The Chrononaut Chronicles: Clash of the Champions XIII

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The Chrononaut Chronicles
WCW Clash of the Champions XIII: Thanksgiving Thunder – November 20, 1990

– LIVE from the Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Jacksonville, Florida! Jim Ross is joined by Paul E. Dangerously to form my all-time favorite commentary team. The production values have noticeably improved in terms of the lighting and how the product is presented on television. This is the first Clash appearance of the gigantic WCW logo on the entrance stage, similar to the setup made famous years later on Nitro.

– The Fabulous Freebirds (Michael “PS” Hayes & Jimmy “Jam” Garvin w/Little Richard Marley) vs. The Southern Boys (Tracey Smothers & Steve Armstrong)

Originally scheduled to be a six-man tag involving Bobby Eaton and El Gigante, Michael Hayes says that he knows why Gigante is absent and suggests they check the airport for a big box marked for Argentina. Referee Mike Atkins interprets this to mean that the Fabulous Freebirds are responsible for Gigante’s no-show, so he makes tonight’s match a straight two-on-two instead of a handicap match and ejects Beautiful Bobby back to the locker room. Paul E. on commentary expresses his desire to see Eaton wrestle tonight, unknowingly foreshadowing their Dangerous Alliance in the not-too-distant future. Little Richard Marley is the new persona of long-time TBS jobber Rocky King in the role of the Freebirds’ roadie and loyal henchman. The Wild-Eyed Southern Boys excite the crowd early and drive the Freebirds out of the ring with an explosion of double dropkicks and one for Little Richard. For the third straight Clash, we get the spot where the Freebirds double-up on Tracey in the corner, he escapes and scurries back to his corner, and Steve soars in with a flying bodypress on both Garvin & Hayes. It’s a good spot that gets the live crowd going, but the astute viewer may experience a feeling of deja vu. Smothers keeps the momentum going and decks both ‘Birds with a Hacksaw Duggan-like three-point stance into a double clothesline. Tracey steps out onto the apron to go aerial, but Hayes knocks him off with a quick left hand and he crash-lands on the guardrail. Jimmy Jam controls Tracey when he climbs back in, but Garvin goes to the top turnbuckle and Smothers slams him off. They both tag out, but the referee didn’t see the Southern Boys’ tag so the Freebirds drag Smothers away and double-suplex him back to their corner. Not content to play by the rules, Armstrong dives in off the top with a flying double-clothesline on both ‘Birds. Chaos erupts as all four men are in the ring and Armstrong brings Marley in too. Steve back-bodydrops Jimmy Jam over the top rope onto the elevated runway and then dives over the ropes with a crossbody. While Armstrong pounds Garvin on the ramp, Marley trips up Smothers and Hayes drills him with the DDT for the 1-2-3 at 4:50. **½ This felt rushed, but it had an exciting finish that got the Freebirds over as sneaky, experienced heels and kept the Southern Boys strong.

– Tony Schiavone interviews Sting, who is looking forward to his face-to-face confrontation with The Black Scorpion tonight. The Scorpion’s distorted voice (actually supplied by booker Ole Anderson) interrupts the interview and promises to give Sting what he wants later.

– “Nature Boy” Buddy Landell vs. Flyin’ Brian

Dangerously provides some backstory to this match by mentioning that Buddy Landell has been looking for revenge since July when Brian Pillman embarrassed him at the Great American Bash, and later brings up the Ric Flair connection: Landell idolizes Flair, while Pillman was allegedly trained by Flair. The Nature Boy roughs up Flyin’ Brian right off the bat, but Pillman comes back with a sunset flip, an inside cradle, and a backslide for a series of two-counts. Pillman clotheslines Landell over the top rope onto the rampway and then follows him out with a springboard clothesline, popping the crowd. Landell back-bodydrops out of a piledriver on the ramp and batters Pillman around ringside, but Brian rallies back with dropkicks and a springboard crossbody off the apron to the floor. Looking in much better shape than he was at the last Clash, Buddy regains the advantage and keeps it with an abdominal stretch and a backbreaker. The Nature Boy sets Brian up for a superplex, but Pillman blocks it and lands a flying bodypress for the pinfall in 5:52. **¾ Good performances from both guys, as Landell showed what a fluid worker he could be when he wasn’t trashed or hung over.

