When did Sting's debut the brown hair?

[turkeysandwich]

I started watching WCW in 1996, a few months before the formation of the NWO. Already at that time Sting was wearing his hair medium length and it was now brown, but he still wore the multi-color facepaint. I know from watching some old PPVs, just a few months prior, in 1995, he was still wearing it in the traditional surfer Sting short blonde flat-top.

So when did the blonde hair disappear and his new look debut? Was it gradual or did he disappear for a while before returning with the new look?

[Super Weak Machine]

It was gradual. If you take a look at him at Starrcade, you can see it's growing out and going brown.