RF Video Shoot Interview with Scott Steiner

This was filmed in 2005. This copy I watched was remastered by Highspots but the shoot was conducted by RF Video. You could hear Feinstein asks questions along with Doug Gentry. The Highspots guy was asking questions too.

It runs at one hour and fifty-five minutes long.

Scott is asked about his amateur background and said he was recruited and an All-American at Michigan and the time of his life. He joked that he did not go to class a lot and again said it was a great time. He also said “you know” a few times, which happens frequently throughout the interview. Scott said he received a few football scholarships from schools in the MAC conference. He wanted to stay close to home.

He said that he practiced with the Olympic team in 1984 and still keeps in contact with his coach then says “you know” several more times and talks about how it was a lot of dedication and he was burned out on amateur wrestling at that time.

Before he became a pro wrestler, Steiner said he did not watch it until college and growing up only had three TV channels. He said he looked at the wrestlers on TV and knew that he could beat them up.

Scott said that his brother went up to Brad Rheingans camp in Minnesota and trained there but at the time, he was in college and working as a bouncer at a bar called “Good Time Charlie’s.” Scott said he always knew that he was going to be a wrestler at that point.

He was trained by Don Kent and had his first match against him. He said he did most of his “learning” inside of the ring.

After five months, he went down to Tennessee and wrestled for the Jarrett’s. The interviewer brings up a rumor about how he broke Tommy Angel’s nose in two different places during a tryout match his brother got for him in the NWA. Scott was unaware that he broke his nose and said he had a tryout match but does not remember that. He said he wrestled a tryout match once against Chris Adams but forgot about the details. Scott does not remember a lot and that is the theme of the interview, you know.

While in Tennessee, Scott said it was brutal and it was the first time he saw guys use cocaine. He lived with Billy Travis and his girlfriend there but he had a huge problem with drugs. Scott said that the money was shit and the crowds were awful but they got to improve and wrestle almost every day. He was there for ten months.

In Tennessee, he rode with Jeff Jarrett. He is asked about how big he was and if he was lifting a lot. Scott said that he had been lifting since he was a freshman in high school. He said he was about 235lbs in Memphis.

He said that he wound up in WCW when Turner bough the NWA. He came in at the same time as Tom Zenk, Brian Pillman, and a few other guys.

His first match was against the Samoan Swat Team, teaming with his brother. Scott said at that point, he had no desire to be a singles wrestler. He loved tagging with his brother and they traveled together with Sting and Lex Luger a lot.

Steiner is asked about any “food fights” on the road and he tells stories about the Samoan Swat Team driving the wrong way down the highway and how the Nasty Boys were a good time.

When asked about Jim Herd, Steiner said he never had a problem with him but that he had some wacky ideas. He said a few guys did not like having to answer to him.

Now, Steiner is asked about the Varsity Club and he gets a little irritated and says that he has no idea what he is talking about then says “cut.” He then asks again if they have seen him wrestle them and they said yes but Steiner said he doesn’t remember at all. This was pretty funny.

Steiner said that he had some good matches with the Freebirds and said that the Skyscrapers were good. Steiner then said that the most fun in and out of the ring was with the Nasty Boys. The interviewer mentions how in his book, Ole Anderson killed off the mystique of the Road Warriors. Steiner said that they weren’t going to destroy them and said they were doing the same thing for ten years. He said that they wanted to be “King Kong.” He liked working with Doom, calling them nice guys and good athletes.

They asked him about the Frankensteiner move. Steiner said he thought about using it in Tennessee but thought everyone would steal the move if they saw him use it there so he waited until WCW and put his name on it so it could be is but that others use the move today.

He is asked if the company changed when Bill Watts joined WCW. Steiner said that he was an “asshole” and an “old, piece of shit” then said that he told him how he felt in front of everyone at Center Stage in Atlanta. When asked, Steiner said that he was speaking for a lot of guys and that Watts responded by sticking his tail between his legs. Steiner said that their contracts were up shortly and did not get heat from the office.

He is asked about Ric Flair and how he worked with him. Steiner said that Flair was never an athlete then adds how the biggest “pussies” are always the ones who want to have the belt. He then tells a story about Flair that Dick the Bruiser told him when he first got to NWA to drop his bags in front of Flair and tell him to carry them as Flair got into the business by carrying guy’s bags. He says that you cannot trust Flair as he will stab you in the back. He then says that he is the biggest pussy you will ever meet backstage.

In another funny moment, Steiner is asked about Missy Hyatt and how in her book, she said that the Steiner’s stole her dog. He said it could have happened but he doesn’t know.

