2 Cold Scorpio or Ahmed Johnson??

[Savion83]

Last week for black history month. I posted a thread asking who is the grestest african-american wrestler of all-time? And when I made a list of black wrestlers, I may have left 2 Cold Scorpio aka WWF's Flash Funk off the list. And when I put down Ahmed Johnson and WWE hall of famer Tony Atlas on the list. Somebody wrote that Tony Atlas was "light years" better than Ahmed Johnson.

My bad for leaving 2 Cold off my list.

But to keep it short. Who is better Ahmed Johnson or 2 Cold Scorpio?? 2 Cold Scorpio's a former 4X ECW TV champion. While Ahmed Johnson is the very first african-american IC champion. 2 Cold didn't amount to much in the WWF/E in the late 90's. But Ahmed Johnson was just a iceberg's touch away from being in the main event scene, but couldn't due to injuries.

My question is...who's better??

 

[thebrownmenace]

I loved watching 2 Cold Scorpio in ECW. He had some fantastic matches with Taz, Shane Douglas, Sabu, and one of my favorite Eddie Guerrero matches when he beat Scorpio for the TV title. Ahmed Johnson seemed to be headed for main event territory, as you stated, but he never got his shot due to the kidney problems. He was an intense competitor with an awesome finisher in the pearl river plunge who had nice feuds with Goldust and Cornette's crew, but I don't think he was the same caliber as 2 Cold. I think that the WWE really missed the boat on 2 Cold when they gave him that ridiculous gimmick. No one was ever going to consider him a real contender for the WWE title, but had he been allowed to showcase his real wrestling ability under his 2 Cold gimmick I sincerely think that he could have at least enjoyed a couple of main event matches. So to answer your question, it would have to be 2 Cold Scorpio.

 

[Fallen Angel 21.3]

i dont' know much about 2 cold Scorpio but if he was able to make it in the old ECW he must have been one tough SOB, as for Ahmend Johnsoni think he could have went to the main event but he had 2 problems his moves were too dangerous they injured people and he wouldn't change his moveset so Vince got rid of the problem. Allthough he did have a strong fanbase from what i saw on old WWE vids

 

[ZUMBOdriver]

Gotta be 2 Cold. Ahmed Johnson fit the WWF/E mold better than Scorpio, but there is no doubt that 2 Cold was better. I saw 2 Cold last year at Super Indy VIII and it was nice to see that he was out there still doing his thing. Ahmed Johnson is probably 400 lbs. and back in Pearl River sitting on the couch. That's a poor attempt by myself to be a little humorous, but my point is that Scorpio is still working while Ahmed faded into obscurity years ago.

Also, the pimp gimmick for Scorpio (Flash Funk) in the WWF came just a bit early in "The New Generation" era. The Godfather used the same idea as a gimmick and made it work in the much edgier "Attitude" era. Why couldn't 2 Cold have made it work as well? Maybe Scorpio's mic skills weren't up to par with the Godfather's, but the GF just went out and pretty much said the same thing all the time. I think 2 Cold would have been up to the task. It seems like it was just a case of bad timing.

 

[daddyJ_t]

2 cold had alot of skills and wwe has nothing like him today besides rey mysterio. as for ahmed, him giving delo brown the pearl river plunge on top of that car on shotgun saturday jus totally ruled. johnson was so cool that wwe redid his gimmick with lashley. as for who was better, no telling until we could see them compete against each other.

 

[SpecialReferee]

Hands down this goes to 2 Cold. Ahmed had the power and intensity but he never really delivered good or great matches. Scorpio has several to his credit. Scorpio vs. Benoit at Superbrawl III comes to mind as a very good match. I know that he also had a few spotfest matches with Sabu and other quality matches with Eddie Guerrero.

As for not being able to tell until they compete against each other, that is just a odd statement. Just look at their matches over the years and Scorpio has produced much more quality matches. Ahmed was a decent power wrestler, but Scorpio was the better worker.

 

[jccool420]

Scorpio, we also spent a few years in WCW and had atleast one memorable match with Sting... And lots of great matches in ECW...

Ahmed was just intense and stiff, then got fat and stole the T from Booker...lol

To compare the two is almost an insult to Scorpio... Just because WWE makes you join the job squad doesn't mean your a bad wrestler, they just don't know how to use some talent...

 

[Rulk25]

Ultimately Scorpio's dint translate well into the WWE for a number of reasons
A) His style
B) he was a bit overweight at times not good for a high flyer
C) he was like most high flyers all flash and no steak (ie mike skills). That coudl have been comensated with at the time a mouth piece though
D) he was in the biggest talent accquestion period. When he debuted in the WWE their was a ton of new talent popping up fighting for those few midcard spots and really never stood out and a lot falls on the gimmick. I think many talented wrestlers were doomed due to the stupid gimmicks the WWE gave out and only a blessed few survived

Now as to Ahmed versus Scorpio I say it is a toss up. For sheer ability to make it in the biz it woudl have been Ahmed but Scorpio had the pizzaz. If i had to pick a person for my own company I woudl go with Funk as he woudl be more dependable just WWE didnt use him right

 

[Tastycles]

2 Cold Scorpio is someone who's matches I hae enjoyed over the years, less so in his Flash Funk persona, but he wasn't a bad worker nevertheless. Ahmed Johnson is probably in my top ten wrestlers of all time though. For some reason, I just really bought into his power and speed and I think had it not been for, you know, nearly dying he would have made the main event spot. The Pearl River Plunge was an awesome finisher, it really was, and I think the fact that he maintained a big presence on a top company for so long puts him in front of Scorpio.

 

[drobs85]

i dont' know much about 2 cold Scorpio but if he was able to make it in the old ECW he must have been one tough SOB, as for Ahmend Johnsoni think he could have went to the main event but he had 2 problems his moves were too dangerous they injured people and he wouldn't change his moveset so Vince got rid of the problem. Allthough he did have a strong fanbase from what i saw on old WWE vids

I've heard that before about Ahmed's moveset, but my question is what was so dangerous about his moveset? Is it more dangerous than Randy Orton kicking people in the head? Flash Funk had the speed and amazing technique but was buried by wwe. Ahmed had the physique, the crowd, and that incredible pearl river plunge, he even had the theme music. But truly no one will no how ahmed's career would've or could've gone if it wasn't for his potentially life threatening injuries. Funks career was good everywhere but wwe. Based on that funk gets the nod out of the two.

 

[ZUMBOdriver]

Vince probably wanted Ahmed to change his move set or at least his finisher because if Ahmed was put into the main event, Vince wouldn't have wanted the Pearl River Plunge turning into an accidental Tiger Driver 91 at the 20 minute mark of a main event match when Ahmed was winded. After Owen Hart dropped Austin on his head and broke his neck, I would bet that Vince was trying to shy away from even potentially dangerous finishing moves.

Go YouTube the Tiger Driver 91 if you haven't seen it. Nasty, nasty move. Jerry Sags would be jealous.

 

[fb481777]

Smokes man, haha - haven't heard 2 cold scorpio in a LONG TIme...I used to love watching that dude...so Yes, I'd give it to 2 cold, b/c I don't recall the other guy too much, plus, 2 cold was the Heat! too bad the business WWE, etc...doesn't bring him back...


Jesus Loves YOu - God Bless!

 

[classicviolence]

2 Cold Scorpio. The man is just gold in the ring. He was one of the most popular wrestlers in ECW and pro wrestling NOAH holding championships in both companies. There is also a story about 2 cold clearing out an alley after a ECW event when guys were trying to jump a fellow wrestler.

Also, he was the guy who saved Arn Anderson from Sid.

 

[MrLee]

DUDE, Ahmed was a REALLY injury prone, uncoordinated and clumsy wrestlers, didn't deserve the spot he had in WWE or WCW for that matter.

2 Cold, on the other hand, is a most talented wrestler, who was painfully overlooked in his 90's prime.
On top of that, he cut good interviews and had a unique repetoir of moves, the likes of which John Morrison is borrowing from aplenty!

 

[Azogan v.2.0]

It's funny, i've been watching old RAWs from 1997, and while i was a Ahmed Johnson mark back in the day, i look at him now and wonder why i even liked him so much. He couldnt talk, his wrestling abilities where limited and i dont think the WWE had any real plan of running with him. I remember he was suppose to face Undertaker for the title, but got hurt, then he joined the Nation, then they turned on him to make room for The Rock, and the then what...fued with the Nation again. I just look back now, and i dont think Ahmed had the whole package to be one of the greatest Africian-American wrestlers of all time.

And Scorpio was nothing more then an elite jobber who did a 450 splash. Honestly, true wrestling fans know that he never really made a splash in the WWE or ECW for that matter. I think you were right to leave them of the list, because these two are easily forgotten. U just remember the name Ahmed Johnson.

 

[brethartistheman1981]

Smokes man, haha - haven't heard 2 cold scorpio in a LONG TIme...I used to love watching that dude...so Yes, I'd give it to 2 cold, b/c I don't recall the other guy too much, plus, 2 cold was the Heat! too bad the business WWE, etc...doesn't bring him back...


