How good were the Steiner brothers in the ring and overall?

[AegonTargaryen]

I was not even old enough in 2000 to understand what Kayfabe and storyline is, nor the thin line that divides them with reality. So practically I enjoyed and cheered and laughed without any scope for discernment or criticism, every time I saw The Rock, Kurt Angle, and such; leave aside being old enough in the 1990s. However, it's a big tragedy to not having witnessed the monday night wars while growing up, the awesome WCW product, etc.

As I'm discovering WCW ppvs from 1996 onwards, I also looked up Sting and his surfer gimmick and his feud with Cactus Jack and I stumble across the card of Beach Blast 1992. Needless to say, I'm so impressed with this card, in an era where the WWF had Duke the Dumpster and Koko B. Ware with his bird and what not.

Scotty Flamingo defeated Brian Pillman to win the WCW Light Heavyweight Championship (17:29)
Flamingo pinned Pillman.

Sting defeated Cactus Jack in a Falls Count Anywhere match (11:24)

Ricky Steamboat defeated Rick Rude 4-3 in an Iron Man Challenge (30:00)

Dustin Rhodes, Barry Windham and Nikita Koloff defeated The Dangerous Alliance (Arn Anderson, Steve Austin and Bobby Eaton) (with Paul E. Dangerously and Madusa) (with Ole Anderson as Special Guest Referee) by disqualification (15:32)

WCW World Tag Team Champions The Steiner Brothers (Rick and Scott) fought The Miracle Violence Connection (Terry Gordy and Steve Williams) to a time-limit draw (30:00)

It seems to me that the tag team match closed the show. Now, I've never ever watched a Steiner brothers match, and probably not even the legendary Road Warriors' matches, because the only tag teams I knew were Edge and Christian, Hardys, Acolytes and everything that happened beyond. But it makes me wonder, for a tag team closing a WCW ppv , and being such a big name in WCW during that time, wrestling 30-minute matches, How good were they? What style did they wrestle in? What are their greatest feuds and moments??

 

[resignedknight]

I think the tag titles closed the shows in 92 because of the really weird situation with the WCW world title and the NWA world title being separate after Flair left. I would love for somebody to explain to me why they kept them separate with the big gold belt on a Japanese guy for most of 92. It seems like the NWA was more heavily involved with the IWGP, so maybe it was their call (just a guess). I'd love more info.

Anyway, I think the WCW belt had much less prestige. So the Steiners were probably WCW's biggest draw at the time. And yea, they were awesome. They were really strong and athletic and did (at the time) completely crazy throws and suplexes, so I don't blame WCW for featuring them.

I kind of disagree about Beach Blast 92, though. I think it's pretty obvious they had a hard time recovering for that whole year after Flair left, and Bill Watts's stupid rules didn't help (which I guess is why Sting and Cactus's "hardcore" match wasn't for the title). I think the product was much better in 90 and 91 with Flair as champ and Sting and Luger holding down the upper midcard and jumping up from time to time, though Cactus started getting a serious push in 92, which was really cool.

 

[Pearljamming72]

Back in those days, the Steiner Brothers just completely dominated the tag team scene in WCW. They destroyed every heel team thrown their way, to the point where WCW started bringing in teams from Japan since there was nobody left for them to face. WCW even did a rare face vs. face for the tag titles with the Steiners vs. Luger and Sting at Superbrawl. When Gordy and Dr. Death arrived, they were given title shots for several months that ended in time limit draws and eventually won the titles. If I remember correctly, Rick and Scott then started single's careers by going after the TV title..To me the Steiner Brothers in their prime as a tag team were more dominant than the Road Warriors in theirs. Rick and Scott would come to the ring and just pound the living snot out of their opponents with various suplexes and clotheslines that looked like they could actually rip the guy's heads off. Rick would give his top rope bulldog and Scott would finish the carnage with a Frankensteiner. I still remember when they brought in this hyped japanese team of Hase & Sasaki, making it sound like they had a legitimate shot of winning the belts, only to see the Steiners beat these guys within an inch of their lives.

 

[kwig2121]

Tag Team wrestling back in those days told better stories and had tremendous workers in the ring. It's a shame the WWE has failed to really concentrate on the tag team division over the last 10 years so our younger fans really have an idea of what a great tag team is.

