On this date in WCW history: Will the real Black Scorpion please stand up?

Bad promos, cheap parlor tricks and a half-baked program that was dead on arrival. Is this the work of The Ultimate Warrior?

No, but that didn't stop World Championship Wrestling (WCW) from implying the Black Scorpion was indeed Jim Hellwig, suspected of taking the first bus out of Stamford to seek revenge on Sting, his former "Blade Runner."

On this date in WCW history, after a month-long build of taunting vignettes, Stinger finally got his hands on ol' Scorpio at Clash of the Champions XII, taking a pretty significant beating before roaring back and securing the win.

Following the bout, Sting ripped the Black Scorpion's mask off to reveal ... another mask! What the ding-dong blazes is going on here? Then, lo and behold, a second Black Scorpion appears on the entrance ramp! Which one is the real McCoy???

On Sept. 5, 1990, Sting had, in fact, wrestled "The Latin Heartthrob," Al Perez, while Ole Anderson portrayed the Black Scorpion on the ramp. Anderson was to continue in the lead role until he was sidelined with a broken arm.

It was probably for the better.

WCW eventually shit-canned the entire program and had Sting unmask the Black Scorpion to reveal Ric Flair, furthering their feud and chalking up the masked tormentor angle as "head games."

Indeed.

Here's a tearjerker of a tribute to the Black Scorpion: