IGN interviews 2 Cold Scorpio - May 2000
Posted by admin admin on Saturday, May 25, 2013
Under: ECW Interviews
Interview: 2 Cold Scorpio
He’s been a WWF star, a WCW star and an ECW star – what’s this talented high-flyer up to now?
May 1, 2000
2 Cold Scorpio is perhaps best known as a tag team specialist. The high flying sensation held WCW World Tag Team Titles with Marcus Bagwell, and formed exciting duos with the likes of Faarooq, Terry Funk, and Bob Holly in the WWF. However, he also proved himself to be a stellar singles wrestler in ECW, holding the Television Title. The superb work he did as a heel is what makes his time there as remembered as it is. IGN Wrestling recently got together with 2 Cold to find out what his next move will be.
Blake Norton: What are you currently working on? You haven’t wrestled in a major U.S. promotion full time since leaving the WWF
2 Cold Scorpio: Yes, right now I’m concentrating on All Japan Pro Wrestling. I did a once off for ECW (Cyberslam 2000), and as far as the WWF or WCW go, never say never.
Norton: Did you talk to anybody at Cyberslam? You had a very successful run with ECW a few years ago.
Scorpio: I don’t know about full time, but I wouldn’t mind going back for a nice run against Rob Van Dam or some of the other talent they have there.
Norton: You’ve wrestled for every major wrestling company in the U.S. Which one did you enjoy the most?
Scorpio: I liked ECW a lot. They gave me the chance to do good promos and really get out there and show everybody what I’ve got. As far as the business end, production wise and so forth, the WWF was the best.
Norton: So you feel you had more freedom in ECW as the heel TV champion?
Scorpio: Definitely.
Norton: How would you contrast wrestling in Japan with working in the U.S.?
Scorpio: The Japan style is more physical, less entertainment than it is here in the States. If I had my choice of places to wrestle though, there’s no place like home!
Norton: What did you think of the Flash Funk gimmick you got when you went to the WWF?
Scorpio: The whole idea was Vince’s. He gave it to me, I liked it, he said he’d give it a year to get it over, I said I’d have it over in a few months. I did that. It doesn’t matter to me whether I’m Flash Funk or whoever, I’ll take it to the next level.
Norton: You never won any titles with that gimmick though, and later on changed your name back to 2 Cold Scorpio. Why is it that he didn’t become a mainstream star, was it the gimmick, that he wasn’t pushed enough, what do you feel was the key factor?
Scorpio: I think if they gave it more time, some attention, Funk could have gone any way. With the girls, he was a hot item. It was basically the Godfather gimmick, and that got way over, so it’s not that the character didn’t have potential. I think the timing of the character just wasn’t quite right.
Norton: When you left the WWF last year, there were rumors on the internet that it was due to drug problems.
Scorpio: I had family issues I had to deal with at that point. The WWF was actually going to give me a push.
Norton: So that was the sole factor involved?
Scorpio: Yes.
Norton: You’ve had a lot of tag team partners, you’re probably most famous as a tag team wrestler. What partner did you like teaming with the most?
Scorpio: It’s really hard to say. A tag team is about complementing each other, and my partners and I always did that. Marcus Bagwell was a really good tag team partner, we were really hot together. Ron Simmons was great, I was on the road with one of the greatest veterans of all time. That was a learning experience in itself. Al Snow, Bob Holly, I had a lot of partners down the line. It’s always great to tag up with someone I haven’t had the chance to.
Norton: Who do you respect most in the wrestling business?
Scorpio: Ron Simmons… Godfather… there’s quite a few guys around that when I broke into this business were there to help me out. I appreciate it a lot. As far as having someone to wrestle with, I’d like to have matches with Benoit, Guerrero, Saturn, Hunter, Jericho… there’s a lot of guys in that style. Bagwell, Shane Douglas, some guys down in WCW I feel I can have real good matches with. Bret Hart.
Norton: What do you feel is your best match?
Scorpio: Benoit back in WCW, at one of the Superbrawls.
Norton: I remember one particular match that almost went to a 20 minute draw…
Scorpio: Exactly. That was one of the best matches I’ve ever hard. I also had some great matches with Sabu. I always had a good one with him, he’s a guy who will go out there and sacrifice his body the same way I will. Same thing with Rob Van Dam.
Norton: You’ve been a major star in the U.S. throughout the 90s. Have you any regrets?
Scorpio: Sure, there’s a lot of things I can look back on and wish I did differently. When you’re making the six figures, that’s a lot of money, and you can be careless sometimes. Sometimes you spend more than you need to on a hotel, and instead of knuckling down, you spend too much.
Norton: How would you compare Vince McMahon, Eric Bischoff and Paul Heyman?
Scorpio: Bischoff… I didn’t have any problems with him when I was in WCW. He’s one of the young guys coming up. He has a lot of good ideas. Paul Heyman is a mastermind, when it comes to shows and angles. He has that something in him that brings out the best in everybody. He did that with me down in ECW, in the Philly arena, I could put on better matches there than anywhere in the world.
Norton: What do you think of David Arquette winning the WCW title?
Scorpio: (Laughs) These days anything can happen. It’s entertainment.
Norton: Is there anything left to accomplish in your career?
Scorpio: There’s a lot of things. I’m still yet to hold several titles, I want to get in there and try and get the ball. I feel that if the ball was handed to me, I could go all the way.
Norton: Out of all the companies in the U.S., which would you rather work with full time?
Scorpio: Right now, it’s hard to say. But hey, 2 Cold is always good to go!
Norton: Thanks for talking to us.
Scorpio: I just want to say thanks to all the fans out there on your website and the web. Keep cheering. Keep your eyes open for 2 Cold. I’m always on the rise, and baby, I’ve still got the fire in my eyes!
