Diamond Dallas Page vs. Sting

[9.0] "[4.5*] Yeah man, this was one of the best TV matches I've ever seen in my whole life. Crow Sting taking the World Title from DDP in a very dramatic 20-min car crash, this shit just rocked hard. The energy for this match was off the charts, you could feel how much the crowd wanted The Stinger to win when he tried to connect the Scorpion Death Lock in the first minutes of the match and everyone just stood up. The match was very basic and I mean it as a compliment. Super solid and engaging heel work by DDP, Sting was fantastic in his comebacks too. Great trading blows spots, very nice brawl on the ramp, cool action on the outside... hell yeah bro, no complaints to be made. The ending stretch was the highest point of the match, I even joked with my friends saying that it "had become a WrestleKingdom bout" because of that sequence where Sting hit DDP with the Kneeling Piledriver for a 2.99999 count, then they had a fucking reversal dance that led to a Tombstone Piledriver by Sting and a 2.9999999999 kickout from Page, one of the most insanely timed nearfalls I've seen. Then Page hits him with the DDP and the crowd goes absolutely quiet. They're so afraid that Sting is gonna lose, it's just a super fun ride. Then Sting reversed the Diamond Cutter into a Scorpion Death Drop and ALL the fans got on their feet to witness The Stinger becoming the new WCW Champion. What a great - and rare - piece of business for 1999's WCW."

[9.0] "The 2nd best Nitro match. DDP's championship arrogance vs. Sting's heroism - whatever DDP does, Sting overcomes him early and throws him out. DDP shifts emotionally, starts taking Sting seriously, gains control, targets the face and uses the ringpost spot used on Hogan and Goldberg. It only fuels Sting's fire. The comeback with a shocking ganso bomb variation and tombstone piledriver is explosive. Culminative energy, pace & action; amazing reversals and counters - an aesthetic finish and wild pop. ****1/4"

[9.0] "WCW was in the middle of throwing title changes around but this felt like a main event. Sting's counter of the Diamond Cutter into the Scorpion Death Drop is one of the best finishes I've ever seen. It's just a great match!"

[7.0] "Really good match specially considering how poor that period of time was in WCW... that was a relief, and one of the best 'Crow Sting' performances, he was electric, living and feeling the moment. This is an improvement from their last match together, which was already interesting, but here they've maximized the potential of the match and produced a very interesting one. At the beginning of the match they had a very hot brawl on the outside, and the match was very hot all the time. DDP had just recently turned heel and that was the biggest difference from their previous one, Sting had all the support here, and DDP was of course getting booed. I understand people love this match, maybe even more than it deserves, because like I said, it's a match that remembered the good old days of WCW, and that's totally fine, but the match has some tiny flaws, like the lack of selling sometimes and the fact that besides moves, nothing huge happens at the developmentary sections. But overall this is excellent, and the ending stretch is incredible of course, with the struggle and a lot of nearfalls. After Sting's piledriver and a kickout, they battle for the tombstone piledriver, DDP put Sting into the corner and prepared the diamond cutter, but Sting reverted into the death drop and won the match, to a huge explosion by the crowd. There were two or three nearfalls where the crowd chanted 'three' here, they were literally at 2.9999, and the execution was awesome - {***1/2}"

[10.0] "One of the best TV Matches to emerge from the 90's and the rare unicorn clean finish in a WCW title match. Diamond Dallas Page had become a scumbag for seemingly no reason but his offensive moveset was one of the best in the game and he had finally become the world champion. He pulls out everything here. But here we are. White boots Sting. My favorite version of my childhood hero. The Crow was alive but now the energy and movement of the Surfer had returned. This was work rate sting. No longer bound to the groggy energy of the Crow gimmick. This was a random match on a random Nitro that went harder than anything else in WCW for a really long time. They go longer than what we'd become conditioned to expect and they trade absolute bombs. Sting survives and offensive clinic by DDP and the finish is a callback their classic on Nitro back in 1998. Sting hits the Scorpion Death Drop to an insane pop and unexpectedly wins the world title on TV. Amazing."

[8.0] "This match works on many, many levels. To get the negative out of the way, DDP spends a lot of the match working the hamstring of the Stinger, but it like, does not factor into Sting's selling or offense at all. It would have been a really nice touch if it didn't. I thought some of the outside brawling was kind of mid-tier, it wasn't all that electric for me watching from home. This match had a pretty slow start, but it really builds on itself well. Apart from the hamstring, there's great psychology here. DDP tries to capitalize a lot off of Sting's baby face tendencies, and it helps him out big time. He's a bit chicken shit heel but he's a very smart one here, so is he really chicken shit or just looking chicken shit? Sting is a perfect babyface here and he shows great resilience throught the match. This match works as the crowd is just on another level. Its a very good, based crowd. They are all in on the heel v. face dynamic at play. The final sequence is wild and the crowd eats it up. The final stretch, with the crowd popping, and the slick, genuinely struggling reversals are great. Sting here is great but DDP is a real MVP. He gets the crowd rowdy and I really do think he's a big reason why the crowd got really behind Sting. He sells great, and I love the bit where he attempts clotheslines on Sting after the roll-ups, but once he tries it twice, he gets reversed. I think this match works extremely well and has one of the hottest crowds I've ever seen in WCW. [***.75]"

