Rick Steiner ALMOST Appeared At NXT Halloween Havoc
Bron Breakker almost got some fatherly support vs. Tommaso Ciampa in WWE!
Rick Steiner came within a hair of making an appearance at WWE NXT's Halloween Havoc special on 26 October.
This is according to NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa, who told Alex McCarthy as much in a new interview for talkSPORT. The 36-year-old claimed that while Steiner was originally booked to appear, he ended up pulling out as the show drew closer, which Ciampa joked may have been a result of a certain outcome:-
“So, [Rick Steiner] was meant to be at Halloween Havoc. He pulled out last minute. Maybe because I retained, but I won’t say that’s why [laughs]. I would love to be friends with him."
Rick's son, Bron Breakker, was unsuccessful in defeating Ciampa for the NXT Championship in said match. This was the first loss of Breakker's short NXT 2.0 run.
WWE controversially renamed Bron upon promoting him to television in September, having initially attempted to brand him "Rex Steiner" before his onscreen debut. The promotion has, however, made constant references to his wrestling lineage, with Breakker borrowing liberally from his father's in-ring arsenal (as well as uncle Scott's) while terms like "Dog-Faced Gremlin", Rick's old nickname, are thrown around liberally.
Rick Steiner has been out of mainstream wrestling since 2008, when he left TNA. His last WWE appearance was back in 1994.