How Scott Steiner Changed His Look And Became Big Poppa Pump In WCW, Explained
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Anyone who watched WCW in 1992 and then stopped watching and returned in 1998 might be forgiven for having no idea who Big Poppa Pump was. The transformation that Scott Steiner made from the athletic former college superstar to the overly muscular arrogant WCW World Champion was enormous. In just a short time, Steiner completely redefined himself - not only his look, but also his personality, promos, and attitude.
Scott Steiner Was The Athletic And Technical Steiner Brother
Rick Steiner was already a minor star when his little brother debuted in WCW. Rick worked in Mid-South Wrestling, where Hot Stuff Eddie Gilbert managed him, and he was an early tag team partner of Sting. When Mid-South sold to Crockett Promotions, Rick became part of the Varsity Club with Kevin Sullivan, where he represented The University of Michigan alongside Dr. Death Steve Williams (Oklahoma) and Mike Rotunda (Syracuse). However, when Scott Steiner arrived, everything changed.
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Rick Steiner was short and built like a fire hydrant. He could grapple around, but mostly used power moves and a ton of suplexes in his matches. The best tag teams usually had two wrestlers who had different, but contrasting styles. In this case, Rick was the brawler and Scott was the guy who could fly around the ring. His Frankensteiner was a thing of beauty, and the Steiner Brothers went on to win multiple tag team titles in WWE, WCW, and Japan. Of the two, Scott looked like he could become a star based on his style and look. However, he didn't become a singles star until he changed both of those attributes.
Scott Steiner Turned Heel On Rick Steiner And Joined The nWo
When the nWo showed up in WCW, the Steiner Brothers were on the front lines to defend the company from the invaders. Rick and Scott were already one of the top two tag teams in WCW at the time ,along with Harlem Heat. However, when The Outsiders showed up, and brought a crooked official with them, it made things hard for anyone not in the nWo. The Steiner Brothers had some highs, and even won the titles after a referee bump, but it always seemed like the nWo had the upper hand. Then, things got worse. Scott Steiner turned heel and joined the nWo.
This happened in February 1998 when the Steiner Brothers were the WCW World Tag Team Champions. At SuperBrawl VIII, they defended their titles against The Outsiders and Scott attacked his own brother. They lost the match and the titles and Scott personally handed them over to The Outsiders. It was a great heel turn. Unlike many matches where the guy will fight the opposition before making the turn, Scott never made one offensive move against The Outsiders in this match. Instead, just when Rick had the advantage, Scott jumped his brother from behind and laid him out. He even punched their manager Ted DiBiase and knocked him from the ring apron. He then gave the Too Sweet hand sign to The Outsiders, and they pinned Rick. This was the major heel turn that Scott Steiner needed.
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Big Poppa Pump Was All About The Attitude
Scott didn't just turn heel. He underwent a massive transformation. He had already cut his long black hair short, and after his heel turn, he dyed it blonde. He dyed his beard too and started wearing chain mail to the ring. He always had on sunglasses and began bringing women with him, arm in arm. The former All-American who was a hometown boy done good started acting arrogant and referring to himself in the third person. He called himself Big Poppa Pump and the Big Bad Booty Daddy. He cut often nonsensical promos and insulted everyone. He was the perfect bad guy and everyone who used to love him now hated him with a passion. He became a star.
Slowly but surely, he started getting bigger and bigger muscle-wise. Early on, Scott Steiner was teaming with Buff Bagwell in the nWo, but WCW had bigger things planned for him. This all started after the nWo broke up, and he joined Vince Russo's New Blood. He won the United States Championship, but that was just a stepping stone. On November 26, 2000, at Mayhem, Scott Steiner beat Booker T and became the new WCW World Heavyweight Champion. He was also the final real champion in WCW, holding the title until WWE purchased the company and then losing it to Booker T on the final WCW Nitro episode in history. As the athletic Scott Steiner in the Steiner Brothers tag team, Scott was an exciting wrestler. But, as the jacked and arrogant Big Poppa Pump, he was a main event star.
