Scott Steiner Explains Why He Turned Down WWE Title Opportunity
WWE Hall of Famer Scott Steiner has explained why he had no desire to become WWE Champion during the early 1990s, despite the company reportedly considering him for a major singles push.
Speaking to SHAK Wrestling, Scott Steiner addressed remarks by WWE executive Bruce Prichard, who suggested that WWE had plans for Steiner to win the 1993 Royal Rumble and challenge for the top title.
“I have heard that, especially with Bruce Prichard saying something like that on his podcast. I think about making me a world champion,” Steiner said.
However, Steiner revealed that at the time, singles success was not his focus. WWE had reportedly pitched an idea for Scott and his brother, Rick Steiner, to compete against each other during the Royal Rumble, setting up Scott’s transition into a solo career. Steiner turned down the plan, emphasising that his primary goal was to build a legacy with Rick as a tag team.
“But there was a thing where, in the Royal Rumble, they wanted us [Scott and Rick Steiner] to go against each other, and at the time, one of the reasons why I got into wrestling was to wrestle with my brother, prove that we’re the best brothers, and wrestle the best tag teams in the world,” Steiner said. “So, I had no interest whatsoever in being a World Champion, the timing wasn’t right.”
Although he chose to remain focused on tag team wrestling during his WWE run, Scott Steiner later achieved major singles success. In 1999, he won the WCW United States title, and in 2000, he captured the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, establishing himself as one of the top singles wrestlers in the promotion.
Which Fellow WWE Hall Of Famer Does Scott Steiner Blame For Derailing His WCW Heel Turn?
Scott Steiner spoke about how he feels Hulk Hogan is responsible for his WCW heel turn starting off poorly. Steiner recalled how shortly after turning heel, he was booked in a match against Lex Luger and was expecting, due to the fact he’d recently made the switch, that he would get the win in order to push his character further. However, Steiner lost the match and later found out that Hogan had exercised his creative control clause in his WCW contract to have Steiner lose the match, a move he believes damaged the early stage of his heel turn.
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