Starrcade '90: Collision Course — The Black Scorpion Finally Came Off

Eaton and Z-Man open with a conventional wrestling match, which already gives them an advantage over much of the card. Zenk uses dropkicks, arm work and a dive to keep the pace active, while Eaton counters with sharper transitions and the kind of bumping that makes ordinary offense look meaningful.

The final stretch improves after a slow opening. Eaton survives the superkick, avoids the missile dropkick and immediately converts the mistake into an inside cradle for the pin. C+ reflects a solid opener that becomes better as it progresses and reminds the audience how effective simple wrestling can be.

The South African team gets just enough offense to establish that this is technically a match before the Steiners overwhelm them. Rick absorbs a brief flurry, Scott enters and the power difference immediately becomes the only story that matters.

DeKlerk's attempted dive is memorable mostly because Rick catches or avoids the danger without treating it seriously. Scott finishes the match with the Frankensteiner in barely two minutes. D gives credit for the Steiners looking explosive, but the quarterfinal is essentially a squash attached to a tournament bracket.

The match is interesting because all four wrestlers bring visibly different styles. Adams supplies sharp strikes, Smiley works smooth mat exchanges, and the Mexican team introduces quicker headscissors and springboard movement that is unusual for a 1990 WCW crowd.

The problem is that five minutes do not give the styles time to blend. The audience reacts to individual high spots but never fully invests in either team before Konnan gets the pin. D reflects a historically curious match whose novelty is stronger than its construction.

Muta is the only wrestler who consistently wakes the audience, and his kicks and handspring elbow immediately change the energy whenever he enters. Saito provides compact suplexes and strikes, while Morgan and Victory rely on basic control work and interference.

The match ends after the New Zealand team miscommunicates and Muta uses a bridging German suplex. There is enough competence to avoid disaster, but the crowd spends long stretches waiting for Muta's next spot. D reflects a functional quarterfinal without enough heat or time to become memorable.

The Soviet wrestlers approach the match with legitimate amateur intensity, throwing suplexes and holds that the Canadian team does not always appear prepared to receive. One belly-to-belly drops Johnson dangerously, and several exchanges look more like an uncomfortable style clash than cooperative pro wrestling.

The finish is even worse, with Hashimikov scoring a count that appears disputed immediately by the participants. Four minutes feel longer because the teams never establish a common rhythm. F reflects the tournament's clearest failure and the match contemporary readers later identified most often as the night's worst.

The computerized time prediction gives the match a simple hook: Wallstreet is supposed to win before the countdown expires. Taylor attacks quickly to challenge that premise, while Wallstreet slows the match with arm work, an abdominal stretch and deliberate control.

Taylor's comeback creates several credible near falls before Wallstreet catches him with the Stock Market Crash inside the predicted window. C reflects a professionally worked television-style match that looks better after four uneven tournament bouts. Neither wrestler creates a major Starrcade moment, but both understand how to build six minutes around a clear idea.

Sid Vicious and Danny Spivey reunite for a one-minute destruction designed entirely to remind the audience how imposing the Skyscrapers can look. Big Cat and the Motor City Madman offer almost no meaningful resistance before the power offense begins.

The double powerbomb ends the match as soon as it has established its purpose. There is no competitive drama, but the crowd responds to Sid and the squash communicates exactly what WCW intends. D+ rewards effectiveness rather than depth; as a wrestling match it barely exists, but as a showcase it works.

Morton and Rich work with enough pace to prevent the Freebirds from settling into a long control segment. Gibson's presence on crutches and Little Richard Marley at ringside eventually become more important than the wrestling, turning the match toward the angle WCW actually wants to advance.

Marley accidentally falls onto Garvin after Gibson uses the crutch, and Morton takes the pin while the Freebirds' frustration explodes afterward. D reflects a short, lively enough tag match whose real purpose is storyline cleanup. The action is acceptable but never feels important to Starrcade.

Konnan and Rick attempt some mat wrestling before the Steiners begin imposing their size. The Mexican team tries to create movement with quick tags and takedowns, but the match repeatedly looks awkward because the teams never settle into a common pace.

Rick eventually catches Misterio's aerial attempt and turns it into a powerbomb for the pin in under three minutes. D reflects another tournament match that functions as a bracket result more than a complete contest. The Steiners look dominant, but the audience receives little reason to believe the outcome could change.

The Japanese team handles the Soviet wrestlers' physical style more comfortably than Canada did. Muta and Zangiev exchange quick mat counters, while Saito is willing to meet the heavier suplexes with his own compact offense.

The three-minute runtime still prevents the match from becoming more than a collection of interesting exchanges. Saito eventually finishes Zangiev with the Saito suplex and sends Japan to the final. D- gives credit for a smoother style clash while recognizing that another abbreviated tournament match cannot create meaningful drama.

Luger and Hansen are better here than at Halloween Havoc because the rope gives their brawling a clear structure. Hansen uses it to whip and choke Luger, both men fight around ringside, and the crowd becomes increasingly invested as Luger begins touching the corners.

The finish damages an otherwise effective fight. Luger reaches the fourth corner while the original referee is down, replacement referee Nick Patrick declares Hansen the winner after his own circuit, and Randy Anderson revives to award Luger the championship. B- credits the physicality and strong crowd response while docking the match for another needlessly complicated title change.

The match explodes immediately because the street-fight rules remove every reason to slow down. Belts, chairs and the ramp become weapons within moments, and all four wrestlers bleed while trading heavy shots that feel startlingly modern for a 1990 WCW pay-per-view.

The action keeps escalating through spinebusters, piledrivers, a superplex and constant saves. Nobody waits for a formal tag rhythm because the match is built around simultaneous fights and sudden near falls. The crowd reacts to the chaos more intensely than almost anything else on the card.

A double-pin draw protects Doom but denies the brawl a satisfying conclusion. A- still reflects the clear match of the night and one of WCW's most influential early street fights. The finish is disappointing, yet the seven-minute sprint demonstrates a style the promotion would explore much more aggressively in the years ahead.

The final finally gives the tournament enough time for personalities to emerge. Muta's speed and strikes contrast with the Steiners' power, Saito brings compact suplexes, and the Japanese team takes advantage whenever Scott's impatience distracts the referee.

Rick absorbs the extended control segment before Scott's hot tag accelerates the match. Muta and Saito use the ring bell and double-team offense to create believable danger, while the Steiners keep surviving through strength and explosive counters.

Rick ultimately makes an unseen tag and catches Saito with a top-rope sunset flip to win the tournament. B- reflects the bracket's best complete match and a satisfying victory for the Steiners. It is not good enough to justify all six earlier tournament bouts, but it gives the concept a respectable ending.

The entrance is more memorable than the match. Multiple Black Scorpions appear, the real challenger descends in an elaborate pod and the production tries to turn months of mystery into a major spectacle. Once the bell rings, the energy disappears.

Flair's problem is impossible: he must wrestle an eighteen-minute cage match without moving, bumping or reacting like Ric Flair. That forces him into generic headlocks, clubbing offense and deliberately unfamiliar transitions, while Sting struggles to create heat against an opponent the audience already suspects.

The match finally improves when Sting begins using the cage and exposing pieces of blond hair beneath the mask. Sting wins with a top-rope crossbody, fights off the additional Scorpions and eventually unmasks Flair during a rushed post-match scene.

F reflects a historically famous reveal attached to a painfully dull championship match. Sting and Flair are capable of greatness together, which makes the deliberate suppression of their chemistry even more frustrating. The Black Scorpion angle ends, but the payoff validates almost none of the months spent reaching it.