Black History Month in Wrestling Spotlight: 2 Cold Scorpio

This month, Daily DDT will look at black men and women who are under valued for their contributions to professional wrestling. 2 Cold Scorpio is near the top of this list.

Tracing its roots back nearly 100 years, Black History Month is the annual celebration of historical accomplishments of African Americans. During this time, sports and entertainment looks at those who are pioneers in each space.

Daily DDT is taking the time to recognize Black professional wrestlers, but especially those that are frequently overlooked for their contributions. The first of this series looks at one Charles Scaggs, better known under the name 2 Cold Scorpio.

He’s a name that recent wrestling fans may not recognize, but his innovative move set has influenced some of the top wrestlers of today. Moonsaults. Front-flip leg drops. The 450 Splash, (then known as the Scorpio Splash,) all these moves have a different place in today’s wrestling scene.

But back in the late 80s and early 90s, 2 Cold Scorpio was breaking these moves out to shock and awe wrestling fans around the world. 2 Cold Scorpio made his name in places like Japan and Mexico before his breakthrough moment came in WCW where he was introduced as the secret partner of Ron Simmons (another stalwart in Black wrestling history) at Clash of the Champions XXI.

This moment was the proverbial launching pad for 2 Cold Scorpio that would lead to him being the inspiration of many stars in the game today.

The best moments of 2 Cold Scorpio’s career are well worth watching for old and new wrestling fans alike. During his brief WCW run he would win the tag team titles with Marcus Bagwell before he took the moniker “Buff Bagwell.”

He was questionably released in 1994, but it was that mistake by WCW that would open the door for 2 Cold Scorpio to become a cult favorite over in the land of Extreme Championship Wrestling.

As a part of ECW, 2 Cold Scorpio put together a catalog of classic matches and rivalries. During this run, he won the ECW Television Title four times, a belt that in the moment was one of the most coveted titles in North American wrestling.

He had great matches against the likes of Sabu and Rob Van Dam, while trading the title with Dean Malenko and Eddie Guerrero. He even had a tag team run with The Sandman. These moments and matches are worth dusting off the WWE Network to watch once again.

Yes, 2 Cold Scorpio did have a run in the WWE, but these career moments aren’t as joyous as others. He was branded under a new name as Flash Funk and that says it all about how this run would go. WWE Creative went with the common trope of putting an African American wrestler in the dancing/musical gimmick where he would flounder for three years.

His return in 2007 was even more underwhelming, but don’t count that as a mark against the fact that 2 Cold Scorpio deserves more appreciation within wrestling today.

Throughout Black History Month, Daily DDT will look at men and women that are underappreciated for their contributions to the industry. 2 Cold Scorpio was the first name that came to mind. Many of the moves that are used on television each week originated when 2 Cold Scorpio brought them out.