Scott Steiner appreciation thread

[obamartins]

Appreciation thread for the innovator of the Frankensteiner, Steiner Screwdriver, Standing Moonsault Slam, Tilt A Whirl Slam, Double Underhook Powerbomb & T-Bone Suplex. Before Scott Steiner went pro he was a noted collegiate wrestler for the University of Michigan where he became a three-time BIG 10 runner-up & as a senior in 1986 he became an NCAA Division I All American placing sixth in the United States. Prior to becoming a genetic freak, Scott revolutionized tag team wrestling alongside his brother Rick. Scott innovated the sport & became a darling of the "workrate geeks" who marvelled at his great moves & matches. Injuries not steroids effected Scott's athletic prowess. Scott's early ring style wrecked his body so in order to prolong his career he SUCCESSFULLY reinvented himself by changing his look, persona & his ring style. Big Poppa Pump was born. Scott went from technical master to genetic freak. He was everything the "workrate geeks" wanted him to be & then he became everything they despise. He went from Chris Benoit to Hulk Hogan. In the rest of the world, changing to prolong your career & wealth is applauded. In the IWC...in Scott Steiner's case...sadly it's ridiculed.

Scott Steiner TRIBUTE - The Early Years
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Rey Mysterio shoots on Scott Steiner
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Scott Steiner TRIBUTE - Big Poppa Pump
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Buff Bagwell & Scott Steiner's heat in WCW
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Scott Steiner vs. Bill Goldberg TRIBUTE - Unstoppable Force vs. Immovable Object
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Perception of Scott Steiner in 90's & early 00's
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Sources:
00:00 - Bill Watts shoot interview [2000]
00:49 - Konnan shoot interview [2000]
02:24 - Terry Taylor shoot interview [2001]
06:27 - WOL ~ Jim Herd [16th Feb 2001]
06:42 - WOL [23rd March 2001]
08:14 - WOL [27th March 2001]
09:59 - WOL [28th March 2001]
10:32 - WOL [29th March 2001]
12:16 - WOL ~ Tom Zenk [3rd April 2001]
13:29 - In Your Head ~ Goldberg [24th Nov 2005]
14:00 - In Your Head ~ Scott Norton [11th April 2007]
18:14 - 5150 Real Talk with Konnan [12th Dec 2007]
18:52 - WCW debate ~ Konnan vs. Disco Inferno [3rd Jan 2008]
19:44 - Kevin Sullivan shoot interview [2008]
24:34 - MLW Radio [8th Oct 2012]
25:45 - Whole FN Show ~ DDP on fighting Scott Steiner [2012]
30:12 - The Roman Show ~ Goldberg [2013]
31:06 - Wrestling's Glory Days ~ Buff Bagwell [11th Aug 2013]

PWT0rch WCW Roster Rankings [3rd March 2001]
(Ranked #1) Scott Steiner
Having rehabbed his back enough to wrestle again, he has become WCW's main attraction. The genetic freak has a unique look with his incredible muscles & a believable aura that says "I might snap at any second." He is a rare wrestler who doesn't seem to be acting or if he is, it's difficult to tell how much. He's new to main events but is in his late 30's & has a bad back. He isn't a wrestler to build the future around. He is a great wrestler to use as a centerpiece to try to build new stars because Steiner, if used right could be a star-maker. Anybody who beats Steiner is going to be perceived as one tough dude. Anybody Steiner gives props to is considered legit. Steiner has street cred & is entertaining. If dropped into the WWF mix, he wouldn't be a threat to Rock, Austin or HHH, but all three could have compelling feuds with him. WCW needs somebody whom fans see as being on the level of WWF's top tier & Steiner is that wrestler. He is also WCW's own having never been a singles star in the WWF. He doesn't seem like a rehash or a burnout.

Bret Hart: My Real Life in the Cartoon World of Wrestling [2007]
The Steiners were generally happy gorillas, they'd left a successful career in WCW for Vince's promise of bigger money which hadn't materialized. Rick & Scott were impressively built, outstanding NCAA wrestlers out of Michigan. Rick, the older of the two, was generally more easygoing. Scott had a mean streak a mile wide but only if you gave him reason. Sometimes in the dressing room if either Owen or I made the mistake of walking past him, he'd hook an ankle & pull us to the floor doing his best to stretch us while we did everything in our power to stop him. Luckily, Scott was always pretty playful with us. One time Scott had Curt Hennig tied up like a pretzel after Curt had ribbed him. For over an hour Scott threatened to shove his thumb up Curt's ass & the scary thing about it was there wasn't a damn thing Curt could do to stop him until finally Scott let him go. The Steiners had been trying to get out of their contract so they could go back to WCW, where a better paying deal & lighter schedule was on the table. Vince wouldn't release them, so they began intentionally roughing up some of the TV job boys, forcing him to change his mind.