– The Big Cat vs. “The Candyman” Brad Armstrong

The Big Cat is Curtis Hughes during his Ernie Ladd phase, prior to donning the suit and sunglasses of “The Bodyguard” Mr. Hughes. During a quick prerecorded promo, the Big Cat claims he’s beaten everybody up so far and now he’s coming for Lex Luger. Typical power vs. speed match-up as the Big Cat knocks Brad Armstrong down with a shoulderblock and the Candyman responds with a dropkick. After trading wristlocks with his larger opponent, Armstrong attempts a crossbody off the ropes, but Cat catches him and pulverizes him with three backbreakers. Paul E. notes that the Cat has been using Lex Luger’s Torture Rack recently as Hughes stomps away at Armstrong’s back and bodyslams him for a two-count. The Big Cat relentlessly hammers the Candyman’s lower back until Armstrong dodges a charge in the corner and throws punches and a dropkick at the big man. Brad goes for a second dropkick, but Cat brushes it off and locks Armstrong in the Torture Rack. Referee Randy Anderson quickly calls for the bell at 4:31 as Dangerously exclaims that Armstrong quit, a claim that Ross vehemently denies because BRAD ARMSTRONG DOES NOT SUBMIT, BAH GAWD!! He didn’t actually say “BAH GAWD”, but he shouted Paul E. down pretty loudly and was unusually indignant about the very concept of Brad Armstrong submitting, as if “The Candyman” was too valuable a player to submit to a 320-pound Torture Rack. Turns out JR was right as we get the referee stoppage finish. That makes no sense. Brad was barely a midcarder, while they were trying to build up the Big Cat for a feud with Lex Luger. Still a pretty good little match with solid psychology and provides some evidence that Mr. Hughes was an underrated hoss. **

– A quick promo from the legendary Dick the Bruiser to hype his appearance as a special referee at Starrcade ’90. Da Bruiser says he is known all over the world and he promises a clear-cut winner at Starrcade, without mentioning the participants of whichever match he will be officiating.

– “Prime Time” Brian Lee vs. The Z-Man

Huh, I did not know that Brian Lee ever wrestled in WCW, and with the “Prime Time” nickname no less. In fact, Dangerously informs us that this is Brian Lee’s WCW debut and puts him over strong on commentary, but Prime Time doesn’t really live up to the hype. Lee slugs away early on and Zenk catches him with a hiptoss, which Lee takes with an exaggerated bump as he does a leaping flip through the air. In a hilarious-looking spot to follow up, the Z-Man goes for a high crossbody out of the corner, but Lee is still in the opposite corner and Zenk crashes and bounces off the mat. I think Lee was out of place, but Zenk looked like a total idiot jumping when Lee was so far away. Prime Time controls the Z-Man with some uninspired offense including a chinlock before Zenk mounts a comeback and puts Lee away in 3:10 with a missile dropkick off the top turnbuckle. ½* Perhaps a better nickname would have been Brian “Not Quite Ready For Prime Time” Lee.

Look before you leap.

– The latest development in the saga of Mike Rotunda occurs during an interview conducted by Tony Schiavone. Wearing a suit and tie, a dapper-looking Rotunda cuts Tony off and announces that he has legally changed his name to Michael Wallstreet because he is now a filthy rich bastard, due to a large inheritance he recently received. He promises the rest of the story on Saturday at 6:05 and introduces his administrative assistant, Ms. Alexandra York, portrayed by the future Terri Runnels, making her WCW debut as a professional businesswoman with big glasses and her hair in a bun. She has inputted all of the relevant data into her laptop computer and produced a printout that will lead to victory over somebody called Starblazer tonight. Before they walk off, Michael warns of an impending Wall Street Crash. WHY DIDN’T WE LISTEN?!?

– The Star Blazer vs. Michael Wallstreet (w/Ms. Alexandra York)

