Summary

Sting says his early rise in the National Wrestling Alliance did not immediately change what he was earning, even after he moved into main event matches with Ric Flair.

While speaking on the Hunter, Jessica & Cush podcast, Sting described how little he was making at the start of his run, then explained that he was still on a $52,000 annual deal while working world title programs with Flair.

The Hall of Famer said that eventually led to a conversation with Flair, who spoke up on his behalf. Sting said Jim Crockett later told him he would notice a change in his paycheck, and his yearly pay went up to $64,000.

Sting's comments offer another look at how different the business was during that era, especially for a rising star who was already being positioned in top spots. It is also part of a busy stretch of wrestling headlines across the site, including NOAH Sets Wrestle Odyssey II, First New Year's Eve Event And 2027 New Year Show.

Quote from Sting

"Sometimes you're wrestling nine or ten times a week and at the very beginning, for a TV taping, you're making $25. For a match, you're lucky to get $40, $45, $50. $65 was a really good payoff. I'm talking about the curtain-jerker guys, like I was. You're just learning, you're brand new, you're green. No money at all. That kind of stayed with me all the way through, even wrestling Ric Flair for the World Title. I'm driving, Ric is on the private jet flying in and out with Dusty and the Four Horsemen. One trip, we were going from Charlotte, North Carolina to Richmond, Virginia. I was booked on the jet that day, but at the last minute, I was asked to get off because there were not quite enough seats. I got in the car with Rick Steiner and we drove 100 miles an hour to get up there. We barely made it."

Sting later went on to say:

"I was in the main event against Flair. I talked to Ric that day, I said to Ric, 'You need to help me out. I'm on a $52,000 per year contract working main event matches with you, World Title matches, there are bandanas and t-shirts with my face on it everywhere.' He goes, 'I'll say something.' He did. Jim Crockett approached me and said, 'You're going to notice a little something different in your paycheck from now on.' That year, I made $64,000."

What Sting's Flair feud says about that NWA period

Sting's story underlines how quickly he became central to NWA television, because he was already working world title matches with Ric Flair before his pay caught up to that spot. It also reinforces how valuable Flair's support could be behind the scenes when a younger talent was being elevated into the main event picture.

Sting later won his first NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship by defeating Flair in 1990, which gives the pay story even more weight in hindsight.

Sources

Sting while speaking on the Hunter, Jessica & Cush podcast