The Steiner s were a great tag team. In my opinion the 3rd best tag team of all time behind Tully Blanchard & Arn Anderson, and the greatest of all time the Road Warriors.

Rick and Scott were great technical wrestlers, who could mat wrestle. But once Scott "bulked" up, he became a genetic freak in the ring. Scottie's size added strength and power to the team with freaky athleticism. So the Steiner s could mat wrestle, go air borne, match you with feats of strength, practically do it all.

This made for amazing matches in contrast of style between the Steiner s vs the Horseman, or Harlem Heat, or Doom, or the Road Warriors, or even Sting & Luger.

Those were the real days of tag team wrestling ,and the Steiner s were one of the all-time best and a hot draw that was more than worthy of closing shows, like only the legendary Horseman or Road Warriors could do.

 

[Gibby]

Without a shadow of a doubt the best American tag team of the late 80s and early 90s. They could do it all, absolutely anything, smash mouth brawling, technical stuff, flying - and with such smoothness and apparent power. I've never been a fan Rick Steiner solo, and Scott isn't a favourite (though I recognise his contribution) either - but together, oh mama. My only problem as a kid growing up was that I didn't get their 'college jock' gimmick so they perhaps lacked an obvious character other than 'we're tough good guys'. Call me picky but I'd like a little more than that. Perhaps Scott found his gimmick too late in life.

 

[CeramicDuck]

The Steiners were amazing in the early 90s. They were about as good as it gets for tag teams and an argument can always be made that they were the greatest of all time. Road Warriors are always at the top of everyones list, but those guys could never give a 30 minute 4 or 5 star match. For my money Steiners and Brainbusters are neck and neck for GOAT tagteam.

The contrast between Scott Steiner of the Steiner Brothers and Scott Steiner Big Poppa Pump is one of the more unique things in wrestling. I have never seen someones in ring ability decline so much so fast. Here is a guy who was nailing Frankensteiners all the time and was probably considered a top guy on the roster in the ring and he became a guy who botched almost every move of every match. Gotta attribute it to drugs or size or something, but Scott could have gone down in history as so much more than the big bad booty daddy.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

The best tag team ever until about 1993 when they'd peaked. Rick clearly felt the same as he costed throughout the rest of his carrer and Scott put on so much muscle he had to adjust his style. Or maybe Scott put on all that muscle to hide the fact he had to change his style because he was getting older and his career had already started to take its toll.

 

[AegonTargaryen]

The Steiners were amazing in the early 90s. They were about as good as it gets for tag teams and an argument can always be made that they were the greatest of all time. Road Warriors are always at the top of everyones list, but those guys could never give a 30 minute 4 or 5 star match. For my money Steiners and Brainbusters are neck and neck for GOAT tagteam.

All these nostalgia-filled reviews about this tag-team being awesome is making me want to at once watch all their great encounters, which I can't wait to. But, what's a GOAT tagteam?

The contrast between Scott Steiner of the Steiner Brothers and Scott Steiner Big Poppa Pump is one of the more unique things in wrestling. I have never seen someones in ring ability decline so much so fast. Here is a guy who was nailing Frankensteiners all the time and was probably considered a top guy on the roster in the ring and he became a guy who botched almost every move of every match. Gotta attribute it to drugs or size or something, but Scott could have gone down in history as so much more than the big bad booty daddy.

I have perceived Scott Steiner as Big Poppa Pump was unlikeable in the WWE in 2003, and even more disliked recently after his drifting apart from TNA. However , I can't wait to see his earlier work but too little time, and too much to watch has been preventing it. Could you suggest a few good matches/feuds of Steiner brothers?

Without a shadow of a doubt the best American tag team of the late 80s and early 90s. They could do it all, absolutely anything, smash mouth brawling, technical stuff, flying - and with such smoothness and apparent power. I've never been a fan Rick Steiner solo, and Scott isn't a favourite (though I recognise his contribution) either - but together, oh mama. My only problem as a kid growing up was that I didn't get their 'college jock' gimmick so they perhaps lacked an obvious character other than 'we're tough good guys'. Call me picky but I'd like a little more than that. Perhaps Scott found his gimmick too late in life.

