before turning his attention back to Sting. Their big rubber match bout would happen at SuperBrawl 3 in February, and while that match is certainly a significant one (see below), the lead-up is equally worth discussion. Rather than simple promos, their big match was hyped with a series of ridiculous/goofy/awesome short films that involved Sting venturing into the mountains to encounter Vader and Harley Race at Vader’s “White Castle of Fear.”

4 Their SuperBrawl III Match Is A Classic

As silly as the hype videos were, the actual match between Sting and Big Van Vader at SuperBrawl 3 proved to be one for the ages. While the world title wasn’t on the line the match was “White Castle of Fear Strap Match,” where both men were tied together at the wrist with a leather strap with the goal of touching all four turnbuckles in succession.

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Hailed as one of the best strap matches ever, the bloody, violent bout saw Vader ultimately get the win over Sting.

3 Traded The World Title At House Shows

Despite failing to recapture the World Title at SuperBrawl 3, Sting continued his pursuit of Vader and the belt. Weeks after the strap match, the two clashed yet again at a house show in London, and there Sting was able to finally beat Vader, ending the big man’s world title reign at 71 days. However, Sting’s ensuing reign didn’t last long, as Vader would win it back in Dublin six days later. From there, Vader held the belt for 285 days before dropping it to Ric Flair at Starrcade ‘93.

2 Had A Tag Team Feud Later In 1993

After Sting, Big Van Vader moved on to the former British Bulldog, Davey Boy Smith, who also failed to dethrone the champion — albeit because Vader chose to lose via disqualification in their title match. In the aftermath, a tag team feud ensued, with Sting joining Smith to oppose the newly formed partnership of Vader and Sid Vicious, who dubbed themselves the Masters of the Powerbomb. After Sting and Smith won their tag team match at Beach Blast ‘93, the two teams once again met on opposite sides in the War Games match two months later at Fall Brawl.

1 Feuded Over The WCW International World Heavyweight Title

The year 1993 saw WCW establish an International Heavyweight Championship, which became vacant the following year after champion Rick Rude cheated to win his title defense against Sting. As a result, at May’s Slamboree ‘94, Sting took on his old rival Vader for the vacant belt in a strong, 14-minute effort that saw Sting emerge as the new champion. Following that, Vader and Sting had one last major match, with Vader defeating both Sting and The Guardian Angel (a.k.a. The Big Boss Man) in a #1 Contender’s Triangle Elimination match at Fall Brawl ‘94.