Should Scott Steiner have went to Smackdown instead of Raw in 2003?

[Wolf Pac]

When I heard Steiner had re-signed with the WWE back in 2002, I was so excited to see him return to the WWE and this time with the Big Poppa Pump gimmick which I absolutely loved back in WCW. I marked out a little for his return at Survivor Series 2002 when he took out Chris Nowinski and Matt Hardy. Steiner was given a choice of which brand he would sign with and he chose to go to Raw. Unfortunately, he ended up having an awful series of World Title matches with Triple H on PPV and got stuck in a crappy feud with Test with the winner earning the managerial services of Stacy Keibler. He then turned heel, formed a new tag team with Test, was hardly used after that, got injured and was released while he was sidelined.

But what if Steiner had gone to Smackdown instead. Over on the blue brand, he could have had potentially great main event feuds with Brock Lesnar, Kurt Angle and The Undertaker, awesome midcard feuds with Chris Benoit, John Cena, Rhyno etc. Hell, he could have been the top second heel behind Kurt Angle earlier in the year and behind Brock Lesnar later in the year. I don't know if there was more to it like a bad attitude backstage or something but I've always felt Steiner's 2003 run was a failure because of how he was booked. On Smackdown, I feel he would've been booked better there and I imagine a Steiner run there would've been quality.

What do you think though? Would Steiner have been more successful on Smackdown or would it have been just as much a failure as his Raw run?

 

[relentless1]

I think Stiener was put on RAW for the same reason all the ex WCW main eventers were as well as most of the Attitude Era stars and thats because RAW was the more star driven brand, having said that I think Big Poppa Pump would have done better on SmackDown for two reasons, one his character is way better as a heel and two there were much better caliber of wrestlers to carry him on SmackDown for the time he was injured than HHH for sure, he would have been better received and had a much better run IMO

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

Looking back, YES he should have gone to SmackDown, but I totally understand why WWE decided to put him on Raw. Steiner arriving was a big deal, he was one of WCW's main event level guys with alot of name value and credibility. WWE wanted him on their premier show and as with most ex-WCW headliners- fed him to Triple H.

I think the main problem with Steiner (other than his physical condition as he was really broken down at the time) was the fact he was a face. Yes, I get that the fans were really happy to see him but the man is a born heel. His whole character and persona is perfect for being the bad guy. It's a shame we never got to see an in-prime Scott Steiner as a singles competitor in WWE, as he was brilliant.

 

[Wald]

If you look back on that time period than Steiner most definitely should have gone to Smackdown. In fact, anyone with any hopes of getting in the upper midcard to main event should have gone to Smackdown and just let Triple H have his ego trip on Raw where he could cut a half hour promo to start the show, have five segments building to another 15 minute promo of his before her wrestles and soundly beats whoever was unlucky enough to draw his ire in the main event.

I like Triple H now but jesus christ he was obnoxious back in that timeframe, so much so that Smackdown became genuine ratings competition for Raw.

 

[Last Man Standing]

You could have put Steiner anywhere, it would not have mattered. His foot injury, his lack of mobility, and his attitude would have been exposed no matter what brand he was on.

I know everyone wants to blame it all on Triple H. But truth is, Steiner didn't have a good match the entire time he was there. He was a shell of his former self and WWE was smart enough to get a few PPV buy rates out of him before the crowd realized it.

 

[Mustang Sally]

You could have put Steiner anywhere, it would not have mattered. His foot injury, his lack of mobility, and his attitude would have been exposed no matter what brand he was on.

Exactly. Whatever brand he was assigned, WWE had to know his employment would be of temporary duration. Honestly, I'm surprised he lasted as long as he did. In addition to the maladies listed above, the company had to figure there would be a "chemistry malfunction" somewhere along the line.

It's the same logic WCW must have used when taking on Ultimate Warrior. They obviously knew he'd find some reason to leave, sooner rather than later, so they correctly put him into high profile events immediately upon his arrival, knowing he'd bolt well before his contract expired.

So it was with Scott Steiner in WWE and it was undoubtedly smart to get him into title matches with Triple H as soon as they could, knowing they might as well attract whatever Steiner fans were out there before it was too late.

 

[gooseholla]

I was excited when Steiner signed. But then it was just a load of rubbish - where will he go? Then stupid arm wrestles, pose downs, etc. with HHH. Would he have fared better on Smackdown? No way. Brock vs Angle was the big thing. No matter where he was placed he was doomed to never go anywhere. After all, all we remember of him is sucking on the mic, in the ring, and well, getting his foot stuck in the apron while trying to take someone out.

 

[Poop Master Flex]

Eventually Steiner's attitude would have caught up with him regardless but he would have been much better suited with guys like Lesnar, Benoit, Eddie and Angle then guys like Triple H. Another issue was as already mentioned that Steiner came in as a face. Although I understand why he was, Raw was real short on top faces at the time (or at least they thought they were) but he has no business being a face, that guy is a natural born heel.

The major issue though above anything though was obviously his workrate, that guy just was too beat up to have a good match which is a shame because Steiner is awesome when healthy. That's why I think Smackdown would have suited him better, the '03 roster could have masked a lot of those issues for a while at least. Truth is, when he wasn't wrestling he was highly entertaining when he first came into WWE, some of that stuff he did with Triple H made me laugh (like the arm wrestling and push up contest they did). If he came in as a manager or something until he healed up a bit that would have been great but considering how thin the Raw roster was at the time it's totally understandable why WWE went the direction they did.