WWE Hall of Famer Scott Steiner has discussed his WWE debut, and how he was pleasantly surprised by the reaction he got from the crowd.
Steiner returned to WWE for his second run with the promotion in 2002, following WCW's demise. "Big Poppa Pump" made his return to the promotion at Survivor Series in 2002 and assaulted both ChristopherNowinski and MattHardy. The veteran star recently spoke about his WWE debut during a recent appearance on the "Talk is Jericho" podcast.
"They played my music, I went out and just beat up Matt Hardy and Nowinski. Even Howard Finkel came up to me and said, 'Man, that was one of the biggest pops I've witnessed,'" recalled Steiner. "I was actually fairly surprised that I got that response, and so I thought, 'This is great. They don't have to push me much 'cause they already know who I am.'"
Steiner's push in WWE, though, didn't happen as he, like many former WCW stars, was put through the wringer in WWE, with many top names being unfairly treated in WWE.
"Unfortunately, everybody from WCW got the thumb put on them, and I was just one of them," he said.
He recalled how the likes of Kevin Nash and Diamond Dallas Page, who also made the switch from WCW to WWE, weren't utilized well under Vince McMahon and co. Steiner's underwhelming run with WWE ended in 2004, following which he had a great spell with TNA Wrestling. Afterfalling out with WWE and Vince McMahon, Steiner mended fences with the promotion and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2022, conceding that sometimes you have to grow up.
