Scott Steiner Reveals The Strategy Behind His Wild WCW Promos

Scott Steiner has lifted the curtain on the origins of his famously unfiltered promo style during his late 1990s WCW run, explaining that it was driven by both frustration and a calculated strategy to stand out.

Speaking to The Wrestling Classic, Steiner reflected on his 1998 transformation into the bombastic “Big Poppa Pump” after turning heel and aligning with the nWo. At the time, WCW was filled with loud personalities and established stars like Hulk Hogan, Scott Hall, and Kevin Nash. Steiner knew he needed to go in a completely different direction to avoid being overshadowed.

“A lot of that was a fear of failure or the politics of wrestling,” Steiner said. “I knew I had to be different from Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, because they were the cool guys, and Hogan did his thing, so I had to go the opposite of that.”

Steiner’s over-the-top, chaotic promos became a highlight of WCW programming in its final years. Though often delivered with rage and unpredictability, Steiner revealed that much of the madness was intentional, crafted to push limits while staying within broadcast guidelines.

“A lot of people could sense that I was pi*sed off, because I was,” Steiner admitted. “You had Standards and Practices that you had to get by, I just tried to blur the lines of what I was really trying to say to make it able to get on TV.”

The unfiltered persona paid off. Steiner rose to prominence as a top singles heel, claiming the WCW United States Championship twice before reaching the pinnacle as WCW World Heavyweight Champion in 2000. He held the title until WCW’s final Nitro broadcast in 2001, where he dropped the belt to Booker T.

Why Did Scott Steiner Turn Down An Opportunity To Become WWE Champion?

Scott Steiner spoke about why he decided to reject an opportunity to become WWE Champion in 1993. Steiner said that it was talked about him turning heel on his brother Rick at the 1993 Royal Rumble and going on to win the WWE Championship. However, Scott felt that he wanted to continue to tag with his brother Rick, as he felt that there were more goals they had to accomplish as a tag team before he could consider becoming a singles star at that time.

H/t to ITRWrestling.com