Mark Madden Editorial [21st March 2009]
When I worked in WCW, everyone was scared of Scott Steiner. Everyone. With good reason. Scott was jacked to the max & had a hair-trigger temper. As an announcer, I tried harder for him than I did anyone else. I tried to get over the terror Scott invoked everywhere he went because A) I honestly thought he was one of WCW's more compelling characters & performers & B) who needs trouble with him? I'd rather be punched by DDMe than yelled at by Scott. He was that fearsome. Only time he ever got cross with me, thank God, was when I called him "White Thunder" when he first went blond: "Knock that shit off, you make me sound like a fucking Nazi!" Yes, sir. Scott once came into the announcers' dressing room & started yelling: "How come you guys call it a huracanrana whenever one of the Mexicans does it? It's a fucking Frankensteiner no matter who does it! A FUCKING FRANKENSTEINER!" Some announcers thought Scott was kidding at first. He wasn't. Fortunately, by way of a pre-emptive strike, I ALWAYS called it a Frankensteiner. Two on-air incidents spring to mind: His tirade against Ric Flair & joining the announce team at ringside for express purpose of insulting Torrie Wilson. The most amazing thing about those incidents is Steiner wasn't scheduled for TV time. He just went out there, grabbed a mic & demanded the camera's attention & everyone involved was too scared to say no.

WWE.com 20 most dangerous Superstars [2013]
"When you have a world-class athlete like Scott & they get engaged in a sport as grueling & physically demanding as wrestling as a child, you become a different man. He had that aura of competitiveness & not a lot of patience. He had a short fuse & didn't mind saying what was on his mind because A) he believed it to be true & B) what are you going to do about it?" - Jim Ross

Lance Storm tells some Scott Steiner stories
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Scott Steiner: A Missed Opportunity (read description)
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Scott Steiner was past his physical prime during his last WWE run however he was still horribly misused. After over a year of speculation Steiner finally reached agreement with WWE in October 2002 after they offered him a big money deal - an offer he couldn't refuse despite not being physically 100 per cent.

Steiner had not fully recovered from nerve damage he suffered in his foot during dying days of WCW. WWE signed Steiner fully aware of his limitations hence his numerous medicals with WWE doctors for about a year prior to his signing. It was reported in April 2002 that Steiner had drop foot syndrome (6 months before he signed a contract with WWE).

"When I left I WWE, I had surgery on my foot. I had drop foot, where my foot was totally paralyzed. I had a tendon transfer & got nine screws in my foot. They broke my foot, took a bone graph from my hip & put it in my foot & put a plate in there. So now my foot is not 100 per cent, but it works so I can wrestle a lot better than I did." - Scott Steiner

In WCW Steiner was arguably the most compelling performer in the promotion. His hard man, loose cannon character was believable because it wasn't an act! he legitimately looked like he could snap at anytime. His unscripted, sexual innuendo promos were cool & his delivery was venomous. He was a heel. That's what got him over. So what did WWE do? they made him a babyface & made him cut scripted promos.

WWE.com confirmed HHH was diagnosed with a partially torn right quadriceps muscle on 17th December 2002. HHH is quoted in the article regarding his match at Armageddon 2002 as saying "I guess it came out alright. But I didn't feel like I was able to give it my best. I was in a lot of pain. I could barely move it. I could hardly run. I couldn't jump". The article concluded saying HHH would miss 2 to 3 weeks of action - Royal Rumble took place only 4 weeks later.

Instead of hiding Steiner's negatives & accentuating his positives WWE booked him in an 18 minute match vs. HHH at Royal Rumble 2003. Steiner had drop foot syndrome while HHH had just recovered (or had he?) from a partially torn right quadriceps muscle which he was extremely worried about injuring further a few weeks prior. I also have to wonder if HHH really went into the match with intentions of making Steiner look as strong as possible considering Steiner potentially could've effected his position as the top guy on RAW.

Steiner was a big money investment who should've been protected, utilised better & always presented as a star. Instead WWE exposed him, buried him & presented him as a mid-carder.