When asked about working with Terry Gordy & Steve Williams, Steiner said that Williams was legit but that his brother wanted to kill Gordy because he was always fucked up. Steiner said that they always had good matches in Japan against Vader and Bam Bam Bigelow.

He is asked about going to the WWF and Steiner said they never should have went there as it was miserable with Vince going through the steroid trial and only the WBF guys had guaranteed deals. They said that they could get more money in Japan and went there instead.

When asked, he said there first program was with Money Inc. He talks about having a few matches against Bret and Owen Hart, who Steiner traveled with a lot and said that he was a good dude. He said that the Quebecers were “fucking horrible” and when asked if the finish was not what it was supposed to be and Scott first said that he never heard anything like that then starts to freak out and even calls a timeout!

Steiner is asked about Vince and he said he had a meeting with him as they were pissed about payouts and thinks Vince felt sorry that he couldn’t pay them what he promised. Steiner said that Vince was facing jailtime and that they were not his top priority.

He said that they wound up in ECW after Paul Heyman called them up. Another funny moment when Rob Feinstein asks him about the Dudley’s and Steiner said they were not even a team yet and when Rob said they were just starting out, Steiner said that they were not but that Rob would know better than him.

Steiner is now asked about an incident in Japan when they roughed up someone and if they got heat from the office. Rob mentioned that it was in all of the dirt sheets back then. Steiner said that they got it from Dave Meltzer, who gets his information secondhand and that what the fuck does he know because he is not there in the locker room. He said that the guys who stooge off to Meltzer are those who are trying to bury people.

He is asked about returning to WCW and how things were getting better there. Steiner puts over Eric Bischoff as the best thing that ever happened to WCW and if you say otherwise, then you are “fucked up.” He puts him over for bringing up the pay scale and if your agenda is not to make the most money you can, then you are a mark. He said that Bischoff never took any shit from people and fired Greg Gagne for going behind is back.

Speaking about the “Monday Night Wars,” Steiner said that they wanted to beat the WWF. He said that they all looked at the ratings each week and it proved a point that the WWF was not the only wrestling organization out there.

When asked about his “Big Poppa Pump” character, he said that Bischoff initiated it and that it was his idea to have him join the nWo. He talks about being similar to Superstar Billy Graham and trying to copy his beard but said it was too hard and that he only had it for a week.

Steiner is asked about the backstage politics that took place in WCW and said that there were politics from day one. He said that he could have been a 16-Time World Champion like Flair too if all of his friends were booking. He said that he picked on Flair in an interview while with the nWo because that is what they did at the time. He then said that he went backstage afterwards and found out that Flair was legitimately crying. Steiner then talks about Flair trying to get him fired by going to JJ Dillon and Bill Busch. The next day, Steiner said he got sent home and he ran into Flair, who told him that it wasn’t his fault and Steiner said you have to be an idiot to believe whatever Flair tells you. He said that Sean Waltman did the crying stuff from the nWo Horseman Parody because he was crying all of the time. He then says fuck Flair because he got so many people fired and fucked over a lot of guys.

He said that Hulk Hogan is the master manipulator and the best worker outside of the ring of all-time.

When asked about the promo he cut on Kimberly Page, Steiner said that she was “messed up” and said that the women could draw. Steiner said that she got fired as a stripper because she was terrible at that. He calls the Nitro Girls “Tramps from Atlanta” and denies that he ever harassed them because he never gave them the time of day.

He is asked about being suspended prior to the June 27th Thunder tapings and he doesn’t remember that and said it could have happened.

Steiner said that a lot of the stuff he was doing was his own thing. He said Bischoff approved it and said that Kevin Sullivan was the booker and doing the same old shit. He then said that Bischoff would always listen to Hogan and one day when Hogan was late, no one knew what to do.

The interviewer goes back to Steiner getting suspended and ask if it was for threatening Terry Taylor. Steiner said that he didnt get suspended for dealing with him and said he had a short temper and when the played the wrong music, Taylor was nearby and he took out his frustrations on him.

He said that he was there in Buff Bagwell broke his neck and thought that it was “weird.” Steiner then denies that there was legit tension between them.

Steiner said that the only reason DDP got pushed was because of his friendship with Bischoff. He did say that DDP had a little bit of tension.

