10 Awesome Gimmicks Wasted On Terrible Wrestlers

There was a time in his career when Scott Steiner was considered the next great main event prospect. With a physique chiseled from stone and an athleticism matched by few, he had all of the tools necessary to achieve greatness inside the squared circle.

Years of wear and tear left his body a mangled mess by the time 1998 arrived, though. Once one of the most dynamic performers in the industry, Steiner was relegated to punches, kicks and the most generic power moves imaginable. His in-ring game suffered tremendously.

It is for that reason his development of the Big Poppa Pump character was even more disappointing. The loudmouth, womanizing, sexually dominant persona captivated fans and stood out amid the white-bread, generic characters that had made up WCW at the time. He was brash, cocky and the enemy of Standards and Practices at Turner Broadcasting.

He was edgy, unpredictable and dangerous, a trifecta the 18-35 demographic appreciated in their wrestlers during the Monday Night Wars. Unfortunately for Steiner and his millions of fans, he was unable to back up the engaging promos and Big Bad Booty Daddy nickname with anything resembling a good match. Like so many WCW main event competitors, his credibility as a headliner was hurt by his inability to back up the act with a quality in-ring performance.

More style than substance, Steiner's run atop WCW as it neared its death remains entertaining only for his off-the-cuff promos.