In the Defense of Scott Steiner

HOLLA!!! IF YOU HEAR ME!! I bet your eyes are tossing to the back of your head as if they got T-bone suplexed. That kind of knee jerk reaction is what the norm is for "The Big Bad Booty Daddy." However, I can say with a straight face that this man is a true innovator in the sport. Not like Tommy Dreamer whom has only opened the door for grown ass men crying on T.V. Like Dreamer, should Steiner's come to a halt in 2001 once the WWE assumed their monopoly? Perhaps. But I say things were just starting for Freakzilla. So for all the freaks out there, lets go in the defense of Scott Steiner.

In nineteen and eighty-nine, a 27 year old Scott Steiner made is debut on the national stage with the National Wrestling Alliance. It was only natural that he would form a tag team with his brother Rick. On its own standing, Scott's work in the Steiner Brothers would earn him Hall of Fame credibility. The Steiners had amazing chemistry. Rick's work was very stiff. Very aggressive. Much like JBL. Young Scott worked a faster pace. Scott could go hold for hold with the likes of Arn Anderson, and could deliver the wow factor of Sting. Between the catch-as-catch-can mat skills, and the draw dropping suplexes, Scott was one of the most complete wrestlers in the entire world. Here's a sample as Scotty takes on savvy ring veteran Beautiful Bobby Eaton.

This was 20 years ago. These days, the IWC demands this level of depth in today's wrestler. But this was a time when somebody could have a respectable career as being fairly one dimensional. Sid, Big Boss Man, Lex Luger, etc. Steiner was redefining the capabilities of a heavy weight. Steiner was a omen of things to come; Frankensteiners a good half decade before a Cruiser Weight division was formed. He was a true suplex artist while Taz was just another bad gimmick in a regional promotion.

For the next few years the Steiners dominated the Tag Team scene. The Road Warriors, the Free Birds, Harlem Heat, and various incarnations of the Four Horsemen, would all make good prey for "the Dog Face Gremlin" and his younger brother. Once they got bored down south, the brothers took a road trip to Stamford to test the tandems of the WWF. The Mounties, the Hart Brothers, Money Inc. and many others ate a few Steinerlines. No matter where the brothers were, the gold was around their waist. Success would come from what ever the steiners dabbled in. It would take a good amount of time for the pair to run their course, if it ever did.

In 1998, the duo would split. Scott would begin a singles career as a member of the nWo. Rick would spend his time as enhancement talent, as he slowed down to semi-retirement. Now I don't want to spend a lot of time on this period. This might be the most redeeming portion of Steiner's career, but its also the most obvious. Steiners time on top of the WCW landscape was certainly the peak of his career. No not his biceps. Along with his famous and contorvertial promos, Steiner would win the WCW United States title twice, and an WCW World Heavy Weight Championship once. He would hold the Big Gold Belt for 120 days. And of that era, only Hulk Hogan and Goldberg can cite longer reigns.

Eventually WCW ran out of legs to keep things going. You know what happend so I wont waste space. In November of 2002 Steiner would make his long-awaited WWE debut. In Madison Square Garden, Big Poppa Pump arrived to a thunderous ovation.

In reality there isn't much that can be said for the Big Bad Booty Daddy's swim through the WWE. Bad matches. Bad booking. It was looking like Steiner was another inflated piece of WCW property that was not as advertised. Next to say Lex Luger, it was hard to find another talent whom was parodied more often. This is were things get interesting.

Of course like many whom were given best wishes in their future endeavors, Scott Steiner ended up in TNA. Lets stop down for a moment. TNA gets sited as an old folks home with unmotivated former main-eventers. I think this is were we see Scott Steiner turn his craft in to art. Clue #1: He was never TNA World Heavy Weight Champion. Clue #2: Apart for a feud with Angle, Jarrett or say Sting, Steiner was never a huge player in the title hunt. Clue #3: Steiner put guys over. I'm not saying he jobbed in every match. He put in the work to use his name to help Samoa Joe, A.J., Petty Williams, and Jay Lethal to become bigger stars. You see at this point, Steiner knew what he had become. And Like Steve Austin at the end of his career, Scott Steiner learned he could not pass himself off as a wrestler in his prime. Could he wrestle like he once could? No. Did he know he was a permanent fixture on Botchamania, probably. I wager that Steiner saw that he was not going to be taken seriously. Scott Steiner took himself in to a different direction. So instead of failing at something he could no longer do as well as he once could, he gave us this:

Simply put, like it or not, Scott Steiner is one of the smartest guys in the room. Its all a work. And we're all marks. Holler if you hear me!