Thankfully Steiner was given the opportunity to redeem himself in with TNA in 2006. Initially critics buried TNA for signing Steiner & completely wrote him off but after a few months he had the critics eating their words. Take a look at some quotes made by these critics after his match with Samoa Joe at TNA Slammiversary 2006:

"Steiner showed he still has legs under him as he battled Samoa Joe at Slammiversary to a good match highly anticipated in great part because of stellar mic work by Steiner in the weeks leading up to the match & the intrigue over how TNA would book the finish & how Joe & Steiner would mesh in the ring. Joe's offense looked different against someone much more muscular than he usually wrestles but still effective. The win for Joe marked an official elevation as he defeated a top tier heavyweight during the Monday Night War".

"Steiner may have a reputation as a washed up roid rage nut job but he's done a nice job of putting over Joe. Steiner's interviews have been intimidating without being out of control incoherent & he has retained enough of his badass bully aura despite his body falling apart that it meant something for Joe if Steiner put him over clean. Steiner did just that. He took Joe's big moves & sold for him enough that it meant something when Joe beat his first Monday Night War era star."

"Steiner vs. Joe was a good power battle. Well executed & suspenseful. Whether this helps or hurts Joe depends on if fans expected him to dominate the former WCW main eventer or if Steiner still has credibility as a top tier talent & thus Joe having an even match & winning clean moves him up a notch. Steiner's promos were so strong headed into this match I think Joe is just fine. The bright side is Steiner might have gotten a rub from Joe & might have more life in him because Joe carried him to a strong match."

"Joe looked strong & won clean. Steiner also looked strong & his promos have been good lately I think he's got more life in him than I would've predicted. As a result burying Steiner to build Joe might be backwards at this point. Joe is perceived by TNA fans as a big star but going even with Steiner doesn't hurt him as much as it elevates Steiner by showing that Steiner still has it. If anything Joe gave Steiner a rub by letting Steiner hold his own against him whereas Joe is good enough to not be hurt by it."

Scott Steiner UNSCRIPTED & UNCENSORED!!!!!
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Please show your appreciation to Scott Steiner below. Thankyou.

 

[relentless1]

Big Poppa Pump was one of my favs in WCW, Ive said it before and ill say it again, the biggest mistake WCW made was not pushing Steiner to the moon in 1998 and having him be the one to end Goldbergs streak at Starrcade, the man had it all; technique, the look and the attitude to be WCWs top heel for years after 98. When he came to WWE he was shifted big time, he should've been a heel and he should have had squash matches until his foot ws healed and he was ready to be more competitive. Maybe he wouldn't win the World title but he would've been a great guy to chase Goldberg, Nash, HBK or Booker T and be a legit threat to the gold.

 

[Radical Canadian Goose]

Sorry this thread was way to long for me to even attempt at giving it a solid attempt at reading. However I loved the Steiners in WWF (I never heard or them before then). I then loved post Steiner Bros, Scott Steiner via the NWO in WCW. We really got to see how outstanding this guy was on the mic on top of in the ring. Plus that physique was ridiculous. The Big Bad Booty Daddy was on top of his game at that point in time. On a side note, I really enjoyed the Steiner Recliner as his finisher

 

[Claude Speed]

Scott Steiner has my favorite catchphrase of all time and he's underappreciated on the mic. The point of being on the mic is to entertain and Big Poppa Pump did that better than anybody in WCW, except Ric Flair.

 

[CrucifiedRaven]

Scott, as a member of the Steiner Brothers tag team was one of my favourite wrestlers of all time. He was big, athletic, his moveset was fresh and unique, and he executed every move with precision. He was captivating in the ring, while Rick was more of the tough pitbull.

I understand why he transitioned into the "genetic freak". It was disappointing because he was always pretty big though, at least as big as Sting, though maybe being a bit shorter. Being in a steroid culture will do that to you though, convince you to get bigger and bigger and bigger. It got to the point where he was a legitimate circus freak and he was a draw because of it.

Despite his freakish look though, his attitude really fit into the nWo/Attitude era of the time. He was a bad ass, both in the ring and on the mic. He could talk and he had a venomous tongue if he needed to. A bit of a loose cannon, you never knew if he was going to shoot or swear on live TV. I agree I would have liked to have seen him rise to the top of WCW earlier than when he did. His Big Poppa Pump character is a 100% pure heel.

 

[wrestler36]

I holla'd cause I heard him! I grew up watching the Steiners in WCW and WWF, so when he turned into Big Poppa Pump, it totally surprised me because he always seemed so clean cut. He was your classic bully heel and he played the part to perfection. As stated earlier, if only he was fully healthy when he returned to WWE, he could have been a force to reckon with.