To build interest in the Michael Wallstreet vignettes beginning on WCW Saturday this weekend, Ross professes ignorance as to the source of the former Mike Rotunda’s newfound wealth, and Dangerously mentions a rumor that a rich uncle died and left him a large sum of money. Rotunda wears a full suit and tie to the ring (no cheesy tear-away bib suit like Ted DiBiase) and unlike IRS, removes it to wrestle in a red singlet. The masked Star Blazer is a pretty blatant Blue Blazer ripoff, only his colors are red and yellow and it’s Tim Horner under the hood. Wallstreet and Ms. York go over the computer printout one more time before the match while Ross stresses Rotunda’s athletic accomplishments and abilities. The printout must say “Just wrestle like you normally do” as Wallstreet starts off with amateur-style takedowns and then stalls at ringside after Star Blazer comes back with a hiptoss and a pair of dropkicks. Dangerously credits the computer’s gameplan when Blazer runs off the ropes and Wallstreet dumps him out to the floor, avoiding his attack. The abdominal stretch using the ropes is employed, but Michael releases it when the referee catches him cheating and Blazer rolls him up for a near-fall. The crowd is eerily silent as Star Blazer bodyslams Wallstreet and hits a dropkick, but Rotunda counters the next dropkick by grabbing Blazer’s legs and applying a Boston crab. The Blazer quickly counters into a headscissors for two, but Wallstreet kicks out into a sunset flip for a near-fall of his own. They mess up a spot and go straight to the finish, as Wallstreet just grabs Blazer and slams him with a Samoan drop called the Wallstreet Crash for the pin at 4:15. *½ As WCW’s version of the Million Dollar Man, Mike Rotunda was back in contention on the heel side and motivated again, with a unique gimmick and a hot new manager to spice him up. Within the next couple of months, just as WCW was pushing Michael Wallstreet as undefeated and a top contender to the TV Title, they let Rotunda slip away to the WWF and he assumed the role of a similar-looking, financially-minded character named Irwin R. Schyster.

I get the feeling that Vince always wanted to have a wrestling accountant and just about creamed his pants when he saw this.

– Courtesy of the Wrestling Wrap-up, the pamphlet-length forerunner to WCW Magazine, it’s Gordon Solie with the WCW Top Ten rankings. The shallow tag team division is exposed, as the contenders to Doom’s World Tag Team Championship include such dynamic duos as Norman & The Juicer, Big Cat & Motor City Madman, and the Master Blasters. The field of potential challengers for the World Heavyweight Championship, held by Sting, is a bit deeper: US Champion Stan Hansen, Sid Vicious, Lex Luger, Ric Flair, TV Champion Arn Anderson, Terry Taylor, Flyin’ Brian, Michael Wallstreet, Z MAN (in all caps for some reason), and Beautiful Bobby.

Perhaps a Top Five would be more impressive.

– A video feature explains the concept of the Pat O’Connor Memorial International Tag Team Tournament to be held at Starrcade. Black-and-white footage of Pat O’Connor (consistently misspelled as O’Conner) defeating Buddy Rogers for the NWA World Title in Chicago’s Comiskey Park in 1961 is shown and only the top two seeds in the 18-team tournament are pushed: the Steiner Brothers are the #1 seed and the Japanese contingent of Mr. Saito & The Great Muta is ranked #2. The winning team will receive a ludicrously massive trophy.

God help us all if it gains sentience.

– Pat O’Connor Memorial International Tag Team Tournament – African Final: Sgt. Krueger & Col. DeKlerk vs. Kaluha & The Beast

Using a Colonel DeBeers knockoff gimmick as a pair of militant South Africans from Johannesburg, Colonel DeKlerk & Sergeant Krueger are actually Ted “Rocco Rock” Petty & Ray Apollo, who later portrayed babyface Doink in the WWF. The international flavor of this tournament is already being called into question. I have no clue who the other guys are, except that The Beast is billed as “Botswana Beast” in the graphic, yet he doesn’t look like the Botswana Beast that teamed with Kamala around the same time. Kaluha has his way with Krueger, so he tags out and DeKlerk has better luck with a flashier aerial strategy. After flipping out of a wristlock and rolling up Kaluha for two, DeKlerk hits a springboard moonsault for another near-fall. The South Africans double-team Kaluha, but he manages to tag out and the stone-faced Beast decks Krueger with a flying clothesline off the ropes. DeKlerk tags in and tries his luck with the big man, but the Beast powerslams him and crunches the Colonel with a spear in the corner. They flub a moonsault spot in the opposite corner and DeKlerk takes over with a clothesline and it takes two double-axhandles off the middle turnbuckle to knock down the Beast. The Colonel attempts a flying bodypress off the top, but Beast catches him in a powerslam and covers him. The Sergeant makes the save and Beast executes a sloppy-as-hell atomic drop as all four men are in the ring. Amateur hour finally ends when Beast scoops up DeKlerk for a slam and Krueger hits a dropkick that causes DeKlerk to land on top for the pin at 4:48, as the South Africans qualify for the Pat O’Connor Memorial International Tag Team Tournament at Starrcade. ½* Ugh. I can appreciate what WCW was trying to do with this tournament, but throwing a bunch of teams that nobody knows out there was a huge waste of TV and PPV time. The live crowd didn’t care and, aside from Paul E. doing his best to push Col. DeKlerk as an international star getting his big break in the US, nobody else seemed interested either.