Thank you for your input! I have never really been a huge fan of Scott Steiner solo, and have practically never heard/seen a Rick Steiner promo but I know they both looked HUGE from little footage of them I have seen. And Scott actually became much bigger by 2000, if I'm not mistaken. To this day, I have no idea why his career in the WWE in 2003 bombed because he lost both matches to HHH, and wasn't featured in any ppvs until Unforgiven 2003 and then his tag-team with Test after which he was never seen again.

 

[LBGetBack]

The Steiner Brothers are one of the greatest tag teams of all time. They were incredible in the late 80's and early 90's.

Scott Steiner back then was incredible. Very strong and athletic. The Scott Steiner of WCW with the blonde hair and steroid bulky look was like a completely different guy.

Rick was the tough guy who played his role.

 

[CrucifiedRaven]

I loved the Steiner Brothers in the 90's. They were colourful, tough, had finesse. They fit the early 1990's perfectly. Kind of like The Hart Foundation, Scott was the agile one and Rick was the power, the pitbull. Which is funny when you think about Rick being the bigger one of the two. Scott as part of the Steiners was one of my favourite wrestlers. He even then had good enough size and was big enough to be a main eventer. He was the same size as Sting approximately. And he moved so well. He had the agility, and a very unique moveset for the time period. And he was pretty slick in his execution. One of the most underrated tag teams of all time, and I think it's because their singles pushes later may have overshadowed what they did as a team. For better or for worse.

Big Poppa Pump as a character was perfect for the attitude era and n.W.o. era in the late 90's. He was a pretty good talker. He had a few catch phrases that fans picked up on. And he was aggressive, both in the ring and on the mic. He had the attitude that fit the style. His size was also freakish. He made for a believable heel World Champion, especially if they could protect him in either shorter TV matches or gimmick brawler PPV matches.

 

[Judah's Lion]

All these nostalgia-filled reviews about this tag-team being awesome is making me want to at once watch all their great encounters, which I can't wait to. But, what's a GOAT tagteam?

I have perceived Scott Steiner as Big Poppa Pump was unlikeable in the WWE in 2003, and even more disliked recently after his drifting apart from TNA. However , I can't wait to see his earlier work but too little time, and too much to watch has been preventing it. Could you suggest a few good matches/feuds of Steiner brothers?

you didn't ask me, but i'll answer both questions...

it's just a guess, but my money is that "GOAT" Tag Team stands for "Greatest of All Time" Tag Team. and it's a sound argument. yeah, Legion of Doom are high on the list, as are Hart Foundation, Brain Busters, Hardy Boys, Dudley Boys and Edge/Christian. they all have their strengths. but like was said earlier, they could put on 30 minute matches with great technical wrestling cuz of their conditioning, so they deserve some extra notice for that.

i loved their style. it was very flexible. brawling, technical, mat wrestling, aerial... and of course SUPLEXES! these guys were notorious for their freaking suplexes. i loved it!!

some matches to check out, and this is from memory so please forgive me if i get the pay per views and years wrong.

Steiner Brothers vs. Headshrinkers. this happened at WrestleMania. maybe Mania 10. give or take.

Steiner Brothers vs. Sting/Luger. they had a bunch of matches, but there's one in particular i'm thinking of and can't remember when/where they had it. Bash at the Beach, maybe? early 90's.

Steiner Brothers vs. Legion of Doom. they didn't face each other often, but did once at Starrcade. don't have a clue which year, but shouldn't be too hard to look up.

Scott Steiner/Giant (now known as the Big Show) vs. Rick Steiner/Buff Bagwell. Halloween Havoc. this is another year i'm not sure of, but i liked this match. Scott does the Hurricanrana (called a FrankenSteiner in his honor) and Big Show does a top rope missile dropkick. totally worth checking out.

not that i've ever met either of the guys, but i get the distinct impression that Scotty is not well-liked because of his filter-less mouth. his ring-work had declined by the time he returned to the WWE in 2003, so between that and his bad attitude/uncontrollable mouth, i think everyone kinda soured on him. that's just my guess, however uneducated it may be.

despite any setbacks they had as a team or on their own, despite any backstage politics or junk that they went thru, i always liked both of them. i didn't watch them to grow as a person or improve my moral standing. i watched them because they were a lot of fun and really good at what they did. so all that to say, i hope that gets you started. enjoy getting to know two of the best!

