If you thought you'd seen or heard the last of NWO Sting, we're ecstatic to say you were wrong
Walking into a Winston-Salem convention room, one of our most sought out interviews was NWO Sting, Jeff Farmer. He'd been a part of one of the hottest angles in history, and made a bit of a resurgence of late.
Still in great shape, Farmer worked a battle royal at WrestleCade. It wasn't his first of the year, as Joey Janela was able to land him for the Spring Break Clusterfuck months before. Much like Scott Norton, who sat next to Farmer, NWO Sting was quick to put over the AEW star, and said that the appearances have led to more booking requests.
"That was awesome. Joey [Janela]’s a great guy. It was nice to be a part of it. I don’t do much. It was to get me off the couch kind of [thing], although I’m not the couch. But, it was great to do it. I get that. “Hey, are you still in [???]?” I’d say, “No, I’m working. I work in Miami,” and blah blah blah. But, it’s nice to do something like this. Especially to see the fans, give back a little bit. I like that part," said Farmer.
Though he was no stranger to Japan, the NWO Sting gimmick was much more successful in the land of the rising sun than it was stateside. Appearances as a part of nWo Japan helped lead to a nearly six year NJPW run for Farmer, which he credited to Scott Norton -- also present.
"So, this guy sitting right next to me, Scott Norton, he’s the one who really—I went over there as a tag team in 1993 for [Giant] Baba’s group and ended up going and then went over for New Japan as part of the NWO. They were looking for the NWO guys come over there and be a part of that. A lot of them were booked—Hall, and Nash, and Hogan—so I ended up being somebody that was available. Once I got over it just became a second home for me. I just kinda, again thanks to Scott, giving me the ropes, it became a place where I [spent] the bulk of my career, especially the most rewarding part was there," said Farmer.
Farmer would work over four hundred dates and dozens of tours in NJPW, and never relocated.
"I was living in Atlanta still, so I was flying back and forth. But, I spent about five years on and off over there. Almost every tour I was in Japan. That’s really where I honed my skills, really, was in Japan. It was a great experience for me," Farmer said.
Even well after nWo and WCW were long gone, Farmer continued in New Japan as Super J. He also continued with that familiar name next to him, Scott Norton. Norton was happy to share stories about his close friend and tag partner.
"Sometimes we have a hard time talking about ourselves," said Norton. "Jeff’s been that guy all along. He did a hell of a job. I was proud to be his partner. The impact NWO Sting had in Japan was major. What he got to do with this character in Japan that nobody really understands here in the States was at a level that not too many guys reach in Japan. I’m here to tell you, brother, that’s where I did it. I think he’s being a little bit not-braggadocios enough. ‘Cause NWO Sting was the bomb there, brother. Jeff answered the bell, man. We did 100 matches, a thousand matches together over there. That NWO Sting was significant over there."
After the nWo went by the wayside, the two would help form Team 2000 with Masa Chono, breaking off from the New World Order.
You can see our full interview with Scott Norton above.
