2 Cold Scorpio [Straight Shootin' Shoot Interview]

The Good
A shockingly great shoot interview that has all the honesty, humor and dirt that many people want without the bitter rage, mental instability and delusions of grandeur that you don't want. Whether you liked him and his work or not, 2 Cold Scorpio was something special. He was perhaps premier highflyer in the States throughout the 1990s (I think Rey Mysterio or Juventud Guerrera would be the only two who could touch him) and was almost ahead of his time to the point that maybe it was detrimental. Scorpio also was able to get into the New Japan Dojo alongside Chris Benoit and many of the greats of the future, so he could work. The other upside of his extensive Japanese experience, is his ability to share his perspectives as he worked not only for New Japan, but later All Japan and NOAH with varying levels of success. His opinions on those companies, the politics, the talent and everything else is hard to come by in shoot interviews. Scorpio has so much personality and I don't think that ever fully came out. He has a million little turn-of-phrase comments, he has hilarious gaffes (Ricky "The Steamboat" Dragon is something out of the Iron Sheik's lexicon) and his wacky vocabulary (he frequently mentions having "hellified" matches). What I found particularly strange was his personalized messages to everyone from Arn Anderson and Missy Hyatt to Tommy Dreamer and Mr. Hughes, where he would address them directly in a jovial manner and close it with a "peace out." I don't know that I've ever seen that in a shoot before. Scorpio was very upfront about his chronic use of, well, chronic as he constantly referred to himself as "Big Smoke" and went into a hilarious tirade about the rampant drug use in ECW. He also talked about his crack-cocaine problems that probably ruined his WWF run. Scorpio also talks about his infidelities on the road, but didn't name any names and was pretty matter-of-fact about that part of the business. As for the juiciest parts, everybody loves to hear fight stories and burials of people and 2 Cold Scorpio delivers on both. He goes into detail about his altercations with Road Warrior Hawk and Mr. Hughes, which are pretty wild, but it is his detailed description of the scissorfight between Arn Anderson and Sid Vicious that is beyond belief. He talks about people like his former partner Marcus Alexander Bagwell and why their team did not quite reach their full potential, he talks about having heat with Brian Pillman, Sting, Shawn Michaels and his long-time friendship with Vader (who got him into every company he worked except ECW). This is an awesome shoot that delivers most everything you could want.

The Bad
I cannot see that anyone would have really high expectations going into this shoot and be grossly disappointed. Although he had his strengths, 2 Cold Scorpio was not known for being a charismatic talker. He did have his moments, his departure from ECW being a highlight, but Scorpio mainly let his work and his dancing tell the tale. I can imagine some people would see Scorpio as a never-was, who had a few shots, but never lived up to his potential. I can imagine some people would want him to talk more in-depth about Japan and his experiences over there. I'm sure others would have other parts of his career that they would prefer to hear much more about, but there seemed to be a decent balance here. While I really liked and would highly recommend this, it does not quite stack up to the best shoots with people like Bill Watts, Jim Cornette, Gary Hart and so on.


The Rating: ****1/2

Mike Modest [Wrestle Warehouse Shoot Interview]



The Good
Mike Modest had a very unusual career and it is amazing that it has all accumulated into the possibility of doing an interview like this. He broke in working indies and doing jobs, so there are some good anecdotes there. He became very involved with Roland Alexander's APW and since this is conducted by someone who knows that product they spend a fair amount of time going over the roster there. He has interesting thoughts on the company, Roland and its fall of sorts in the early 2000s. Modest had a key role in the Barry Blaustein documentary "Beyond the Mat" and while I've heard Mick Foley, Terry Funk and Jake Roberts talk about it with varying opinions, Mike Modest perspective is even more interesting and he has some stories to share about how that film was crafted. He also had a part in the infamous NBC Kayfabe-breaking exposé - "Exposed: Pro-Wrestling's Greatest Secrets." He reveals how he was tricked into going, blackmailed into staying and finally felt fine with doing it. Again, he gets into the nitty-gritty about how this was put together and shares a different viewpoint. He talks some about road trips and some crazy experiences he's had, but the highlight of this is his rant about NOAH. I had heard him on WOL while he was under contract, but he never shot on the company and culture. Modest explains how he was treated poorly as a gaijin, how Japanese business culture is impossible to deal with unless the Japanese half is reasonable, how NOAH's inability to get over gaijin has killed their business and other thoughts that I've never heard. They all seem logical to me, having traveled to Japan and worked with Japanese businessmen. Since there are few shoots that talk about Japanese pro-wrestling extensively and even fewer that have much critical to say, I think the inclusion of those details here sets this shoot interview apart from many I've heard with "independent wrestlers."

The Bad
I've said this many times, but a big turn-off for some with a shoot interview is if they don't really know the individual being interviewed. Mike Modest's roles in "Beyond the Mat" and "Exposed" might not be enough to entice the average fan. Certainly his years as a jobber, time in APW and run in NOAH would probably not interest that many people. Although he is a funny guy and has had some unique experiences in the business, his limited success hinders this shoot in terms of its scope. He does not seem as bitter as some, but clearly his best years are past him and he never "made it," which anyone of his ability would be upset about. I found this to be very good, but I think many people would see this as just a lengthy interview with a nobody.


The Rating: ****











http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9u8x0Xrj4A