 

[AegonTargaryen]

you didn't ask me, but i'll answer both questions...

it's just a guess, but my money is that "GOAT" Tag Team stands for "Greatest of All Time" Tag Team. and it's a sound argument. yeah, Legion of Doom are high on the list, as are Hart Foundation, Brain Busters, Hardy Boys, Dudley Boys and Edge/Christian. they all have their strengths. but like was said earlier, they could put on 30 minute matches with great technical wrestling cuz of their conditioning, so they deserve some extra notice for that.

i loved their style. it was very flexible. brawling, technical, mat wrestling, aerial... and of course SUPLEXES! these guys were notorious for their freaking suplexes. i loved it!!

some matches to check out, and this is from memory so please forgive me if i get the pay per views and years wrong.

Steiner Brothers vs. Headshrinkers. this happened at WrestleMania. maybe Mania 10. give or take.

Steiner Brothers vs. Sting/Luger. they had a bunch of matches, but there's one in particular i'm thinking of and can't remember when/where they had it. Bash at the Beach, maybe? early 90's.

Steiner Brothers vs. Legion of Doom. they didn't face each other often, but did once at Starrcade. don't have a clue which year, but shouldn't be too hard to look up.

Scott Steiner/Giant (now known as the Big Show) vs. Rick Steiner/Buff Bagwell. Halloween Havoc. this is another year i'm not sure of, but i liked this match. Scott does the Hurricanrana (called a FrankenSteiner in his honor) and Big Show does a top rope missile dropkick. totally worth checking out.

not that i've ever met either of the guys, but i get the distinct impression that Scotty is not well-liked because of his filter-less mouth. his ring-work had declined by the time he returned to the WWE in 2003, so between that and his bad attitude/uncontrollable mouth, i think everyone kinda soured on him. that's just my guess, however uneducated it may be.

despite any setbacks they had as a team or on their own, despite any backstage politics or junk that they went thru, i always liked both of them. i didn't watch them to grow as a person or improve my moral standing. i watched them because they were a lot of fun and really good at what they did. so all that to say, i hope that gets you started. enjoy getting to know two of the best!

Thank you for the wonderful input! I was unaware what Frankensteiner stood for but now I know. It also seems obvious from your aforementioned observations that Scott and Rick Steiner are certainly one of the GOAT tag teams alongwith the Road Warriors.

 

[CeramicDuck]

He was right

GOAT = Greatest of All Time.

The headshrinkers match was good, also, just to get an idea of their showcase style and move set watch some of the early raws where they were squashing jobbers.

You can pretty much pull up any WCW PPV from that era on the network and be sure to see a great Steiners match up.

There was an old tag tournament that I found and was shocked that the steiners didn't make it on to the PPV because of an earlier loss to Steve Williams and I think Terry Gordy, that was some shitty booking as Steiners vs. Pillman/Liger would have been epic.

Watch the Sting/Luger matches

They had a good program with Doom that was Masks vs. Titles

WCW/IWGP Super Show had a great match, I cannot remember their opponents but it was a japanese team.

But I mean literally, watch any 1991-1993 WCW show and early RAW show and you won't be dissapointed.

 

[CeramicDuck]

As a side note, if you are just getting in to WCW in this time period watch all the Brian Pillman and Jushin Thunder Liger stuff, it was amazing and arguably better than the Tag Team scene, which was also real strong

Both had an amateur wrestling background if I am not mistaken so both were pretty athletic during their WWF and early WCW runs. In the ring, they were good. Overall, they needed a manager to help them outside of the ring. Later, that's a different story. Once Scott bulked up like he did, he did lose some of his ability but it worked for the character. He didn't need to out-wrestle you anymore, he would just beat the hell out of you instead. As for which time was better, depends on what you like. I thought Big Poppa Pump was fun to watch in promos but his matches were not nearly as good as they were when he was in a tag team. I mean, he could still do impressive things especially for a guy as jacked up as he was so they were still interesting but I think he put on better matches when he was with his brother.

