Returning at Superbrawl to help Hulk Hogan fight off Luger , it appeared that Sting was back . But then he dissapeared again , apparently having problems with WCW Management . Sting returned on the Nitro before Uncensored , and at the March pay-per-view , took on Luger in a Lumberjack Cast Match . Shortly after , Sting formed a partnership with Vampiro , but that brief tandem was broken up on April 10 when Vince Russo and Eric Bischoff gained control of WCW once again .

On the " New Era " edition of Nitro on April 10 , it was good to see Sting get given such a push to main event billing once again , defeating Sid Vicious to get to the semi - final of the world title mini - tournament , and only losing out to DDP due to interference from Vampiro . Sting was also entered for the U.S. title tournament , but thanks to Vampiro again , he didn't raise the gold at Spring Stampede . Fear not , however : at Slamboree' on May 7th , he got his revenge on his former "Brother in paint ".

Just one night after his victory over Vamp , Sting got a title shot at the world champ , Jeff Jarrett , and would have won the belt if Vampiro had not appeared from under the ring , and gave Sting a " New Blood " soaking . On the following Thunder , Sting was pushed into the main event again , battling Mike " The Career Killer " Awesome in an Ambulance Match , which Sting presumibly lost when Vamp emerged from the vehicle , spat " blood " in his face , and threw him inside . Not best pleased , Sting challenged Vampiro to a House of Pain match ( a Cage match with handcuffs ) on the following Nitro , and beat him in more ways than one . However Vamp' bounced back on Thunder by challenging Sting to an Inferno match at The Great American Bash . Sting refused , only to discover that the ring ropes had burst into flames !

The feud continued , and during it all , Sting managed to secure ANOTHER match against WCW champ Jeff Jarrett , and beat him ! But Bischoff DIDN'T SAY IT WAS FOR THE TITLE , and so Jarrett kept his belt . A cheesed - off Sting then smashed Jeff's trademark guitar over his head , which knocked poor Jeffrey off the stage , setting up Jarrett's hilarious " injured " routine against Kevin Nash on the following Thunder .

On Sunday June 11 , Sting and Vampiro went at it in a Human Torch Match score - settler . Freeze - photos on Nitro depicted that Sting had been " set on fire " by Vampiro , and had fallen " 50 feet " from the big screen in the entrance way . When Sting did return, WCW continued his rivalry with Vampiro, which by this time, was growing stale.

 

 

At Halloween Havoc 98' , NWO Sting took on ultra bad guy , Bret Hart . During the match , Hart avoided a Stinger Splash , and the results for Sting were a few months on the side lines . Still not fully fit by the new year , Sting kept busy by working house shows under the black and white gimmick . Returning shortly before Spring Stampede in April , Sting was back in his black and white costume , and was featured in the Four Way Dance main event for the world title at Spring Stampede . However , despite his much - hyped return , Sting did not lift the title , the overpushed DDP did instead .

Sting took on Goldberg at Slamboree' a month later , in a match which went to a non- finish due to Bret Hart . The next few months were fairly uneventful for Sting , but at Fall Brawl in September , he raised the world belt again , defeating Hulk Hogan with a baseball bat supplied by Lex Luger , and thus turning heel in the process . Sting's reign as champion lasted a ridicuously short period of a month , but in that time he had some highly entertaining battles with Bret Hart and Chris Benoit.

At Halloween' Havoc, Hogan literally laid down for Sting , probably due to his real - life problems with WCW's " Powers That Be " , Vince Russo and Ed Ferrara . Later in the evening , Sting lost to Goldberg , but DID NOT SAY THAT IT WAS FOR THE TITLE . J.J. Dillon cleared this up a night later on Nitro when he declared that Sting was no longer the champion ( due to his man - handling of an official ) , and that the belt was vacant and up for grabs in a tournament that would conclude at Mayhem in November .

Sting made it to the semi - final , but lost to Bret Hart , who went on to win the belt . Becoming a good guy again ( although , in a way , he never really turned heel ) Sting began a feud with his former friend Lex Luger , who gave Sting quite a beating at Starrcade , with the aid of a bat . Sting then dissapeared again for two months , presumibuly injured , although he used his spare time to star in tv - movies in the U.S.