The wrestling career of 2 Cold Scorpio is often overlooked when looking at the best wrestlers from the ‘90s. Scorpio had stints in ECW, WCW and WWE as part of his United States journey. The work in Japan often led to greater success when connecting with the audience there. Scorpio was unlike anyone else in the industry when it came to his flashy in-ring style. Paul Heyman was the only U.S. promoter to truly believe in his talent.
The potential of Scorpio could have seen him become a bigger star, but that shouldn’t take away from his accomplishments. Diehard fans who followed Scorpio’s career witnessed the memorable matches and innovative moments that contributed to the wrestling industry. Unfortunately, not everyone kept their eye on his work and it led to Scorpio being an overlooked wrestler from ahead of his time.
The Rise Of 2 Cold Scorpio
The potential of 2 Cold Scorpio was obvious from the start. Wrestling wasn’t necessarily ready for a fast-paced and high-flying wrestler in the major promotions, but Scorpio contributed in various ways. WCW signing Scorpio in the early ‘90s provided some solid tag team moments with Buff Bagwell. However, a lack of chemistry between the two held them back.
ECW was the promotion where Scorpio showed his greatest potential in the United States. Paul Heyman looked for hungry young talents who weren’t given a fair chance in WWE or WCW at the time. Scorpio fit the mold and started having show-stealing matches on a regular basis. The diehard fans loved the flashy persona of Scorpio along with the wild in-ring moves.
Few wrestlers used the top rope or weapons as effectively as Scorpio in his ECW run. Other talents were breaking out with the hardcore matches, but Scorpio used the weapons as a prop rather than make that his entire identity. Heyman trusted Scorpio enough to have him win the ECW TV Championship on four occasions.
The Sandman and Scorpio teamed up for an ECW Tag Team Championship reign together. Scorpio seemed prone to move into the main event picture for a bigger role, but he was still chasing a bigger opportunity. The ECW run of Scorpio, unfortunately, ended before it could peak when WWE came calling.
2 Cold Scorpio In WWE Was A Wasted Opportunity
ECW was a great place for wrestlers to rebuild or rebrand their careers, but most talents wanted to get the bigger contracts in WWE or WCW. To his credit, 2 Cold Scorpio wasn’t searching for another WCW run after they used him poorly. WWE was the better bet since they were considered the top promotion when he initially joined.
Scorpio was renamed Flash Funk and given a peculiar gimmick change of dancing before matches. The Funkettes was the name given to the ladies dancing with him on his walk to the ring. WWE essentially banked on that act working and didn’t even give Scorpio a chance to get over with his talent. The matches would see him delivering impressive moves, but there was nothing for the audience to invest in character-wise.
Feuds with Terry Funk and Ron Simmons went nowhere since they were the higher prioritized talent over Scorpio. WWE’s last effort of finding a new role came in the embarrassing JOB Squad faction of the lower card enhancement talents. The era of Flash Funk ended in a whimper as Scorpio left the company after losing all his momentum.
2 Cold Scorpio Has A Massive Underrated Legacy
2 Cold Scorpio never had another run quite as successful as his ECW run of the mid-90s after his WWE release. A short tenure in ECW saw him having a few matches before making Japan his primary wrestling home. All-Japan Pro Wrestling and Pro Wrestling NOAH became the long-term fixtures of Scorpio for the next chapter of his career.
Not every wrestler needs to make it in the United States if they feel happy and taken care of in a Japanese promotion. Scorpio played a huge role in Japanese promotions looking for more American wrestlers for their tours since he got over so well. The innovative style was still fascinating to watch, but other talents would be influenced by Scorpio to take it to other levels.
Wrestling has changed dramatically throughout the years with the use of the top rope increasing and natural athleticism becoming more valuable. Scorpio’s success and ability to entertain the audience certainly helped that shift take place. Recent years have seen independent promotions in the United States bringing him in for the nostalgia as fans love him. Scorpio may not be viewed as an all-time great, but diehard wrestling fans will tell you he was ahead of his time as a must-watch talent.