[1996-12-15-WWF-It's Time] Flash Funk vs Leif Cassidy

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

Vince's "Oh, I know that's right" black voice cracks me up. That aside, Flash Funk is a terrible gimmick. Scorpio didn't need it, the outfit made him look silly, and the name screams midcard for a guy who they could have groomed. Really, you could probably say the same for Snow. And these guys were kept in these roles at a time when the WWF desperately needed all the stars they could get.

 

I don't think WCW cruiserweight matches are a good comparison to this match, since these guys are heavies. But one thing that stood out to me when watching this is that Jim Ross would have been really great at getting over the cruiser matches in WCW.

 

I'm not a huge fan of this match, but you do see the potential in both guys watching it. What's funny is that their WWF gimmicks made them look more indy than their "I'm a wrestler" gimmicks did when they were actually in the indies.

[Tim Evans]

Yeah a Jim Ross/Mike Tenay team back in 96 would have been great. The match was alright but I never really liked Snow as a heel in WWF. Just didn't seem right. Vince's "dancing" needs to be made into a GIF.

[flyonthewall2983]

Oh I'm sure there's one, utilizing his Slammy performance.

[Zenjo]

Oh great. Scorpio gets the dancing gimmick and stupid costume that's got so many wrestlers long term employment and a push to the top of the card.

[PeteF3]

It's eerie how closely Vince's treatment of this Funk gimmick mirrors the early treatment of Adam Rose and the New Day. There's nothing less cool than Michael Cole or Vince McMahon dancing, unless Dude Love is involved. Funk's entrance is ENDLESS but gets pretty much no reaction, since we're never given any reason to care about either him or the Funkettes. Both of these gimmicks reek of guys trying too hard--Funk as a handclapping panderer and Leif desperately attempting to "edgify" himself. Not a bad match but not really one on the level of the more advanced WCW stuff, as this is simply looser, Scorpio's attempts at incorporating his dancing into actual moves don't really work, and Snow still isn't that good at holding a match together in between his big spots.

[Exposer]

Really good opener. Scorpio is the second "high flyer" WWF got in 1996 after Marc Mero (I know, but that's what they thought he was). A good example of WWF trying to bring in the high flying style to it's product. He's a great guy to work openers & get the crowd hot. I thought Snow looked good in this as well. Lots of high spots in this. The belly-to-belly to the floor is brutal. The stretch run is really good with some nice near falls & Flash Funk hitting the 450 for the win.

[Superstar Sleeze]

I wouldn't say it is specifically this match, but I think 1996 in general shows the shift in the WWF landscape. These type of matches used to be the domain of WCW. Two random good, hard working midcarders having a workrate match. Here it is on WWF TV with the announcers extolling it for just that. I actually enjoy the Flash Funk gimmick quite a bit. The jumpsuit was shit, but the coat, hat and dancing is fun. I think wrestling fans just don't like fun sometimes. The babyface shine in this sucked and Scorpio seemed off. Snow doing a bunch of cool moves is so 90s. Overhead belly to belly to the floor was an impressive bump by Scorpio. By the end Scorpio gets a bunch of cool moves in and they are great. His moonsault may be the best ever. Jim Ross blowing the call of the 450 Splash as the Shooting Star Press after being such a prick about Vince not being call moves is rich. It is too bad Vince didn't know to correct him because that would have been great. Fun match, more interesting as a paradigm shift in WWF booking more than anything else but nothing extraordinary and pales in comparison to Rey Jr, Eddy and Benoit at the same time.

[soup23]

Hate Flash gimmick. Continue to think he is pretty spotty at points and in the same Sabu mold for every groundbreaking thing he does in these matches that look awesome, he generally has a shaky moment as well. This match had a few of those and Snow also should carry some blame for being out of position. This was a match that was presented with a lot of flash but ended up looking pretty dated with some nice finishing kicks from Funk. **3/4

[tim]

Dumb gimmick, way too long entrance, but fun match. Leif does some cool stuff, especially his arm-trap headbutts followed by the suplex over the ropes, which Scorp takes a great bump on. Some of Scorpio's dancing offense is pretty neat. This does have an interesting feel of a match in the ring that should be on a WCW midcard, with a dumb WWF gimmick attached.