10 Worst Supernatural Gimmicks

1. The Black Scorpion

Boogeyman Jillian Hall
WWE.com

The height of WCW insanity before Vince Russo literally re-wrote the book on that sort of thing, The Black Scorpion was a painful misfire that reinforced the idea that only WWE could be trusted to not completely expose the industry with supernatural silliness.

It started innocently enough, with a mysterious promo directed at World Champion Sting. Keeping fans guessing, the hooded heel dropped hints of a shared past with 'The Stinger', purporting to know exactly how to destroy the fan favourite and ultimately take his title.

It was a passable way to conceive a brand new rivalry in the absence of any other heels, after numerous go-arounds with Ric Flair began to trigger audience indifference.

With teases intentionally misdirecting viewers to then-WWE Champion The Ultimate Warrior, WCW booked themselves into a corner with each clue, narrowing the margin of who could theoretically be under the mask. They then made things worse by presenting him as a skilled conjurer.

Theoretically employed to unnerve Sting, the amateur magic tricks saw the Black Scorpion rotate an unfortunate audience member's head then turn him into a tiger. It was absurd.

Their eventual Starrcade 1990 steel cage main event completed the farce. Emerging from a spaceship on the stage, the Black Scorpion was battered, bloodied, and eventually unmasked to reveal that it was Ric Flair 'all along'. Bailing WCW out of a creative cul-de-sac, the 'Nature Boy' gambled his credibility yet again in an effort to breathe life into the ludicrous facade.

It was resoundingly dropped immediately following the unmasking.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett