10 Worst WWE Moments Of 2001
9. Albert = “Hip Hop Hippo”
"Bangin' it, bangin' it, bangin' it, bangin' it...ah, that was interesting".
Those were the lyrics to Too Cool's second (and arguably inferior) entrance track. Y'know what wasn't interesting? Taking walking penis (Prince) Albert and turning him into the 'Hip Hop Hippo". The future A-Train went off the rails when he turned into the WWF's latest menacing big man who'd decided to be a fun loving giant overnight. Kurrgan, Giant Silva, The Great Khali, Shanky - they've all done it.
Albert started teaming with Scotty 2 Hotty after beating him in November. This was dreadfully poor follow on from Too Cool, and it failed to get federation fans into Mr. 'Hippo' the same way they'd been into Rikishi. The pair actually teamed together for the first time on the 10 November episode of old 'C'/'D' show Jakked, and they'd remain an ongoing concern heading into 2002 before the writers lost interest.
Almost incredibly, Albert had been Intercontinental Champ during the summer months. He even beat Kane to win the belt! That win happened on the 28 June edition of SmackDown. Less than 6 months later, the dude went from holding a traditional springboard to bigger and better things to dancing around the place with a goofy smile on his face like he was the life and soul of the party.
Shockingly, this didn't get over. Albert's IC Title reign had been a one month flop before he lost to Lance Storm in July, then he was moved right out of singles action back into tags. Not many cared, sadly. That'd be a persistent problem as both A-Train and the woeful Lord Tensai in the future.
He was hung out to dry many, many times.