RF Video Shoot Interview with Too Cold Scorpio

This interview was filmed on 10/17/04, shortly after an independent show in Philadelphia, PA. It lasted for one hour and twenty-three minutes.


Too Cold is asked if he was a fan of wrestling growing up. He said that he was and watched wrestling in Texas while growing up then the AWA when he moved to Colorado. He said that his first love was football though.


He got into wrestling in 1984. He was at home smoking weed when he ran into the building mnager of his apartment, who told him that he was a pro wrestler. Scorpio didnt believe him, describing him as a 185lbs soaking wet with a brick in his pocket. One day, he claimed that he got "high and drunk" enough to go down and check him out. He went to a house that had a ring in the backyard and he got in and did some flips. From there, he got into wrestling.


Scorpio broke in with two guys, "Magic" Michael Starr and Jeff Gold, and they would watch moves that they saw on TV and perform them on each other inside of the apartment buildings that they were supposed to be working on or would wrestle on the grass.


The first promotion he worked for was Rocky Mountain Wrestling. Scorpio said that he also drove the ring truck and would help set it up too. He would make between $20-30 per show. He said that Colonel DeBeers and Buddy Rose took him under their wing and taught him how to do things right in the ring.


After working for a while in Colorado, he went over to the dojo in New Japan. He got there when Vader came to a show in Colorado while he was the European Champion. Vader thought that he would be great as a junior heavyweight in New Japan. They became friends and worked on a tape to send to New Japan and six months later, Scorpio was over there training.


Scorpio goes through a typical day at the dojo. They would wake up around 6am then clean the dojo before they began training. They would start by doing anywhere from 500-1,000 squats, 500 pushups, 300 situpts, then get a water break before wrestling for an hour, then another water break before taking 100 bumps. After that they would spar then get a fifteen minute break before taking a five mile hike around Tokyo. They would break that up into teams, with the losing team having to do pushups. He said the day finished around 4:00pm and all you wanted to do after that was to crawl into bed.


Scorpio said that he was the only American in his class. He said that Chris Benoit finished training before he arrived and stayed for a few weeks after that but went back home. Scorpio puts over Benoit for helping him while he was there as he was the only other person who spoke English. Other notables in Scorpio's class include Yuji Nagata, Tenzan, and Nishimura.


Scorpio said that his first few matches over there he got the shit kicked out of him and learned that you had to fight to get in your offense. He then worked in the Junior Heavyweight Tournament, which featured Jushin Liger, Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, and Fit Finlay among others. Scorpio puts over their wrestling ability. He said that Guerrero could work with anyone and that Finlay taught him a "ring lesson" by kicking his ass. Scorpio said that he deserved that after he approached Finlay, a veteran, about what he was going to do in their match.


From Japan, he went over to work in Mexico. Scorpio said it was fun, putting over how cheap it was to get marijuana. He said he was there with Kokina Maximus (Yokozuna) who taught him how to roll the best blunts. While there, he said that he disliked Mil Mascaras, calling him an "arrogant ass." He had no problems with El Canek or El Santo. His favorite opponents were Negro Casas, Silver King, and the Villanos. He also put over Andre the Giant, stating that despite being old and broken down, was as stiff as could be in the ring. He puts over his overhand punch, stating it was like a redwood tree falling on top of your head.


In comparing the differences between Japan and Mexico, Scopio said that Japanese style is a lot stiffer but that Mexico's travel is brutal and they worked more days. They always traveled by bus and at times, would have to use a city bus to get to the venues and they were overcrowded and had no place to sit.


Scorpio is then asked how he got into WCW. He said that Vader helped get him in when they WCW was looking for a partner for Ron Simmons when Butch Reed left after getting into trouble and Ron's other partner wasn't working out so Vader showed Scorpio's tape to Bill Watts and that led to him getting an offer.


When asked about Watts, Scorpio stated that Watts told him that he was racist. Scorpio actually appreciated that Watts told him that upfront, as now he knew where he was coming from. he does state that Watts let the N-word slip out once in front of him. Scorpio calls Watts a good businessman and that he always did right by him but he was still an asshole.


