[1996-08-03-ECW-The Doctor Is In] Chris Jericho vs 2 Cold Scorpio

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

Not a match I expected to like as much as I did, as pre-WWF Jericho usually doesn't look so good. But this match was really strong. They were making a conscious effort to be different, doing lots of matwork and offense you don't see every day. Sometimes, it looked great, sometimes it didn't, but A for effort. These two worked well enough together that this might have been a great feud had they had a series.

[Zenjo]

It had a distinctly indie feel. You wouldn't see a match like this in WWF/WCW at the time. There aren't that many ECW matches on the set that feature 2 wresters I like, and this had entertaining moments. Ultimately it was far too ambitious, especially considering their apparent lack of ring time together. They were trying to pull off a match they weren't capable of, and you don't get more indie than that.

[PeteF3]

Much better than the Sabu match, as the matwork is more dynamic and better-executed. There's still moments of meandering from both and sloppiness mostly from Jericho, but Scorpio holds this together. I actually would have preferred more of the mat stuff to the high spots as they were busting out some wacky lucha-esque submissions for a little bit.

[soup23]

I liked this match a lot but it showed me how good Benoit is at times compared to someone like Jericho. Scorpio played his role here well as he did at SuperBrawl III but Benoit was able to create a much more focused and restrained atmosphere around him whereas here with Jericho, things did tend to drift into indy spotfest territory a little too much and they lost steams as the match progressed. The matches went close to the same amount of time which makes it an apt comparison in my opinion. That isn't to take away from this match which was really good, but it was something I thought about while watching. ***1/2

[tim]

Man Scorpio is so much better than Jericho in 96. This is a good match which does drag a bit toward the end, though the out of nowhere shooting star press for the finish kind of makes up for it. There is this one exchange toward the beginning where they each put the other in a nutty submission like something out of a Negro Navarro/Solar match.

[Superstar Sleeze]

2 Cold Scorpio vs Chris Jericho - ECW Doctor Is In 1996

Theres an excellent sequence where Scorpio misses a moonsault and Jericho immediately gets to the middle rope on a splash before Scorpio can roll over. We need that type of urgency in wrestling more often!

An underrated ECW departure was 2 Cold Scorpio, he was their workrate workhorse once they lost him there was a huge vacuum. What happened to him after Flsh Funk? I remember him being apart of the Job Squad but what after that? Wasn’t he in NOAH for a bit?

As far as ECW workrate this is pretty damn good and pretty cutting-edge. Jericho before WWF is pretty hit and miss in the ring but he was a hit here! They do the fast nearfalls then bust out some wicked cool Lucha submissions and then Scorpio busts out his favorite knucklelock sequence. 

The heat segment was strong too. I don’t remember Scorpio being soo good at kicks and knees. Lots of great pump kicks and knee lifts. Good missed hope spots by Jericho so when he did hit that Springboard Dropkick he does it looked great. I really enjoyed the bomb throwing down the stretch. There was some waiting to hit the move but for the most part they were urgent and the offense looked good. There were missed moves! I love that. So the transitions to each guy made sense. The finish was set up by Jericho missing a twisting splash. Scorpio nails a tombstone and a strong Shooting Star Press to win. Very fun 90s workrate Match. ***3/4