[1992-11-18-WCW-Clash of the Champions XXI] Ron Simmons & 2 Cold Scorpio vs Cactus Jack & Tony Atlas & The Barbarian (Handicap)

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

Scorpio debuts in WCW! He gets over big right away because of his high flying moves, especially with the finish. I guess WCW had overturned the top rope rule by this time.

[Tim Evans]

Ghetto Odds match? Good introduction for Scorpio.

[shoe]

A great debut. Some of his timing was off a little on a couple of things, but he came across as a star. In typical WCW fashion they drop the ball with him. The promo from Simmons and Scorpio was a tad lackluster.

[rainmakerrtv]

Anybody know what happened to "Hurricane" Robbie Walker, who was originally supposed to be Simmons' partner for this match? It's been commonly said that he was later "Hard Work" Bobby Walker in WCW, but I refuse to believe that. Robbie Walker was taller, leaner, had a longer neck, and quite frankly wasn't nearly as clumsy as Bobby Walker.

[El-P]

Scorpio is Simmons new partner because.... well, he's a "brother" apparently. Doesn't matter, Scorp looks like a star here, and should habe become much more than he ever did in WCW or WWF. Thankfully he showed up in ECW.

[Kevin Ridge]

They never even announce who Scorpio is but this was quite the debut. The 450 splash got a big pop from the crowd.

[PeteF3]

"Ghetto Odds"...sheesh. Some awkward announcing as Scorpio is a mystery replacement for Robbie Walker and they can't identify him by name. This is a particularly vivid Watts-era memory for me--Scorpio's 450 splash caused my MOTHER, who happened to be in the living room as this was on, to mark out. Scorp is instantly drawing a bigger reaction than Simmons--this is a guy who should have been way bigger of a star than he was. He was charismatic, he could fly, he had urban appeal, he could mat wrestle...he could do everything except talk, at least at this point.

[WingedEagle]

Scorp is instantly drawing a bigger reaction than Simmons--this is a guy who should have been way bigger of a star than he was. He was charismatic, he could fly, he had urban appeal, he could mat wrestle...he could do everything except talk, at least at this point.

Couldn't agree more. He looked great here and the crowd was incredibly hot for him. On the other hand, absolutely nothing about the presentation of this match suggested that Ron Simmons is a world champion, but rather a plucky, powerhouse babyface. I would've liked it if the announcers had a name for Scorpio given how long the match went, as it would've been more effective in establishing him than having Simmons introduce him afterwards.

 

**3/4

[DMJ]

I'd have to rewatch, but does Simmons even come out with the belt?

 

I mentioned in the Megathread that I wanted to open up discussion about Simmons' title run and I might still. One topic would be the booking of his title run in terms of main event feuds. At the previous Clash, he wrestles Cactus Jack and it's nothing special. Then, at Havoc, he wrestles Barbarian. You can see why - Barbarian is in great shape, almost a mirror of Simmons muscularly, and, I'm thinking based on his WWF tenure, seen as more of a "name" than Cactus Jack. But, in hindsight, they may have been better off flipping things. Muscles or not, WWF past or not, Cactus Jack was a better, more intriguing character and one that, potentially, could've carried Simmons through a really good Havoc match - especially if they would have let them use some sort of stip (preferably not one based around retrieving an article of clothing from a pole). That means, at CoC XX, they should've run Barbarian/Simmons and maybe let it end with some sort of beatdown to get Jack more over as a threat.

[garretta]

This was more of a showcase for Scorpio than anything else, and what a showcase it was. You'd have thought he was the main event star and Simmons was the midcarder. As Eagle said, the World title is pretty much beside the point where Simmons is concerned. This match isn't even the main event on the Clash card; Sting-Rude in the King of Cable semifinals is.

 

JR and Jesse should have known Scorpio's name and used it throughout the match, even if Cappetta couldn't get it out during the intros. On the other hand, having no name certainly added to Scorpio's aura: someone who for all anyone knows is a random bum off the street came into the ring against three of the toughest heels in WCW and did stuff like that? He must be someone really special.

 

I guess Jake would have been involved somehow if he hadn't left, probably as a cornerman. It almost seems like they were going for Simmons/Jake as the ultimate blowoff here, and that would have been something to see.

 

This should have gotten more than eight minutes, given that the Clash is the next biggest thing to a pay-per-view and that this was supposed to be a major feud involving the World champion. The match was so short that JR barely had time to reference Simmons' football background, and Jesse didn't really have time to get any decent lines in, which is a real shame. It's almost like they already knew that Simmons was a dud as World champion and wanted to get the focus back on the man who should have been the top dog all along (Sting).