 

[JoeyJoeJoe]

I just think it's kind of sad that Steiner never got the chance to main event when he was still at the top of his physical game. I'm not sure how he would've worked in singles competition because we had so few examples at that stage of his career. I remember a Clash of the Champions where he wrestled Flair, but it was incredibly underwhelming. I don't know if that was due to backstage politics, or Steiner's inexperience...it's tough to say because Flair was one of those guys who could make a broomstick look awesome in the ring.

Watching some of those early clips brings back memories, but you can also see how much damage he put his own body through. In most cases, in order to protect the guy he was wrestling with, he was torquing his own body, and landing on his head/neck area, particularly on those backward over the head suplexes. I wish he dialed it back at least somewhat so that he could've lasted at that level, because while he was successful later on, it wasn't the same. His greatest talent was his athleticism. But I will say this, the guy went full tilt every single night when he was out there, and that's saying something. For a good 3 or 4 years, he and his brother dominated tag team wrestling, and were virtually an attraction in and of themselves.

It also says a lot when Rey Mysterio says that Scott Steiner was the guy who inspired some of his moves.

 

[3drinks]

I've always been a lifelong fan of Scott Steiner (even have an e-fed character based off him). He deserved so much more than he got in WWE...and by the time he got to TNA, he knew it was that time to put the younger guys over (and he did, willingly, without trying to cling to the mountaintop).

 

[IT Factor]

For some weird reason, Scott Steiner always gets internet hate from smarks. The Steiner Brothers were the heart and soul of the old WCW especially as it related to their tag team division. To be a big freaky guy he was also very athletic and agile. He was pulling off Frankensteiners before most cruiserweights were even doing those on American wrestling television[either WWF or NWA/WCW]. Most fans hate his time in the NWO and his "Big Poppa Pump" character. Again, the hate isn't justified. He was a great character who reinvented himself at a time when fans were booing old nostalgia style babyface characters like Hulk Hogan & Sting. Both were forced to change with the times and Steiner did just that and did it very well. His promos were never boring and always entertaining even if some of them came off poorly. Fans always got their money's worth with Scott Steiner which is all you can really ask for.

Hell, if there was any real problem with Scott Steiner it was that NWA/WCW never pushed him to the main event scene a lot sooner. They waited until WCW was damn near dying to put the WCW title on him. Which wasn't saying much when David Arquette even won it during those final awful years. All of that to say this: Steiner was a great entertainer and one hell of a wrestler. Those who hate him only do so much like today's audience does for guys like Cena or Orton. They just on the bandwagon without really knowing what they are jumping onto.

 

[TDFG]

The Steiner Bros. are my favourite tag-team of all-time. It took a while to get use to the Big Poppa Pump gimmick & his move set more or less totally changed.

He probably could have been pushed as WCW World Champ a year or two before he was, his WWE run was utterly rubbish, but it was probably too good to turn down.

 

[CrucifiedRaven]

For some weird reason, Scott Steiner always gets internet hate from smarks. The Steiner Brothers were the heart and soul of the old WCW especially as it related to their tag team division. To be a big freaky guy he was also very athletic and agile. He was pulling off Frankensteiners before most cruiserweights were even doing those on American wrestling television[either WWF or NWA/WCW]. Most fans hate his time in the NWO and his "Big Poppa Pump" character. Again, the hate isn't justified. He was a great character who reinvented himself at a time when fans were booing old nostalgia style babyface characters like Hulk Hogan & Sting. Both were forced to change with the times and Steiner did just that and did it very well. His promos were never boring and always entertaining even if some of them came off poorly. Fans always got their money's worth with Scott Steiner which is all you can really ask for.

Hell, if there was any real problem with Scott Steiner it was that NWA/WCW never pushed him to the main event scene a lot sooner. They waited until WCW was damn near dying to put the WCW title on him. Which wasn't saying much when David Arquette even won it during those final awful years. All of that to say this: Steiner was a great entertainer and one hell of a wrestler. Those who hate him only do so much like today's audience does for guys like Cena or Orton. They just on the bandwagon without really knowing what they are jumping onto.

He gets hate because his match quality during the Big Poppa Pump days was quite poor for the most part. Well, match quality in general during the nWo era of WCW was quite poor for the most part, specifically in the main event scene.

His time in WWE I think accentuated this, and likely tarnished some of his legacy as a singles guy. Whether he was injured, too old, or too big... he wasn't impressing anybody. I remember watching the Rumble that year, and I was at No Way Out in Montreal that year as well... those matches vs Triple H were brutally boring.

