The Other Loose Cannon: Scott Steiner

Posted on June 3, 2014 by bdamage1

Brian Damage

When referring to the term “Loose Cannon,” as fans we immediately gravitate to the late, great Brian Pillman. While Pillman indeed deserved such a moniker, another is certainly deserving of such a name…Scott Steiner. Scott in some respects, was just if not more volatile than Brian Pillman ever could be. From his candid live mic promos on WCW Nitro to his backstage confrontations…Scott Steiner was a ticking time bomb and a MUST SEE star.

In the waning days of WCW, Scott Steiner’s “Big Poppa Pump” character became one of the more entertaining, yet cringe worthy performers. What made Steiner so successful, was the fact that WCW had nothing to lose and everything to gain at that time. Scott Steiner quickly became a lightning rod for controversy with his mouth. While Steiner will never be mistaken for a silver tongued devil like Roddy Piper or the Rock….his words were delivered with such veracity and anger it was effective.

When we were first introduced to Scott Steiner in the late 1980’s, I don’t think anybody expected the metamorphosis of what he would later become. Scott, while not small, worked more like a light heavyweight in his early years. He was the man that introduced many fans…including myself…to the move known as the Hurricanrana. (He called it the Frankensteiner) His was quick and agile. A nice compliment to his brother Rick Steiner. Scott seemed destined to be a tag team specialist the majority of his career. He and his brother were a dominant tag team in the 90’s known as the Steiner Brothers.

It wasn’t until the nWo emerged in the late 90’s that allowed Scott Steiner to be set free and become the man who cared only about his freaks & his peaks. He cut off his long mullet hair, dyed it bleach blonde…enhanced his physique (Whether chemically or naturally) and given almost free reign on a microphone. All of it combined created the man known as the big, bad booty daddy…Big Poppa Pump.

His character development led to a WCW World title reign. A run that lasted until WCW Nitro’s final day…when he lost to Booker T. As his “Genetic Freak” character was seeing success inside the ring….it was also creating havoc outside of it. He was saddled with arrests, fines and suspensions. He was involved in his fair share of backstage fights with the likes of DDP and Terry Taylor. He would often times get carried away with his physicality and attack non wrestling personnel or wrestle “stiff.” He kicked and assaulted a legitimate EMT named Randall Mankins which led to an arrest. He also assaulted both Diamond Dallas Page and WCW executive Terry Taylor backstage.

It was most likely his unstable persona and nagging injuries that prevented Steiner from becoming an even bigger star in the wrestling business. There were rumors that when the WWE bought WCW and Shane McMahon was in attendance for the final Nitro…he had himself surrounded by security just in case Steiner went off. Whether that is true or not is irrelevant…but no doubt plausible considering his long history. To this day, Scott Steiner still competes on the indie circuit. It was that brief time in WCW…with the company having nothing left to lose…where Scott Steiner shined the brightest.