– The ancient Sam Muchnick sputters out an invitation to watch the rest of the tournament with him at Starrcade. Who would this plea appeal to? Do they even have PPV in nursing homes?

– The feud between Lex Luger and Stan Hansen is recapped, starting with Hansen assaulting Luger at the last Clash and continuing at Halloween Havoc as Stan clobbered Lex with the Lariat to win the United States Championship. We then see part of a vignette featuring Paul E. Dangerously in a pool hall, where he is dishing out cash to recruit a big bruiser called The Motor City Madman to take out the Total Package. Back in Jacksonville, Tony Schiavone brings out Luger for an interview, but The Big Cat quickly interrupts him and pokes his finger in Lex’s chest. Bombarded by challenges at every turn, Luger blows up and nails Cat with a big right hand before walking off. The Cat warns Tony that Lex just made a big mistake.

What exactly are you paying for, Paulie?

– The Motor City Madman vs. “Total Package” Lex Luger

Let’s get the most obvious joke out of the way first: the Motor City Madman is not Ted Nugent. Although I always thought he was 911, he’s actually a big journeyman brawler named Mike Moore who bounced around the AWA and Puerto Rico. As Lex Luger is walking down the ramp, the Big Cat follows him and they slug it out until a convoy of referees pull Cat away. The Total Package heads into the ring and the Madman is all over him with punches and forearms. Lex comes back with a high crossbody for two and MCM bails out after a clothesline and an elbow, but Lex suplexes him back in and almost kills Madman in the process. The timing was off and Luger barely got the big guy over without dropping him on his head. A sloppy bodyslam comes next, but the Madman avoids an elbowdrop and pounds on Luger with a clothesline and a sideslam. MCM sets up for his backbreaker submission, but Luger back-bodydrops out of it and clotheslines Madman for the victory in 2:34. ¼* Good as a showcase squash for Lex Luger, but Madman was pretty terrible.

– Tony Schiavone interviews WCW senior official Nick Patrick. He mentions the violent behavior of the Nasty Boys, but says that the referees are now more worried about the Steiner Brothers because they have promised to end the Nastys’ careers.

– The Renegade Warriors (Chris & Mark Youngblood) vs. The Nasty Boys (Brian Knobbs & Jerry Saggs)

Despite their cool team name, the Renegade Warriors are two dumpy-looking fake Native Americans in facepaint and streamers. Paul E. draws a comparison between the teeth of Jerry Saggs and David Letterman as the Nasty Boys pound on Mark Youngblood, but he tags out and Chris Youngblood comes in with a crossbody on Brian Knobbs for a two-count. The Youngbloods work Knobbs’ arm, but he fights out and makes the tag. Saggs receives the same treatment until he dumps Mark over the top rope while Knobbs is distracting referee Nick Patrick. Knobbs smashes Mark against the guardrail and the Nasties punish his arm in the ring until the Steiner Brothers run in for the disqualification at 4:49. The Nasties run away like huge pussies as we go to commercial. * Uninspired and bland.

– The Night Stalker vs. Sid Vicious

In a prematch promo, Sid Vicious plans to run through Night Stalker en route to another World Title shot against Sting because Sid rules the world. Better known a few years later under the names Adam Bomb, Wrath, and his real name Bryan Clark, The Night Stalker comes equipped with a big rubber axe straight out of Turner’s prop department and he was trained by Ox Baker. Baker was supposed to accompany Stalker, but Ross explains that Ox has confidence in Stalker’s abilities and the game plan they laid out, so he’s watching from the home base. This is a visually impressive match-up between two huge dudes, but they both work at a speed that could be described as slightly faster than slow-motion. The Night Stalker wins a test of strength, but they collide with a shoulderblock and neither behemoth budges. They stare at each other awkwardly for a few moments before Stalker just grabs Sid in a bearhug that often looks like a heavy makeout session. Big Sid finally breaks out, but the Stalker focuses his attack on Sid’s ribs as Dangerously recalls the punctured lung Vicious suffered a year ago. The Big Cat strolls down the ramp while Vicious battles back and plants Stalker with a nasty back suplex before going after the Cat. The Stalker tries to attack with his axe, but Sid avoids it and grabs the lethal weapon. After kicking the Cat and standing around for several moments, Sid hits Stalker with the axe and pins him in 3:30. During the post-match assault, Big Cat and Night Stalker target Sid’s ribs and lung until Vicious rolls out of the ring and grabs a chair to ward them off. Sid wrestling as a babyface provided a strange dynamic, as the Four Horsemen were quasi-faces at the time and Sid’s popularity required him to start working Hogan-style matches. Total DUD here.

Get a room, you two!

– Tony Schiavone interviews the Fabulous Freebirds. Jimmy Garvin brags about shipping El Gigante back to Argentina, but the Southern Boys and Gigante himself interrupt the interview and the Freebirds flee the scene. Sporting the stylish fannypack and Zubaz pants ensemble, Tracey Smothers warns the Freebirds that Gigante will be on them “like a duck on a junebug” if they want to tangle.

– Missy Hyatt pimps the WCW Saturday night show on TBS, but I’m not listening…

You’re welcome.

– Magnum Force vs. The Steiner Brothers (Rick & Scott Steiner)

The Steiner Brothers are pushed as “Team USA” for the tag team tournament and they are the NWA United States Tag Team Champions, although this appears to be a non-title bout. Magnum Force don’t even get individual names, but it doesn’t matter because the Steiners completely squash them. Scott Steiner earns the pinfall in 1:57 with the Frankensteiner and the Nasty Boys immediately run in to ambush the Steiners, but Rick & Scott get the upper hand and send the Nastys scurrying from the ring again. The Nasty Boys had given notice the day of the Clash that they were leaving for the WWF, which explains why they were made to look totally ineffectual against the Steiners. ½* Basic squash for the Steiners.

– Tony Schiavone interviews Ric Flair & Arn Anderson and they talk about the stipulations involved in the main event singles match against either Ron Simmons or Butch Reed, participants to be determined via coin toss: if the Doom member wins, Teddy Long will receive Flair’s limo and yacht, but if the Horseman wins, Theodore will be their chauffeur for a day and the Horsemen earn a rematch against Doom for the World Tag Team Championship at Starrcade. Holding a chauffeur’s cap and jacket, Slick Ric cuts a generic Flair promo and Arn adds that greed will be Doom’s downfall.

– The Black Scorpion angle is recapped, from the Scorpion’s initial promo cryptically mentioning Los Angeles and 1986, to the last Clash with Sting unmasking an impostor Scorpion, and Halloween Havoc where the Scorpion vanished with a fan out of the crowd in a terrifying(ly lame) display of his black magic. Footage is shown of a TV match between Sting and Bobby Eaton, and just as the Stinger is finishing off Beautiful Bobby, the Scorpion’s voice comes over the PA to distract Sting and Eaton takes over. We don’t see the result of the match, but I assume Sting won.

– Paul E. Dangerously hosts a LIVE edition of The Danger Zone and brings out Sting. Paul E. has promised to deliver The Black Scorpion and sure enough, some eerie music interrupts Sting as the Scorpion appears on the ramp. Apparently part of the deal to get the Scorpion to appear is that Sting has to watch his magic act, so Scorpion plucks an unwilling volunteer out of the audience and puts a gimmicked box on his head, then twists his head all the way around. That one is pretty freaky. The Scorpion follows this trick up by turning the guy into a leopard and then vanishes behind a curtain while Paul E. goes into hysterics. Sting investigates the scene and the Scorpion is nowhere to be found, but his voice can still be heard promising to see Sting at Starrcade. The “black magic” aspect helped to kill this angle with the live crowd, and the fact that booker Ole Anderson hadn’t decided who would be the mastermind under the hood of the Black Scorpion didn’t help in the long-run.

Not content with tarnishing pro wrestling, The Black Scorpion also dabbled in ruining magic.

– A video recaps the feud between Doom and the Horsemen. During a Danger Zone interview segment, Ron Simmons & Butch Reed interrupted and scuffled with Ric Flair & Arn Anderson. This led to a match at Halloween Havoc that ended in a double count-out, so the Horsemen lobbied for a rematch and Teddy Long refused until Flair offered to put his yacht on the line. Unbeknownst to Long, the Horsemen put a clause in the contract declaring that Long would be their chauffeur for a day if their member defeats the Doom member in a singles match at the Clash. After the video, both teams are introduced and somehow a couple of coinflips determines that Butch Reed will wrestle Ric Flair.

