10 Cringeworthy Pre-Russo WCW Moments
5. The Black Scorpion Saga
Starrcade could trace lineage back to before World Championship Wrestling was even a standalone company.
Right up until the 1990 version of the pay-per-view, Starrcade was presented by the NWA. Starrcade '90 would be the final one to be promoted by that wrestling institution, WCW broke away from the governing body shortly afterwards.
The main event was not a great note to go out on, in some respects. Seeking that one big angle worthy of the year's largest show, WCW's brain trust decided to have Sting face The Black Scorpion.
There was just one problem; bookers hadn't figured out who would play the Scorpion, so they turned to Ric Flair last minute.
A main event Steel Cage encounter itself wasn't the problem, even though it was painfully obvious that Flair was beneath the mask. The main issues came with cheesy magic tricks played by The Black Scorpion, not aided by slapdash production techniques.
By the time the Scorpion emerged for his Starrcade match in a spaceship, it really seemed like WCW's top brass had lost the plot entirely.