[6.0] "This gets rated higher than the match the year before, but it's a small step down. It's longer and whilst both men continue to bring workrate and passion to the match, "their" work seems more limited here (probably we're looking at the worsening of Sting's injuries). There is a decent early contest but this devolves into lower-mid-tier brawling all over the arena with no threat of a double countout, dipping in and out of the ring before returning for a much stronger end section. The crowd is very hot though, which helps. DDP is a heel now, and he works this well - at the level of crowd work, with Sting also amping them up, this is a clinic. The nearfall run, with several plausible pins which aren't actually the main finisher, as well as some nice references to their previous title match - early Deathlock attempt, the actual finish being an inverted DDT off a Diamond Cutter attempt - really pull this up. Solid. The bold booking of a title change on TV in a long match is infamously blown up by a fourway later in the evening which DDP wins, but we can pretend that didn't happen. 3/5"

[8.0] "The closing stretch of this match is one of the craziest I've ever seen from WCW. Genuinely blood pumping and made the fans go to the edge of their seat. This is what I've been waiting for since the rebrand of WCW happened. I was not expecting Sting to win but man did it shock me and make me wonder what's gonna happen in the future because DDP has a storyline with Hogan / Nash right now. So It's gonna be Sting vs. Nash at the PPV? The Tombstone reversals were awesome to watch and Sting hitting a fucking Ganso Bomb on DDP was insane. [****]"

[8.0] "PPV quality match on nitro. Some really good wrestling here after a slowish start, one of Crow Sting's best matches and DDP is pretty good here. Last three minutes with the piledrivers and so on were great. Great finish (even if it was recycled.)"

[9.0] "One of the best nitro matches ever, the best match Sting everr had after turning into the crow from the surfer and definitely a career match for Diamond Dallas Page, just bravo, it's like his performance in that famous Goldberg match amplified by sting being a much superior and more skilled worker (****1/2)"

[9.0] "WCW's best match of 1999, a total outlier for the time and frankly, this chapter of Sting's career. Armed with just shy of twenty minutes as well as an electric live crowd, these two take WCW back in time, returning them to the core ingredients that once defined their identity. This is big time World's Heavyweight Title action, with two top guys trading signature offence at an impressive pace. It's almost surreal as they go through the gears, occasionally landing like WCW's cover of a main event from Budokan. Superb match, a genuine TV classic and quite possibly the finest bout in Nitro history. ****1/2"

[9.0] "This is one of the best Nitro matches in my opinion. The match was fast paced, intense and back and fourth. The in ring psychology was great and the near falls were perfect. Sting did everything to avoid the Diamond Cutter and reversed one into a Scorpion Death Drop to win the title."

[8.0] "A really fun and exciting match that builds in intensity throughout, finishing off on a high note after a bunch of great near falls and false finishes."

[10.0] "This was an amazing match. The two went back and fourth and told each other anything you can do, I can do better. There was aspects of brawling as well, especially outside the ring. Sting was in control for most of this match, not that DDP didnt get his though. Sting won the title here."

[10.0] "Sting puts in an incredible performance here and his athleticism is front and center, with the crowd behind him all the way. DDP is a little clumsy but hes obviously responsible for the pacing and execution of some key moments here, and hes a convincing heel. Incredible match and a brilliant last five minutes with all the false finishers."

[9.0] "A hell of a fucking match here. In a terrible year for Wcw both on and behind the camera this match and moment stood out big time. A fantastic match that wouldve easily fit on the main event of starrcade or any other PPV. Both guys put in a hell of a performance and the near falls towards the end were fantastic. Of course wcw would fuck this moment up almost immediately afterwards but paying attention to just the match this was a great match. One of the best nitro matches ever. 4.25/5"

[8.0] "Would be an all-time great Nitro moment if they didn't completely ruin it at the end of the show. Still a very good match, one of the best in months at this point in Nitro, and an incredible reaction from the crowd when Sting landed the death drop. Tremendous finish."

[9.0] "It's so wild to me that 1999 WCW is widely considered some of the worst pro wrestling has to offer (though that was topped by 2000 WCW) yet it managed to include one of its all-time best matches on a random Nitro. DDP and Sting had a banger of a match the year prior but this one goes one step further with a number of great near falls during the last five minutes or so. The crowd here was red hot and even the commentary was on point. Sting busting out two types of piledrivers near the end was crazy (the crowd went nuts during the tombstone reversal spot) and the finish was amazing. Still a real treat nearly 25 years later. ****1/2"

[6.0] "This match was your standard brawl. Bad technical wrestling was put into it. I didn't like it. This is one you could skip."