– Butch Reed (w/Theodore R. Long & Ron Simmons) vs. “Nature Boy” Ric Flair (w/”The Enforcer” Arn Anderson)

Dangerously notes that Ric Flair is at an advantage in a singles match because Butch Reed has been in mainly tag team competition for the past year. Ross antagonizes Teddy Long at ringside by asking if he’s ready to be a chauffeur, while Flair and Reed trade chops before Reed decks Flair with a series of punches. Hacksaw press-slams the Nature Boy and mows him down with a pair of clotheslines, then adds a third as he clotheslines Slick Ric over the top rope. While referee Nick Patrick is busy with Arn Anderson, Ron Simmons stomps Flair at ringside and throws him back in, but Flair bails out the other side for a breather. No such luck, as Reed follows Flair out and levels him on the ramp with a running clothesline. Back inside, they do some chain-wrestling that leads to Reed backsliding Flair for a two-count and the Nature Boy begs off. Ignoring his opponent’s pleas, Reed slugs away and even pulls out a dropkick, but the Dirtiest Player in the Game gouges his eyes to shift the momentum. Flair gets in his shots and tosses Reed over the top rope while the referee is distracted by Simmons. Arn Anderson picks his spots at ringside, striking with a clothesline and a left hand before Flair continues his attack with chops in the ring. Reed battles back with fisticuffs and Flair takes his customary bump over the turnbuckles out to the apron, but he hops down to the floor and Simmons attacks him while Reed distracts the ref. Simmons smashes Flair against the guardrail and throws him back in, but Flair buries a knee to Reed’s gut and takes over. Sporting a busted lip, Flair drops a knee across Reed’s forehead, but he misses a second kneedrop and Reed cleverly applies a figure-four. With help from Anderson, Flair finally gets to the ropes to break the hold and escapes to the apron, but Reed suplexes him back in for a near-fall and plants him with a bodyslam. Reed misses a flying elbowdrop off the top, but he strikes back with a clothesline for a near-fall and busts Flair open above the eye with right hands. A big press slam comes next and Reed stalks Flair back into a corner, but the six-time NWA World Champion takes advantage of the referee’s positioning and collapses Reed with a straight right hand. Ric covers Butch for a close near-fall as Reed gets his foot over the rope with help from Teddy Long. The action is hot and heavy as Reed unleashes more punching, a back-bodydrop, and another press slam. Hacksaw covers and Flair gets his shoulder up at the last moment, but Anderson hedges his bets by yanking the ref out of the ring during the count. Reed blasts Flair with the flying shoulderblock off the top and covers him, but the referee is busy arguing with Teddy Long and misses the pin. As Flair is pulling himself up by the ropes, Reed charges and Flair back-bodydrops him over the top rope down onto Long and Nick Patrick, taking them both out. With the ref out of commission, Simmons clotheslines Flair and celebrates prematurely at ringside while Reed crawls over and covers the Nature Boy, but Anderson comes in and waffles Reed across the back with a chair. While Simmons is still celebrating with his back to the ring, the Enforcer goes out and shoves the ref back in as Flair covers Reed for the winning pinfall in 14:13. **** Although the crowd wasn’t especially lively for this main event matchup, it was a great intense contest, mostly due to Flair’s expertise in taking and selling a holy-shit asskicking. Jim Ross is ecstatic that the Horsemen will receive their rematch for the World Tag Team Championship and he hypes Starrcade one more time before signing off.

The 411: Aside from the main event and a couple of the undercard matches, Thanksgiving Thunder turned out to be a turkey. The International Tag Team Tournament was a dud, and most of the other matches were uninspired and/or featured characters who were not yet over with the crowd. The Black Scorpion angle continued to plumb new depths as the magic tricks were childish and embarrassing. The storyline worked a lot better when it was a mysterious person from Sting's past who had come back for revenge, and any legitimacy was utterly ruined when the Scorpion became a bad supernatural lounge act. With no other big-name options available, Ric Flair would be revealed as the Black Scorpion at Starrcade '90 and booker Ole Anderson was on his way out.

Final Score:  5.0   [ Not So Good ]