What happens when a former Pizza Hut executive takes control of one of the biggest professional wrestling promotions in the world? According to Jim Cornette, disastrous gimmicks, declining audiences, and one of the most chaotic periods in WCW history.
Jim Cornette revisits the controversial reign of Jim Herd, the former regional Pizza Hut manager who was hired to run World Championship Wrestling after Turner Broadcasting purchased Jim Crockett Promotions in 1988. With WCW competing against Vince McMahon’s WWF, Herd attempted to transform the company’s gritty wrestling product into a more family-friendly spectacle.
From the infamous Ding Dongs tag team and the never-realized Hunchbacks gimmick to Arachniman’s Spider-Man-inspired character and RoboCop’s bizarre appearance alongside Sting, Cornette breaks down some of the most ridiculous creative decisions in WCW history.
Cornette also revisits the Black Scorpion storyline, a mysterious masked villain introduced to challenge Sting in 1990. After months of elaborate magic tricks, changing identities, and increasingly bizarre television segments, the storyline culminated at Starrcade 1990 with Ric Flair revealed as the man behind the mask.
As WCW’s television ratings and ticket sales declined, tensions between Herd and the company’s biggest stars continued to grow. Cornette explains how Ric Flair’s eventual departure for the WWF in 1991 became a defining moment in the rivalry between wrestling’s two biggest promotions.
From backstage power struggles to failed wrestling gimmicks and corporate interference, Cornette shares his unfiltered perspective on how Jim Herd’s leadership changed WCW and what happens when executives try to reinvent a business they don’t understand.
About Cornette Side of the Ring:
Legendary wrestling manager and historian Jim Cornette pulls back the curtain on outrageous, infamous, and unforgettable moments in pro wrestling, offering his unfiltered perspective and opinions in a companion series to Dark Side of the Ring.
#sports #wrestling #wcw
Chapters:
00:00 How a Pizza Hut executive took over WCW
00:37 Jim Cornette on WCW vs. WWF
01:04 Turner Broadcasting hires Jim Herd
01:54 Jim Herd’s plan to reinvent WCW
02:56 The infamous Ding Dongs tag team
04:10 The Hunchbacks and Big Josh gimmicks
04:54 Arachniman and the Spider-Man controversy
05:22 RoboCop makes his bizarre WCW debut
06:06 WCW’s declining ratings and ticket sales
06:45 Sting and the Black Scorpion storyline
07:24 The Black Scorpion’s magic tricks
08:14 Starrcade 1990: Who is the Black Scorpion?
08:53 Ric Flair is revealed as the Black Scorpion
09:43 Why Ric Flair left WCW for the WWF
09:57 Jim Herd’s departure from WCW
10:08 Jim Cornette on Jim Herd’s legacy
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