[9.0] "A good match lost in dark and bizarre times in WCW, Sting is one of the most charismatic guys in the history of the industry and makes a sensational babyface role (****1/2)"

[7.0] "Page was a great heel and Sting played the babyface role well. The end result was a pretty good match."

[8.0] "There are some terrific near-falls out of the various piledrivers here, and even though the finish is recycled from their previous Nitro match, it's a great finish and built up to a lot better. Even Schiavone's enthusiasm sounds genuine for the first time in awhile, as he seems to be having flashbacks to classic NWA title matches of better times. Both men played their roles to perfection and the crowd responded in turn. I noticed a couple awkward moments from Sting and the arena brawling drag this down from being a perfect match, but definitely right there with Eddie Guerrero vs Rey Mysterio for best WCW match of the last half of the decade."

[8.0] "From what I've seen of his work, DDP's big matches always use the same, simple formula. It works wonders, so I can't fault this match for feeling quite similar in structure to DDP's match with Goldberg the previous year. He is so giving during the babyface shine segment and he makes Sting look like a million bucks by selling for him and showing his frustration by taking constant breathers when things aren't going his way. He is able to use Sting's hair to ground him, but this just enrages Sting, who follows Page outside and they start brawling up the aisle. The referee follows them and doesn't start a count as this is such a big match that no one wants this to end on a count-out. The middle portion of this is the weakest part of the match, with Page not being that interesting when working on top and Sting not being that compelling of a seller. Things pick back up again during the finishing stretch when Sting pulls off a Ganso Bomb! DDP is the king of the finisher-tease sequence and the Diamond Cutter to Scorpion Death Drop counter might just top anything that was in the finale to the Goldberg/DDP match that I previously mentioned. Those moves are so simple that even an amateur could pull them off, but the moves are protected and the talent is over to the level that you can't help but get swept up in the drama."

[8.0] "Very fun TV match from these two that went a little too long to be an all time great. DDP works over Sting for a lot of this one with brawling on the outside that also goes on for a bit too long but both men are good enough to pull of a match of that style. DDP is booed relentlesly by the crowd in this one, cheating often and selling really well for his opponent. Sting is great in this one, pulling off interesting counters and big moves that make up the bulk of this match's endgame that builds to a really cool and fast finish. Overall, great little match that goes a little too long but is still worth the watch. - ****1/4"

[9.0] "Finally saw this match and indeed, it's a pretty great match. I think most of Sting's work around this time absolutely stinks, but this is a shining exception. I have to give a lot of credit to DDP, who was known for carefully planning out his matches, and I can only assume he helped Sting to rise above the kind of sleepy, paint by numbers performance he put in against Flair not long ago on Nitro. I will also say I thought as good as this was, DDP had better matches with Goldberg and Scott Steiner in recent weeks, so huge credit to DDP for being on an awesome run of TV matches here and adapting effortlessly to his new heel role."

[7.0] "A great showing from both men here. The two start the match by trading shots, with both hitting the ropes to deal their final punch. When DDP manages to ground Sting with a hammer-lock a bit later, the crowd sends off a bleacher stampede. Sting manages to send DDP (for the second time) to the outside where they begin to pummel each other up the walkway and against the barricades. From this point forward it's just good ol' fashioned wrestling. There's a great moment where Sting attempts a second piledriver, which is reversed by Page, and then subsequently reversed by Sting. The finish comes when Sting counters a Diamond Cutter by hooking the top corner ropes, delivering a Scorpion Death Drop to put away DDP. New champion. Fat could've been trimmed on this one, and there should've been a double-countout at one point, but it outweighs its faults. ***3/4"

[8.0] "The was the best match of DDP's career, as he and Sting putting together a great match, one that wouldn't have been out of place as the main event of a PPV. In fact, it was better than any of WCW's PPV main events that year."

[10.0] "I had pretty much stopped watching WCW by this point so I never saw this match until recently. And wow, did I miss out! Everything came together perfectly. DDP was swapped quickly to a heel due to his title win being so uninspired by the fans. In comes Sting who is clearly still over with the fans despite being horribly booked for the previous 18 months. So when this match went down, both guys looked like they were out to prove something. It was an incredible back and forth and clearly Page's best match of his career while being Sting's best since his matches with Vader in the early 90's. The crowd was red hot for it and the two seemed to feed off of it. A true hidden gem."

[8.0] "Without question this is Diamond Dallas Page’s greatest match. Even DDP stated that despite losing to Sting, that was one of the best matches he ever had. Also DDP does eventually win the World Title later that night in a Fatal Four Way match (DDP vs. Sting vs. Goldberg vs. Kevin Nash) No one had ever lost the World Title & won it back in the same night ever until that match. But back to the match at hand... A very nice even paced match from beginning to end. The only fault I have with this match is the long period of time DDP & Sting spent outside the ring without being counted out. But for a 20-minute match it is extremely good. Definitely a PPV quality match that was shown on TV."