One MIND-BLOWING Secret From EVERY Month Of The WWE Attitude Era

36. May 1998 | The Rumoured New Nation Of Domination Member

Flash Funk
WWE.com

The Nation of Domination was on its arse in 1998. 

The faction, a very interesting departure from the norm by an increasingly experimental WWF in 1996, was unrecognisable two years later. The D-Generation X blackface parody cast them as a punchline, a perception not helped by the strange inclusion of Owen Hart: a political casualty annihilated by DX as a “nugget” of sh*t able to survive multiple Hart Family flushings. The Nation was something the Rock needed to jettison before cruising into the main event scene, and while D’Lo Brown did get over, and big, with his chest protector gimmick, the stable was a comedy act that the Rock made it in spite of. In May, rumours intensified on early internet message boards; apparently, a repackaged Scorpio had joined the Nation of Domination. 

Having already dropped the Flash Funk gimmick by April, this was a promising development for a mishandled wrestler. Scorpio was futuristic and absurdly exciting on his best nights. There was a wrestling star in there, and the 1998 WWF undercard was infamously bobbins. An opportunity had presented itself to reboot both Scorpio and the Nation as something more than a Triple H punching bag.

In reality, Scorpio only joined the Nation on a non-canon house show in Canada, teaming with Kama in a losing effort against the Headbangers on May 3. The match only happened because Mark Henry and D’Lo Brown had been detained at the border - resulting in a no-show for which they were each heavily fined, per the May 18 issue of the Observer. 

Scorpio did in fact join a faction in 1998: the JOB Squad, which was a literal death certificate of a gimmick.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick (Creative Writing BA Hons) is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over a decade of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential UK institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!