Scorpio is now asked about the WCW "cocaine" party that took place in St. Thomas. He said that Flair opened a Gold's Gym down there and Flair invited some guys to do a show. Scorpio said he was the only black guy there. He said that Buddy Lee Parker was there, who we calls a snake in the grass. He also had a problem with Brian Pillman, who he said called himself "Flyin'" yet couldnt fly and might have been racist. Anyway, Scorpio said that he was walking along Flair's side of the island wearing his g-string, with his dick hanging out while some of the wrestlers wives and girlfriends were looking at him. Anyway, at an autograph session, Steamboat and Flair's sginificant others were pushing on him and Scorpio told them to back off, as he didnt want married women, before they wound up with some "dick in their mouth."


After that session, Scopio was with the Nasty Boys, who loved to party and who he also called "brothers from the hood stuck in a white man's body" always knew where to get stuff and wound up getting some "snowflakes." Scorpio said that he was an idiot and had the boy party in his room were everyone was blowing lines. Scorpio also said that it was potent stuff that would have you standing on the walls then chewing your gums. Anyway, Parker and Pillman were there and talking about how they were going on Flair's boat in the morning with Arn Anderson. Scorpio said that they went down to the boat, half-drunk and high on cocaine, and that was how rumors got started. Scorpio said that everyone in the room was using cocaine and thinks that Pillman and Parker started running their mouths. Scorpio also said that he was the most over guy on the island as he was the only black guy on the card. He and Marcus Bagwell wrestled against the Nasty Boys, who hated Bagwell and beat the shit out of him.


After the tour, Scorpio went to CNN to cut promos. Once there, they told him to take a drug test. Scorpio said that he would take it later as he was here for interviews. He also knew that after 72 hours, the cocaine would be out of his system. He tested positive for marijuana and ended up having to take classes on that with Booker T, who also smoked a ton of pot then. While in the program, he tested positive twice for pot and was told one more failure he would be fired. Scorpio said he got the "gold seal" box and knew if he drank that, he would pass everything but they told him not to worry about the other test now and put it off. He went back to work on the road and was tested then and he was found to be positive then fired. Scorpio says that Flair was slandering his name by stating he was fired for being a cokehead.


Scorpio is asked about teaming with Bagwell. Scorpio said that it was like teaming with a bitch and calls him a punk. He shits on Bagwell some more before telling a story. He said that while on a tour in Europe, they had rooms next to each other and while Scorpio claims he was fucking his girl's brains out, Bagwell was in the room next to hi arguing with his lady because he couldnt fuck. The next day, Bagwell was pissed that he couldnt get his girl bumped up to a business class on the flight and went over to him and wanted him to get up and leave. Scorpio said that he cussed out Bagwell and that the stewardess had to calm him down. He threatened Bagwell then touched his lady on the shoulder and told her that she would find out why the call him "Too Cold."  After that, Scorpio said that he had no respect for Bagwell as you stick up for your girl, no matter what situation.


He is asked if he ever had any problems with Sting over the scorpion gimmick. He said that Sting had a problem with him but he didnt have one with Sting. Scorpio mentioned that one day, Sting told him that the gimmick was his but Scorpio mentioned that he was using it first. Scorpio then puts over Sting as being a good worker and after a while, they hashed it out and he removed the scorpion from his tights and replaced it with "Too Cold."


Now, Scorpio is asked about several workers from WCW. He put over Muta as a guy who taught him a lot about technique and selling. He also said that he was a great guy. He liked Scotty Flamingo but said that he had the shittiest crossbody. He said that after a few months, Pillman finally said hi to him but he usually worked with Steve Austin in their tag matches. He then said that he did not want to say anything else bad about him as he was deceased. When he first met Paul Heyman in WCW, he said he was a "motherfucking bitch" who would fight with women. He liked working with Barry Windham and said that Tom Zenk could work but that he had some issues.


