20 Worst WWE Matches Since 2000
6. Scott Steiner Vs. Triple H (Royal Rumble 2003)
Scott Steiner joining WWE should've been a huge deal.
One of the last ex-WCW stars to cross over following the Invasion angle's conclusion, 'Big Poppa Pump' was still a huge name. He looked like a potential main event commodity, and the company wasted no time in pushing him to the top, throwing Steiner in a mainline feud with World Heavyweight Champion shortly after arriving on Raw.
WWE systematically failed to present him as a big deal. They forced him into an uncomfortably babyface role and let the HHH feud devolve to a series of pose-downs and arm-wrestling contests, torpedoing the audience's interest in their eventual showdown. Still, much of this could've been forgiven had they delivered between the ropes, but they didn't: their Royal Rumble 2003 collision ranks among the worst of either man's career.
The opening stages were lifeless, but the bout didn't come off the rails until the second half, when a visibly exhausted Steiner resorted to spamming the same belly-to-belly suplex ad nauseum, with the fans turning on him by the end.
Steiner and Triple H wrestled a marginally less egregious rematch at No Way Out, but it did nothing to expel the Rumble's horrors.