Sting truly is one of the all-time greats of the wrestling business, even though TNA-IMPACT Wresting (or whatever the hell they're calling themselves these days) is doing all they can to tarnish his legacy (Anybody remember the "Last Rights" match?). Back in 1990, he was WCW's top babyface (hero) and was having all sorts of trouble with the infamous Four Horsemen, which in those days consisted of Ric Flair, Arn and Ole Anderson and Sid Vicious. Sting had decided that he'd had enough of the Horsemen and their constant four-on-one attacks. So Sting decided to go and get himself some backup. But not just any backup. Sting went to the future of law enforcement himself, ROBOCOP!
Yep, you read that right. You see, WCW was gearing up for their Capital Combat pay per view, while Orion Pictures was getting set to release Robocop 2 in theaters. The two got together and decided that some cross-promtion might be a good thing, especially for WCW since Sting was injured at that time, and couldn't actually compete in a match. So a confrontation was set up for Sting and those dastardly Horsemen, with Robocop coming in to make the big rescue and give the Horsemen the beating they so richly deserved. The stage was set, and then THIS happened...
You are no doubt saying to yourself, "What the hell?! That was it?!" Yep, I'm afraid so. Whether Sting's injury prevented him from getting anymore physical than that, or Robocop's costume was just too damn clunky to work for a wrestling bout, the whole confrontation was watered down to the point that nothing really happened. The fact that none of the Horsemen sold for Robocop didn't really help matters either. I mean the look at the footage. They just walked off! Nobody seemed all that intimidated or impressed by his presence, and not surprisingly, the fans felt really ripped off by the whole thing and who could blame them? For thirty bucks, you expect a little more than a three-minute appearance.
Needless to say the whole thing was a waste of time and money that benefitted nobody in the long run. Luckily for Sting, he healed up and continued his trek to wrestling superstardom. Robocop, on other hand, didn't fare so well. Robocop 2 was huge flop at that box office that killed the career of Director Irvin Kershner and almost killed the career of writer (and artist) Frank Miller. The movie also destroyed Orion Pictures, which went the way of the dinosaur not long afterward. WCW meanwhile, seemed like they learned their lesson about movie tie-ins, but in the fall of 1998, strange cackles of laughter would fill the arena, especially when Rick Steiner would come out. But that's a story for another day.
Well, that's all for this week. The San Diego County Fair (formerly the Del Mar Fair) starts today, and Weird Al Yankovic is performing there on Wednesday, so maybe my next post will be Weird Al related. I'd also like to say congratulations to my cousin Natalie, who graduated from high school yesterday. She's a good kid and a smart kid going to the University Arizona this fall. I'll miss her, but I know she'll do well. Make us proud squirt!
Until next time, I'll catch y'all later!
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