He’s been a WWF star, a WCW star and an ECW star – what’s this talented high-flyer up to now?
May 1, 2000
2 Cold Scorpio is perhaps best known as a tag team specialist. The high flying sensation held WCW World Tag Team Titles with Marcus Bagwell, and formed exciting duos with the likes of Faarooq, Terry Funk, and Bob Holly in the WWF. However, he also proved himself to be a stellar singles wrestler in ECW, holding the Television Title. The superb work he did as a heel is what makes his time there as remembered as it is. IGN Wrestling recently got together with 2 Cold to find out what his next move will be.
Blake Norton: What are you currently working on? You haven’t wrestled in a major U.S. promotion full time since leaving the WWF
2 Cold Scorpio: Yes, right now I’m concentrating on All Japan Pro Wrestling. I did a once off for ECW (Cyberslam 2000), and as far as the WWF or WCW go, never say never.
Norton: Did you talk to anybody at Cyberslam? You had a very successful run with ECW a few years ago.
Scorpio: I don’t know about full time, but I wouldn’t mind going back for a nice run against Rob Van Dam or some of the other talent they have there.
Norton: You’ve wrestled for every major wrestling company in the U.S. Which one did you enjoy the most?
Scorpio: I liked ECW a lot. They gave me the chance to do good promos and really get out there and show everybody what I’ve got. As far as the business end, production wise and so forth, the WWF was the best.
Norton: So you feel you had more freedom in ECW as the heel TV champion?
Scorpio: Definitely.
Norton: How would you contrast wrestling in Japan with working in the U.S.?
Scorpio: The Japan style is more physical, less entertainment than it is here in the States. If I had my choice of places to wrestle though, there’s no place like home!
Norton: What did you think of the Flash Funk gimmick you got when you went to the WWF?
Scorpio: The whole idea was Vince’s. He gave it to me, I liked it, he said he’d give it a year to get it over, I said I’d have it over in a few months. I did that. It doesn’t matter to me whether I’m Flash Funk or whoever, I’ll take it to the next level.
Norton: You never won any titles with that gimmick though, and later on changed your name back to 2 Cold Scorpio. Why is it that he didn’t become a mainstream star, was it the gimmick, that he wasn’t pushed enough, what do you feel was the key factor?
Scorpio: I think if they gave it more time, some attention, Funk could have gone any way. With the girls, he was a hot item. It was basically the Godfather gimmick, and that got way over, so it’s not that the character didn’t have potential. I think the timing of the character just wasn’t quite right.
Norton: When you left the WWF last year, there were rumors on the internet that it was due to drug problems.
Scorpio: I had family issues I had to deal with at that point. The WWF was actually going to give me a push.
Norton: So that was the sole factor involved?
Scorpio: Yes.
Norton: You’ve had a lot of tag team partners, you’re probably most famous as a tag team wrestler. What partner did you like teaming with the most?
Scorpio: It’s really hard to say. A tag team is about complementing each other, and my partners and I always did that. Marcus Bagwell was a really good tag team partner, we were really hot together. Ron Simmons was great, I was on the road with one of the greatest veterans of all time. That was a learning experience in itself. Al Snow, Bob Holly, I had a lot of partners down the line. It’s always great to tag up with someone I haven’t had the chance to.
Norton: Who do you respect most in the wrestling business?
Scorpio: Ron Simmons… Godfather… there’s quite a few guys around that when I broke into this business were there to help me out. I appreciate it a lot. As far as having someone to wrestle with, I’d like to have matches with Benoit, Guerrero, Saturn, Hunter, Jericho… there’s a lot of guys in that style. Bagwell, Shane Douglas, some guys down in WCW I feel I can have real good matches with. Bret Hart.
Norton: What do you feel is your best match?
Scorpio: Benoit back in WCW, at one of the Superbrawls.
Norton: I remember one particular match that almost went to a 20 minute draw…
Scorpio: Exactly. That was one of the best matches I’ve ever hard. I also had some great matches with Sabu. I always had a good one with him, he’s a guy who will go out there and sacrifice his body the same way I will. Same thing with Rob Van Dam.
Norton: You’ve been a major star in the U.S. throughout the 90s. Have you any regrets?
Scorpio: Sure, there’s a lot of things I can look back on and wish I did differently. When you’re making the six figures, that’s a lot of money, and you can be careless sometimes. Sometimes you spend more than you need to on a hotel, and instead of knuckling down, you spend too much.
Norton: How would you compare Vince McMahon, Eric Bischoff and Paul Heyman?
Scorpio: Bischoff… I didn’t have any problems with him when I was in WCW. He’s one of the young guys coming up. He has a lot of good ideas. Paul Heyman is a mastermind, when it comes to shows and angles. He has that something in him that brings out the best in everybody. He did that with me down in ECW, in the Philly arena, I could put on better matches there than anywhere in the world.
Norton: What do you think of David Arquette winning the WCW title?
Scorpio: (Laughs) These days anything can happen. It’s entertainment.
Norton: Is there anything left to accomplish in your career?
Scorpio: There’s a lot of things. I’m still yet to hold several titles, I want to get in there and try and get the ball. I feel that if the ball was handed to me, I could go all the way.
Norton: Out of all the companies in the U.S., which would you rather work with full time?
Scorpio: Right now, it’s hard to say. But hey, 2 Cold is always good to go!
Norton: Thanks for talking to us.
Scorpio: I just want to say thanks to all the fans out there on your website and the web. Keep cheering. Keep your eyes open for 2 Cold. I’m always on the rise, and baby, I’ve still got the fire in my eyes!
In : ECW Interviews