10 Reasons Why Scott Steiner Is The Most Unappreciated Pro Wrestler Ever

4. He Almost Single-Handedly Made WCW Worth Watching In Its Death Throes

Scott Steiner Peaks
WWE.com

WCW, by early 2000, was dying a death by a thousand cuts. Hulk Hogan's tyrannical grasp of creative control, Eric Bischoff's short-term, one-note creative philosophies, spectacularly incompetent middle management - these factors and a book's worth of more converged to inject it with a lethal dose of poison.

Steiner was far and away the best thing about it. One of the last of the truly great heels - the only laughs he sought back then were of the blackest shade - he revelled in his ability to generate heat. He did not concern himself with being cool. He spat on his opponents. He threatened to kill them, which was probably a bit much. But you could believe everything he said, and he said everything in such an inimitably entertaining way. He created catchphrases on a near-weekly basis. Imagine if WCW had a merchandise department that was capable of designing more than one t-shirt.

His in-ring work was as awesome as his persona. He gave Mike Awesome the best matches of a legendarily embarrassing run. Outside of his fabled 1997 series with Randy Savage, Steiner got the best out of Diamond Dallas Page.

He was so good that even Vince Russo couldn't ruin a fifteen minute match wrestled with a man who often struggled beyond five...

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Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!