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View Full Version : Eric Bischoff on Why Sting Ditched his Surfer Character



Kemo
07-08-2021, 05:40 PM
During the 1990s there was one man who was the face of WCW. The icon himself, Sting. With his blonde hair and imposing physique, there was every reason for him to be the face of the TNT network. Former WCW president Eric Bischoff recently spoke on his 83 Weeks podcast about his former main man. As part of the discussion, Bischoff explained the real reason behind Sting ditching the bleached hair surfer gimmick that had been his character for many years.

Wrestling is all about storytelling. We all know about kayfabe and the illusion of character. So what was given as the reason for Sting’s change in attitude was far more dramatic than the reality.

Eric Bischoff explained that with his stock rising, Sting had eyes on a transition into movies, and acting. It was exactly that mindset that caused him to grow his hair and revert back to his natural color.

“Sting was taking acting lessons right around this time and working in that direction. Sting made up his mind, he didn’t want that blonde hair because you can’t get a movie, you can’t get a T.V. role with that look so he wanted more versatility.” Eric Bischoff explained.

It makes sense that a man with Sting’s presence would want to move into acting. Wrestling is, after all, largely a character-driven performance. Wrestling and acting go hand in hand. Just look at stars like The Rock and John Cena. Both have made the transition from the ring to the big screen.

Talking further, Eric Bischoff detailed how he was the man behind Sting’s first acting opportunity. “I was the executive producer of Stings’ very first movie called The Real Reason Men Commit Crimes. I put the deal together and made it happen with Turner and funded it.”

Sting was one of the biggest names in WCW. It made sense for Eric Bischoff to help him get more fame as that would, in turn, benefit WCW as a company.