12 Awesome Wrestling Gimmicks WWE Didn’t Know How To Handle
11. 2 Cold Scorpio
As a reliable and dynamic high flyer, the razor-sharp 2 Cold Scorpio had carved out a strong reputation for himself thanks to impressive runs in both WCW and particularly ECW, where he'd scoop tag and singles titles as well as grossly improving the quality of matches for the brand alongside Dean Malenko, Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho.
Laid back in his persona but sporting a futuristic style for a man his size, his WWE signing in late-1996 was an all-too-cliched indictment of the creative missteps that had occurred through much of the decade up to that point.
Re-christened Flash Funk, Scorpio's new gimmick was ten years out of date, and the man himself was utterly overwhelmed with the pomp of the persona, which severely harmed his in-ring confidence and presence.
Dressed like a stereotypical 1970s-era pimp, Flash was accompanied by two dancing girls ('The Funkettes'), and sported a makeshift space-suit for ring gear instead of a normal pair of tights.
It was a spectacularly misguided overreach, especially during a spell in which the company had moved to far more reality-based angles in their work with top stars Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, Sycho Sid and Stone Cold Steve Austin.