He said that Sid’s broken leg was one of the worst things he had ever seen. At the time, Steiner said he had no idea his leg snapped as his back was turned and the ref told him that Sid thought he broke his angle. Steiner then said he went over and kicked him and then pinned him after that. Steiner then said that when he went backstage, the guys all saw what happened to Sid and Chuck Palumbo asked Steiner why the fuck was he kicking him then when Steiner saw the replay of what happened, he understood why he was saying that.

They talk about steroids for a few minutes and Steiner denied that he ever took them. He also denies ever taking any growth hormones.

He talks about how he ruptured a disc in his back then took time off only to have it happen a few more times and he ended up needing surgery.

When asked about his series of matches against Booker T, Steiner did not think much of them and said people popped when he one the belt, despite being a heel.

Steiner said that he was not emotional after the last Nitro as everyone knew that the company was fucked. Steiner declined a buyout from the WWE as his contract was good until November and he sat home to heal from injuries.

When talking about the WWE, Steiner said that they originally wanted him to return at WrestleMania 18 to team with Steve Austin against Scott Hall & Kevin Nash. He said that he let is lawyer take care of it and not call him until they came up with the right number financially. Steiner said the WWE was shit at the time and was watching Austin singing in the ring from home on television.

Steiner said that he heard rumors when he did sign with the WWE that he was just going to be there to put over HHH. He said they did not let the WCW guys do their own thing and said they were control freaks. He said they had a bunch of short guys trying to write TV and appear cool.

Next, he is asked about his match at the Royal Rumble against HHH. Steiner said that they took it too long and that the match was only supposed to go on for eighteen minutes. He hinted that they made it go longer in an attempt to bury him. Steiner said that he was not blown up in the match. When pressed a little by the interviewer about why they would try to bury him in the match, Steiner said “you tell me” then said who is dumb, him or them, adding that he was getting paid the same either way. He said the match wasn’t very good and it takes two to have a bad match.

He said his angle with Test and Stacy Keibler was brutal and thought that Stacy should have dressed like Midajah.

He was then asked about Jerry Jarrett writing in his book that it was disrespectful for Steiner to not help out a friend when he and Jeff were trying to get TNA started. Steiner said what the hell did he ever do for him. He said that he is friends with Jeff.

They ask him if he has a desire to wrestle in TNA. Steiner said he just finished a our of Italy but doesnt want his career on a bad note.

Steiner is asked about appearing on the TV show “Charmed” while working in WCW. He said that while explaining to Shannen Doherty’s stunt double that he would have to put his hand in her crotch to perform a press slam, Shannen came up to him and said that she would do that and when Steiner told her that he would have to put his hand in her crotch, Shannen told him that is why she asked. Steiner says that she was cool and gets a lot of bad press.

He is asked about JBL and if he was a bully. Steiner said that JBL tried to do that with Chuck Palumbo by stiffing him in a match and when they got backstage, Palumbo told him off and challenged him to a fight and JBL backed down. Steiner himself denied ever purposely stiffing someone in the ring. He said cheapshots like that are bullshit.

Steiner said that he had a lot of great times on the road but when asked, could not come up with a story.

When asked what he would be doing if he was not a wrestler, Steiner did not know.

He then said it is extremely difficult to get over today as a wrestler in the WWE because you have the same “weasels” in the back trying to script out things for everyone and they all have the same voice.

Steiner is asked by Feinstein if the decision by WCW to put the belt on David Arquette a good one and Steiner went “are you fucking kidding me” before saying it was the biggest piece of shit that he was ever involved in and said it was all because of “Ready to Rumble” which he called a horrible movie. He said that Arquette meant nothing and still doesnt mean anything.

He is asked about the Ultimate Warrior and Steiner mentions how he met him while working in the UWF and that anyone who legally changes their name to “Warrior” has to be fucked up.

Final Thoughts: This interview was something else. Steiner came across as a combination of brain-damaged and high on drugs. Some of this interview was brutal, some of this was funny, and some of it was unintentionally funny. Steiner probably said “you know” about 500 times too. The beginning of this interview was painful as Steiner barely able to recall the beginning of his career.

Steiner certainly dislikes Flair and his bashing of him was the most interesting part of the shoot. There was not a whole lot of insight but Steiner’s brutal honesty was actually refreshing at times. It was tough for the interviewers to ask Steiner questions as he did not remember a lot and even asked for timeouts and edits at times.

As far as a recommendation for this shoot, I really cannot recommend it unless you want to watch/listen to two hours of proof as to how Steiner is a lunatic with a poor memory. The beginning and end of this was painful to watch but there was some entertainment in the middle. Not the worst shoot I have ever seen but I would never want to watch it again.