Eric Bischoff has said that Scott Steiner could have been “the guy” for WCW had Bischoff taken control of the company in 2001.
Speaking on his 83 Weeks podcast, the former WCW President was reviewing the March 3rd, 1997 episode of WCW Nitro. On that show, the main event would see Lex Luger and The Giant face off against Rick and Scott Steiner. Discussing Scott, co-host Conrad Thompson asked Bischoff if he felt the Steiner Brothers should have been split up as a tag team sooner than they had been.
Bischoff replied:
“That [the Steiner brothers being more compelling as singles stars] proved to be true, towards the end of WCW when Scott Steiner emerged as a singles star. I think [Scott] had the potential had things turned out differently for WCW with the Fusion Media transaction, I think Scott likely could have been ‘the guy’ for a while.”
Bischoff was working with Fusion Media to buy WCW in 2001 following AOL Time Warner’s decision to sell the company. The deal fell apart when Turner Broadcasting Services pulled WCW’s timeslot from television. This led to WWE being able to buy the company in March 2001.
Bischoff continued praising Steiner. Stating that he had become as popular a watch for the wrestlers in the back as much as the fans in the crowd:
“He got that good, he found himself. His crazy nonsensical promos started becoming so entertaining that people would look forward to them. Guys in the back looked forward to them. When the guys who were working on the roster are anxiously awaiting one of their peers’ performances in the ring on the mic. You know it’s probably pretty good. Scott got to that point, but you’re right – we should have probably pulled the trigger on splitting them sooner than later. It would have been more valuable for both of them, and for the company.”
The Steiner Brothers would split as a tag team in February of 1998. Scott would abandon his brother and join the New World Order. Following the split, Steiner would win the WCW World Championship in November of 2000. Steiner would lose the title in the very last episode of WCW Nitro on the 26th of March 2001 to WWE bound star Booker T.
Eric Bischoff also discussed a bizarre incident involving former NWO star and NBA legend Dennis Rodman, and actress Carmen Electra.