During his time with WCW, he was known as "The Franchise (of WCW)". In fact, some people know him as "The Stinger", "The Icon", "The Man Called (or They Call) Sting", and "The Vigilante". Also, during a time in 2011, he went through a Joker (a character played by the late Heath Ledger in blockbuster movie The Dark Knight in 2008) phase that was dubbed "The Insane Icon". He held a total of 15 championships in WCW. This includes the WCW World Heavyweight Championship six times, the WCW International World Heavyweight Championship two times, and the NWA World Heavyweight Championship one time. He has appeared on more PPVs in WCW than any other wrestler. When the WWF bought WCW in March 2001, Sting decided to not sign with them.