 

[ocekit]

In their early run in WCW, both guys were pretty popular as both a team and individuals. Rick was portrayed as a powerhouse, yet slow-witted. He was a member of the Varsity Club and when he turned face and beat Mike Rotunda at Starrcade 1988, the crowd popped like crazy (I highly suggest watching at least the end of that match). Scott started wrestling with his brother not too long after that.

The brothers were highly ranked amateur wrestlers in college, which gave them a leg up when they hit the pro circuit. Rick could give a suplex like no one's business, and Scott was both strong and fast. Plus, he could hit that Frankensteiner out of nowhere and use it both on the ground and off the turnbuckles. They balanced each other out pretty well. With Rick's power and Scott's speed and athleticism, there were few teams that could beat them. They were wrestling big names like Sting and Luger and winning international titles and tournaments. I'd definitely put them in my Top 5 greatest tag teams of all time.

Some good matches include:
Superbrawl 1991- vs. Sting/Luger
Halloween Havoc 1990 - vs. Nasty Boys
Clash of the Champions - vs. Doom

I'd also recommend Starrcade 1990, as you get to see the Steiners against some pretty good international tag teams (including a young Konnan and Rey Misterio, Sr.).

There's a great match against the Hart Foundation, but I can't remember when it was.

But as others said, you really can't go wrong with a Steiner Brothers match from the late eighties/early nineties. They were absolutely fantastic.

Steiner Brothers vs. Headshrinkers. this happened at WrestleMania. maybe Mania 10. give or take.

It was Wrestlemania IX.

 

[SinCityBlitz]

Like others have said The Steiners were an awesome TT in the late 80's into the early 90's. Steroid abuse and injuries really took a toll on both guys. Rick first and then Scott. That is why Scott went with the Gotta Take a Dump character. I hated that character. Plus over the years Scott became a real asshole.

 

[WWFan79]

Steiners in their prime today would be like World Champs. They were that talented, size, strength, ring psychology, everything.

 

[JoeyJoeJoe]

The Steiners in their prime were like watching Benoit, Angle, and Lesnar when they were in their prime. Everything about them was high impact suplexes and double team moves that made them look absolutely dominant in the ring. Scott Steiner will be remembered by many as an overmuscled freak with limited mobility, but at the beginning of his career, he had to be about 250 lbs of muscle who could jump up in the middle of the ring and hit a hurcanrana (the aforementioned Frankensteiner). The move looked absolutely SICK...this was the kind of move that cruiserweights did, and Steiner would do this almost nightly.

To WCW's credit, they knew what they had to a certain degree, and put the Steiners in the ring with some great teams: The Road Warriors, Sting and Luger, Williams and Gordy, Anderson and Eaton, The Midnight Express, and a slew of Japanese teams that would be brought in to highlight the high-impact style of the Steiners.

IMO, I'd say the Steiners are easily in the top 5 teams of all time, and from just a pure talent standpoint, could be argued as the top team period.

They were that impressive.

 

[Baneblade]

The Steiners were a tag team that can be valid in any age. Very few teams hold up to their immense standard. With power moves from tossing around 300+ lb opponents almost effortlessly to making inverted powerbombs and suplexes routine, they were not merely a tag team but an event in itself. To say there wont be another like them would not be wrong. In fact some of their moves had such impact that it sparked a discussion on regular sports channels, for instance: the output of their match that often saw bruises and swollen faces on their opponents especillay Hiroshi Hase and Sauke in Japan. I know this is a late post, but if u havent, Check them all out u will not be disappointed.

 

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

That Steamboat vs Rude Ironman match brought back a memory, post match, Rick Rude takes a steel chair and just whips it over Steamboats back as he crawls on his belly to the ropes. To this day, I haven't seen a more viciously fast, hard chair shot quite like it. Plus the match wasnt bad, one of the first times I had seen a superplex with both men standing right on the top turnbuckle.

Plus, The Steiners were my all time favorite team. I'd say one of their greatest rivals were the Fabulous Freebirds as they traded titles with them off and on. They also had good matches vs Japanese superstars like Great Muta. They were physical, technical and had awesome double team moves.