Jesus Loves YOu - God Bless!

They DId bring him back a couple years ago. he competed on the SmackDown brand. He was released due to cutbacks. Thats why Im going with Scorpio cause if McMahon saw fit to try to brin g him back and not Ahmed..who i liked more...then that shoud say it all.

 

[WhyTravisFelt]

To hearken back to an earlier poster, comparing the two is a disservice to Scorpio. I honestly wouldn't even put Scorpio on my top 50 wrestlers list, but still wrestling ability-wise this would be a preposterous argument. I was lukewarm on Ahmed Johnson as a kid. His finishing move was great but he really didn't have a whole lot else going for him in my opinion. He kind of paved the way for big-muscled, five-move, useless quiet guys in generic tights like Goldberg and Lashley, and for that I should really hate him a lot more than I do. His career was VERY short in comparison to Scorpio's with only two years (95-96) of which actually being note-worthy. I kind of understand part of the brevity of his career wasn't his fault, but showing up as an unrecognizable morbidly obese behemoth in WCW absolutely was his fault. Scorpio on the other hand was an international superstar, an indy favorite, and put on some pretty damn decent matches in his career. He was only overshadowed in the wwe by the aspect that Ahmed Johnson fit the wwe mold better.

Which, no offense to the OP, makes this one of those WWE mark vs. Indy mark kind of arguments. In fact, Ahmed Johnson I think is a very good example of of this eternal argument: Why was Ahmed Johnson so special in the WWE? What made him better and more deserving than all of the people who easily outclassed him either in the ring and/or on the mic? The WWE conundrum in a nutshell; what is this "star appeal" that everybody else lacks despite technical abilities, charisma, ring psychology, etc? Anyone doubting how far Johnson would've gone, btw, can just look at Batista now: Limited and in fact often dangerous in the ring with a power-type moveset, injury-prone, bad on the mic with no remotely interesing gimmick. Scorpio wins btw.

 

[ncwriter2908]

2 cold scorpio easily Ahmed Johnson was always injured and couldnt talk. He was a bum and had boring matches in WWE. Then he left and no one probably even remember bad fat out of shape Ahmed Johnson from WCW.

2 cold was great but he was a better mid card talent than Johnson would ever be. The guy could move about and excite in the ring. He was more over in ECW than in WWE or WCW. I guess because of how he was used. The guy can still go today I saw him on the hardcore homecoming and other more up to date vids. He is still in great shape and moves about the ring great.

However he was never used in the right way and I dont think he would have ever been a main event guy. His debut of WCW was terrible was he with Ron Simmons I think ? The
terrible dancing debut videos. Then of course Flash Funk in WWE..lol But away from the wcw and WWE held numerous tag and singles titles still more than AHmed ever did

 

[C.M.Savior]

I will say 2 cold scorpio on this one.... Ahmed Johnos was impressive and had a lot of promise in him, but he was only around for a brief time. 2 cold scorpio was arond for a long time. The wwe used him as flash funk and although he had a short run, he was impressive. I agree with previous posts that he was used poorly. Ahmed could have been a big deal but he just was not around long enough. He was very big and somewhat descent in the ring but unfourtanatlely he had lots of injuries and did not last that long so that is why i will give it to 2 cold scorpio. He was also better in the ring and put on better matches

 

[Offspring of The Rock]

It's funny, i've been watching old RAWs from 1997, and while i was a Ahmed Johnson mark back in the day, i look at him now and wonder why i even liked him so much. He couldnt talk, his wrestling abilities where limited and i dont think the WWE had any real plan of running with him. I remember he was suppose to face Undertaker for the title, but got hurt, then he joined the Nation, then they turned on him to make room for The Rock, and the then what...fued with the Nation again. I just look back now, and i dont think Ahmed had the whole package to be one of the greatest Africian-American wrestlers of all time.

And Scorpio was nothing more then an elite jobber who did a 450 splash. Honestly, true wrestling fans know that he never really made a splash in the WWE or ECW for that matter. I think you were right to leave them of the list, because these two are easily forgotten. U just remember the name Ahmed Johnson.

Elite jobber who did a 450 wow. Go look at some 2 cold scorpio ecw matches. Not only was he a great television champion, him and the sandman were great tag champions. He's easily forgotten for anyone who can't recognize true talent in the ring. He did things off the top rope that wrestlers 50 pounds lighter then him couldn't pull off. Ahmed Johnson showed his true self in WCW an overweight worker with no mic skills. It truly is offensive to mention his name in the same breath as 2 cold scorpio.