During a recent episode of 83 Weeks, Eric Bischoff spoke on Sting being the primary reason that his match with Hulk Hogan at Starrcade 1997 didn’t work. He also addressed rumors that Sting was intoxicated at the time of the match. Here are the highlights:
On Sting’s Issues Going Into The Match:
I’m not going to get in to Sting’s personal life, that’ll be up to Steve Borden some day, it’s not my position, love the guy too much, respect him too much, not going to go there. But it is fair to say that, yeah, when Steve showed up, in my opinion as well as Hulk’s, not prepared, yeah, the tan was one aspect but as Dave [Meltzer] pointed out, visibly he was not the same guy, and there was a reason for it, and it was a human reason, and I understand it, and I’m not trying to deflect criticism, not trying to justify, I don’t give a fuck what people think anymore about it, I really don’t, it is what it is, I can’t change it, but to really understand it, those listeners who really want to feel like they’re getting a little bit more than just a topical explanation of things, Steve Borden, the human being, was not prepared, mentally or physically, as Dave Meltzer pointed out, or emotionally. He was not prepared.
On Having To Scramble On The Fly Due To Sting Not Being Ready:
And we had to make a change, we had to adjust on the fly, we had to think about, OK, all this great story, all this great planning, and I don’t mean, not trying to make anyone feel bad, it is what it is, was what it was, we’ve all lived through it and prospered, so it’s good, but in that moment, it was not the same Steve Borden or Sting in the eyes of the audience that we thought we had. And the rest is history.
On Rumors That Sting Was Intoxicated:
No. That’s not it, that was not it, it’s got nothing to do with it. And if I have ever said anything to imply it, I want to make it clear right now, I didn’t mean that, that was not the issue. It was a personal issue, not related to drugs or alcohol.
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Credit: 83 Weeks. H/T 411Mania.