 

[IT Factor]

He gets hate because his match quality during the Big Poppa Pump days was quite poor for the most part. Well, match quality in general during the nWo era of WCW was quite poor for the most part, specifically in the main event scene.

If you compare Steiner's matches to others in WCW who were popular among fans[notably Sting or Hogan] his matches were just as good. Hell, the WWF had guys like Austin, Taker, Kane, Mankind, and Vader in their main events. Steiner's matches weren't five star classics, but again the hate isn't justified. The late 90s were the times of smart fans and the birth of the internet. Fans grew shorter attention spans and hated technical wrestling for the most part. If doing less means getting more from a character, I don't see how that can be considered a bad thing. Of course Steiner's matches will be considered bad in the nWo era because 90% of the nWo's matches ended in screwy fashion. Mostly run-ins or pathetic attempts at swerves.

His time in WWE I think accentuated this, and likely tarnished some of his legacy as a singles guy. Whether he was injured, too old, or too big... he wasn't impressing anybody. I remember watching the Rumble that year, and I was at No Way Out in Montreal that year as well... those matches vs Triple H were brutally boring.

It is well known that Steiner was working injured from the end of WCW going into WWE. He had well documented back injury issues and also had minor foot surgery before he signed with WWE. His matches in WWE were pretty awful but you cannot use the Triple H matches as an example. Triple H was in burial mode during that era and his matches with guys like Steiner, Goldberg, and Booker T. were great examples of that. Almost as if he hated anyone that came from WCW. Whatever the case may have been, Steiner was a big name that WWE could have used in a bigger role but they did the usual of a big hype debut only to be depushed into mid-card obscurity. The matches with Triple H were brutally boring because Triple H wasn't trying and was purposely making his opponents look bad.

 

[obamartins]

He gets hate because his match quality during the Big Poppa Pump days was quite poor for the most part. Well, match quality in general during the nWo era of WCW was quite poor for the most part, specifically in the main event scene.

His time in WWE I think accentuated this, and likely tarnished some of his legacy as a singles guy. Whether he was injured, too old, or too big... he wasn't impressing anybody. I remember watching the Rumble that year, and I was at No Way Out in Montreal that year as well... those matches vs Triple H were brutally boring.

Match quality during Scott Steiner's Big Poppa Pump run was not poor. He was more than passable as a performer & his matches were decent to good & always watchable. His match at Fall Brawl 2000 when he carried Goldberg to arguably the best match of his career was a match that Dave Meltzer rated ****1/4. He also had good matches with Diamond Dallas Page, Booker T, Goldberg, Chris Jericho, Mike Awesome, Jeff Jarrett, Rey Mysterio, Sid Vicious, Kevin Nash...

If you read my original post I've already explained in depth the situation regarding his WWE return in 2002 & the matches he had with Triple H. He had a paralysed foot...

You obviously didn't listen to the "Lance Storm tells some Scott Steiner stories" video I posted in my original post because as Lance Storm said Scott Steiner was made the scapegoat in the Triple H matches.

 

[CrucifiedRaven]

Match quality during Scott Steiner's Big Poppa Pump run was not poor. He was more than passable as a performer & his matches were decent to good & always watchable. His match at Fall Brawl 2000 when he carried Goldberg to arguably the best match of his career was a match that Dave Meltzer rated ****1/4. He also had good matches with Diamond Dallas Page, Booker T, Goldberg, Chris Jericho, Mike Awesome, Jeff Jarrett, Rey Mysterio, Sid Vicious, Kevin Nash...

If you read my original post I've already explained in depth the situation regarding his WWE return in 2002 & the matches he had with Triple H. He had a paralysed foot...

You obviously didn't listen to the "Lance Storm tells some Scott Steiner stories" video I posted in my original post because as Lance Storm said Scott Steiner was made the scapegoat in the Triple H matches.

I'm explaining why many Internet smarks hate on him. You obviously didn't read my first post where I praised him as one of my favourites, specifically his earlier work. Again, as I noted his ring work was poor for the most part, but the same can be said for the entire main event scene in WCW at the time.

His matches in WWE were pretty awful but you cannot use the Triple H matches as an example.

Yes, I can. Whether it was Scott's fault or not is not the point. They were his first matches in WWE and it's hard to break your first impression, especially when it's that bad. Sure, Triple H may have made him look bad. But fans didn't know that.. to fans, his 100 belly to belly suplexes in a row just plain wasn't impressive.