Onto the next WCW incident, this time the fight between Arn Anderson and Sid Vicious. Scorpio starts by stating that you should never book a match and a flight on the same day as everyone at the time was rushing around and taking pills and drinking to cope. He said he was smoking hash in his room on the second floor when he heard fighting downstairs. He thought that Vader was fighting someone so he rushed downstairs and saw blood all over the place then saw Sid stabbing Arn with scissors so he went over and pushed them apart. He then looked at Arn and said that his nose was almost turned upside down. He said that Sid then looked at him before putting his foot through a glass door that led to the lobby. Vader was in there talking on the phone with his wife then Vader tackled Sid. Scorpio said that the cops came and he ended up going to the hospital to fill out the paperwork for Sid. He also calls Flair and Steamboat pussies for not helping to break up the fight, especially since their friend was involved and it happened on the same floor as their rooms.


Scorpio is now asked about Mick Foley's ear. Scorpio said that it was not his fault, as Foley claims in his book. Scorpio loves Foley but says that he wrestled before his match and Scorpio had the ropes tightened for him, because he was a high-flyer. He forgot to remind the ring crew and when Foley did his hangman spot, Vader took off anf hit him and you could see his ear fly off and land on the ground. Ring announcer Gary Cappetta went over and picked it up with a tissue and they put in on ice. Scorpio said that if he immediately went to the hospital, they could have put it back on but Foley wrestled for another fifteen minutes then after that spent another fifteen cutting promos and taking pictures then after waiting an hour and a half, decided to go to the hospital but it was unable to get sewn up.


He is now asked about the incident between him and Hawk in North Korea. Scorpio said that because of that, Flair and Eric Bischoff tried to blackball him from New Japan. Scorpio starts by saying that he hates to kick dirt on someone who is dead. He said that when the tour started, he had problems with Flair and was gonig to kick his ass. The promoters pleaded with him not to do anything and he gave them his word. Anyway, Scorpio saw Hawk sucking up to Flair and called him out for that, which caused Hawk to mutter " fuck you nigger" under his breath. The next day, Flair, who was traveling by himself in a Mercedes instead of on the bus with the boys. Anyway, Hawk was with Flair and looking around, almost acting as a bodyguard, which prompted Too Cold to say "let the pussy ride by himself." Hawk came over and took a few swings but Scorpio said that he landed three shots for every punch that Hawk threw. Scorpio in the beginning of teh interview said that he learned to box from his father. Anyway, Scorpio said that he told Hawk that this was not the place for this then Hawk landed the hardest punch he could throw, which Too Cold stated he no-sold and then proceeded to kick his ass. After it went down, they neded up hashing things out a Scorpio claimed that he even made a shank after the fight.


After getting fired from WCW, he wound up in ECW. His first match was at a farmer's market against Sabu. That was the same night as the O.J. Simpson chase and the ring broke. They had a second match later on and the top rope broke then.


He is now asked about Heyman in ECW. Scorpio said that he was smart, stupid, and an asshole all wrapped up into one package. He said that he had great stories and angles but lied to the boys and was unable to handle the business end of the operation. He also still wants his PPV money.


Scorpio is asked if he had any problems with New Jack. He said at the time, he felt New Jack and Mustafa were using the racist stuff to get cheap heat in Smoky Mountain but that they could brawl. After that, Jack confornted him and they ended up hanging out and partying together. Scorpio calls Jack a "thug" and a "nigga for life."


He thought that his heel turn in ECW was awful. The idea was brought up to him by Tod Gordon, who told him to finish smoking before considering the idea.


Scorpio thought that his pairing with the Sandman was a good idea due to the contrast of styles. He says that Sandman has more balls than anyone he knows and that he could drink a case and work like he was straight.


