Friday, March 9, 2012

Scott Steiner - Big Poppa Pump

Freakzilla
Scott Carl Rechsteiner (born July 29, 1962) is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Scott Steiner. Steiner is perhaps best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling alongside his older brother Rick as the Steiner Brothers and as a member of the New World Order. He is also known for his appearances with Jim Crockett Promotions and the World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment. He is currently signed with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.

While in WCW, Steiner became a one time World Heavyweight Champion, a two time United States Champion, a two time Television Champion, and won the WCW Triple Crown.

Steiner's greatest success has come as a tag team wrestler, as he is a twelve time World Tag Team Champion (seven times in World Championship Wrestling, two times in the World Wrestling Federation and two times in New Japan Pro Wrestling with Rick and one time in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling with Booker T) and a one time U.S. Tag Team Champion with Rick in WCW. All totaled, between WCW, WWF/E, NJPW, and TNA, Steiner has won 18 championships.

26 Inch Bicep
After graduating high school, Steiner went on to the University of Michigan where he wrestled at 190 lb. He was a four-time NCAA Division I qualifier, taking fifth as a freshman at the Big 10 championships and then finishing 2nd three years in a row. As a senior at the 1986 NCAA Championships, Steiner made All American honors by taking sixth place.

Steiner won the WCW World Television Championship on September 29, 1992. The Steiner Brothers, however, left WCW for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) after being low balled on their contract renewal by then-WCW head Bill Watts.

The Steiner Brothers left WCW in November 1992, with Scott vacating the WCW World Television Championship. They quickly signed contracts with the WWF, making their televised debut in an interview on the December 21, 1992 edition of WWF Prime Time Wrestling. They also appeared on the debut episode of Monday Night Raw on January 11, 1993. They made their WWF pay-per-view debut on January 24, 1993 at the 1993 Royal Rumble, defeating the Beverly Brothers (Blake and Beau). At WrestleMania IX on April 4, 1993, the Steiner Brothers defeated The Headshrinkers (Samu and Fatu). The Steiners left the promotion in mid-1994.

Hard to believe he was only
a
World Champion once in his
entire career
but he was the
very last WCW Champion!
After some time in ECW, the Steiner Brothers re-signed with WCW in 1996. They won the WCW World Tag Team Championship from Harlem Heat on July 24, 1996, but lost the title to Harlem Heat just three days later. Following the formation of the New World Order (nWo), the Steiner Brothers began feuding with The Outsiders, who had won the WCW World Tag Team Championship from Harlem Heat.

In late 1997/early 1998 Steiner "increased his muscle mass", cut his signature mullet, began sporting a goatee and a "Fu Manchu mustache", and developed a short fuse of his temper. He then started a feud with Buff Bagwell of the nWo over who had the better physique, with both wrestlers showing off their enormous muscles to the public. He and his brother also began having trouble working together in the ring, as Scott would often leave Rick in the ring by himself or would start the match and not tag his brother in.

Scott joined the nWo at SuperBrawl VIII on February 22, 1998, by attacking his brother Rick while they were defending the WCW World Tag Team Championship against The Outsiders. The next night on Monday Nitro, he adopted a new gimmick that was somewhat reminiscent of "Superstar" Billy Graham, dyeing his hair and beard blond and increasing in muscle mass even further. Scott adopted two new nicknames: "White Thunder" (referring to his bleached hair and goatee and his all-white wrestling gear) and "Superstar" (as a homage to "Superstar" Billy Graham"), including a black 'S' logo in the style of the Superman logo. He finally adopted the nickname "Big Poppa Pump", which many thought was inspired by New York rapper Notorious BIG's song "Big Poppa". Steiner soon joined forces with Buff Bagwell who started calling himself "Buff Daddy" - named after rapper Puff Daddy. He remained a member of the nWo until the group disbanded in early 1999.

His "Freak"
Throughout most of 1999, he feuded with wrestlers such as Goldberg, Diamond Dallas Page, Booker T, and cruiserweight Rey Misterio, Jr., and won both the United States Heavyweight Championship and WCW World Television Championship in the process. In late 1999, Steiner suffered a back injury and was removed from action. On an episode of WCW Monday Nitro in December 1999 in Houston, Texas, Steiner delivered an emotional speech in which he announced his retirement from professional wrestling. Later that evening, Steiner revealed himself to be in perfect health, turning on Sid Vicious. He went on to become an integral part of the reformed nWo in 2000.

After the nWo disbanded once again, Steiner became one of the central members of Vince Russo and Eric Bischoff's New Blood faction. On November 26, 2000 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, he defeated Booker T to win the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, and in doing so also became a WCW Triple Crown winner. In January 2001, he became the centerpiece of Ric Flair's Magnificent Seven faction. Steiner's feud with Booker T continued several months over several pay-per-views until he lost the WCW World Heavyweight Championship back to Booker on the final episode of Monday Nitro on March 26, 2001 after the company had been purchased by the WWF. Unlike many of his colleagues, Steiner did not join the WWF, instead opting to wait until his contract with AOL Time Warner expired later that year before seeking further employment.