He is asked about several other workers in ECW. He liked working with Chris Jericho and thought they had excellent chemistry together. He loved the Steiner Brothers, calling them old school and that they did not take shit from anyone. He said that he watched them from ringside while he was training in Japan and that was how he learned to deliver a suplex. He loved working with RVD and they would smoke 4-5 jonits before their matches then forget what they had talked about doing before the match but RVD would end up remembering everything and they had fun. He said that Taz had a Napolean complex and was all bark and no bite. He was also obssessive over the his colors. He said that his broken neck was a lesson learned in respecting the guys you work with and a reminder that you could get injured at any time. He called Mr. Hughes a "chickeshit asshole" who would complain about getting hit. He said that Tommy Dreamer has no skills or talent and shouldnt be wrestling but that he would be great in the office and did appreciate that he would always help to get the money issues straightened out.


Scorpio was asked about the drug scene in ECW. He said that it was nice and heavy but that it got to the point in which it was way too heavy and when they decided to clean up, it was too late.


He then went to the WWF. He said that when he was there, he was constantly fighting with his wife and smoked a ton of weed. His wife was jealous of the Funkettes and Scorpio states that he never did anything with them.


He is then asked if he felt that his WWF run was a failure. He said no but that it was not as big as it could have been.


He is asked about Shawn Michaels. He said he was great in the ring but that he was too chickenshit to work with him then calls him a "kiss-ass motherfucker." He said that the Montreal incident was cutthroat stuff then calls Michaels a chickenshit for pretending that he had nothing to do with it until later on.


He ended up leaving the WWF after getting addicted to crack and needing to clean-up. He said that Vince would not pay for his rehab.


Scorpio is asked about Missy Hyatt. He calls her a freak and that her plastic surgeries made her llok terrible. He then says that she fell into the wrong crowd.


When asked about Johnny Ace, he calls him a snake in the grass and is not surprised at all that he has an office job.


He thought that the "Heroes of Wrestling" PPV was a complete joke but he ended up getting a nice payday.


When asked how to get the wrestling business stronger, Scorpio said that they need to get away from T&A and make it more realistic.


On the subject of his drug use, Scorpio says that he smokes weed daily but that is all. If you sho up to his party with crack or cocaine, keep it and go somewhere else.


He is asked about the guys he just worked with prior to the shoot, AJ Styles and Chris Sabin. He calls them talented and that they were a pleasure to work with. They still need to improve but need to work with ohter talented guys for that to happen.


When asked if it is bes to learn from the dojo, Scorpio said yes but today you can get into a good school like Pro Wrestling Iron that is affiliated with NOAH. He puts over the school's trainers, Mike Modest and Donovan Morgan.


Scorpio says that he has no interest in shoot fighting as you could kill off your name in one fight but adds that money talks.


He said that New Japan is hurting as the paycuts give the guys less incentive to work hard and they become lazy.


Scorpio thinks that Pride and K1 are fads but he likes the stiffness.


He is asked about Jake Roberts in the "Beyond the Mat" documentary. Scorpio says that was a straight shoot and a message to not get caught up with drugs.


Scorpio says that the high flyers today need to start from ground zero and learn how to work and lockup.


He thinks that a good worker is someone with heart who is able to take criticism.


He states that he is in talks with TNA right now and that it is tough to make a living as there are only a few companies to work for at the moment.


He is asked about racism and says that it is everywhere but not as bad as before. He is then asked about the lawsuit filed by Hardbody Harrison and Sonny Onoo by WCW and he says it's bullshit.


Scorpio is asked about his opinion on dirt sheets. He says that it helps him keep in touch with the business whenever he grabs one. He currently lives in Germany.


His favorite matches were with Guerrero, Benoit, Finlay and the Pitbulls. His least favorite were with Mr. Hughes.


Final Thoughts: I enjoyed this interview a lot. It breezed right by and was less than ninety minutes too. Reading this, you would think that Scorpio sounded bitter but that was not the case. He did seem like he was on the "green tea" as he calls it and he did not have any regrets. They did not talk much about his WWF run at all but basically revealed that he was strung out on crack during most of his stint with the company. It certainly seemed like he had his enemies in WCW too and certainly didnt help himself over in North Korea. I would seek this out if you can, as Scorpio can tell a pretty good story.









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