New Tattoo
In October 2002, Steiner signed a three year contract with WWE, and returned to WWE television after an eight-year absence at the Survivor Series in Madison Square Garden on November 17. Once on Raw, Steiner feuded with then-World Heavyweight Champion Triple H, culminating in title matches at the 2003 Royal Rumble and at No Way Out. Steiner won the first match by disqualification after Triple H attacked Steiner with a sledge hammer and lost the later match via pinfall. Steiner suffered an injury in 2004, sidelining him for two months. While he was injured, WWE negotiated his contractual release, and Steiner left WWE on August 17, 2004.

Steiner appeared in the television program Charmed on February 1, 2001, playing "Mega Man" in the episode "Wrestling With Demons". He also appeared in the Disney Channel television show The Jersey as himself.

Superstar
Billy Graham
On December 12, 2009, Steiner released a workout DVD, Scott Steiner's FREAK SHOW: The Big Poppa Pump Workout.

While wrestling Apolo at a TNA house show in San Juan, Puerto Rico on June 3, 2007, Steiner sustained a kick to the throat. After he began coughing up blood, he was taken by ambulance to a hospital, where he was diagnosed with a torn trachea and given five hours to live. Steiner was put into an induced coma for two days, during which time doctors cut through his ribs and lung and repaired the tear, then began draining fluid from his lungs, a process that lasted two weeks. Unable to fly (because the change in air pressure would have caused his lung to collapse) Steiner eventually left Puerto Rico on a cruise ship and arrived back in the United States one week later.

Steiner's weight gain in the late 1990s led to allegations of steroid abuse, which he denied. Steiner claims that, upon returning to World Wrestling Entertainment in late 2002 he was asked to undergo a steroid test. According to Steiner, he agreed to take the test - on the condition that Triple H take one as well. Steiner claims that WWE never followed through. 

Jeff Jarrett & Abyss
On April 21, 1998 in Cherokee County, Georgia, Steiner threatened Georgia Department of Transportation employee Paul Kaspereen after Kaspereen informed him that an exit ramp leading off Interstate 575 was closed. He then twice hit Kaspereen with his Ford F-250 pickup truck (Kaspereen was not badly hurt). Steiner was subsequently arrested, and on March 17, 1999 he pled guilty to aggravated assault and making terroristic threats (felonies carrying a maximum sentence of 30 years imprisonment). Under Georgian first-offender rules, which stipulates that a first-time offender will be found not guilty if they do not violate the terms of their probation, Judge C. Michael Roach sentenced Steiner to 10 days in the Cherokee County jail. He also placed Steiner on a seven year probation order, ordered him to pay USD$25,000 in fines, restitution, and legal fees and ordered him to perform 200 hours of community service.

Towards the end of his tenure in World Championship Wrestling, Steiner embarked upon a rivalry with wrestler Diamond Dallas Page after insulting Page's wife Kimberly during an interview. Kimberly had fallen afoul of Steiner after claiming that drug paraphernalia found backstage belonged to Tammy Lynn Sytch, an accusation that, despite Sytch's vehement denial, led to her being released from the promotion soon after. The acrimony between Steiner and Page eventually descended into violence, with the two men engaging in a locker room fight before being separated by other wrestlers. The fight itself lasted less than 30 seconds, and probably closer to 10 seconds, before more than a half-dozen wrestlers intervened and pulled Steiner off of Page. Page was left bloodied and bruised after the ordeal.

Stacy Keibler
On the February 7, 2000 episode of Nitro, Steiner angered WCW officials when he directed disparaging remarks towards World Championship Wrestling and Ric Flair during an interview. In the course of the interview, Steiner claimed that when Ric Flair appeared on WCW programming, "the people at home, all they did was grab their remote, and change their channel to the WWF, and watch Stone Cold - a person you and your own friends got fired from here, 'cause you're a jealous old bastard." Steiner went on to call Flair an "ass-kissing, butt-sucking bastard" and finished the tirade with the words "WCW sucks!". He was suspended for two weeks with pay for the incident.

In January 2001, Steiner was arrested after inadvertently assaulting Randall Mankins, an emergency medical technician employed by the Kernersville, North Carolina fire department. As part of an episode of WCW Monday Nitro, an EMT was sent to the ring to tend to Michael Modest and Christopher Daniels, who were selling leg injuries ostensibly inflicted by Steiner. As the EMT entered the ring, Steiner struck him twice. Steiner was arrested for assault the following morning as he tried to board a plane. Charges of assault were later dropped when it was determined that Steiner was not made aware that this EMT was not a paid actor.

Ring Ka King
In 2001, Steiner fought backstage with WCW road agent Terry Taylor.

In December 2005, Steiner, along with Lex Luger and Buff Bagwell, were removed from a flight from Minneapolis, Minnesota to Winnipeg, Manitoba following a disturbance onboard the plane. The three men were detained for several hours before Steiner and Bagwell were released and permitted to continue on their journey (Luger, however, was held without bail and later charged and jailed). Steiner would later invoke the incident in his in-ring interviews, describing himself as a violent criminal with little regard for the forces of law and order.

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