Rick Steiner On How The Steiner Brothers Became One Of The Greatest Tag Teams
Rick Steiner spoke with Jim Varsallone of The Miami Herald on getting into the pro wrestling business and how tagging with his brother, Scott Steiner, made for one of the greatest tag teams in pro wrestling. In regards to finding his way into wrestling, it wasn't his first career choice, but needing to make more money, he gave it a shot.
"I got a degree [from Michigan], got a teacher's certificate and I taught school for a little while," Steiner said. "Just wasn't making a lot of money, went back to Michigan and ran some of the amateur wrestling camps. I went to a Bo Schembechler football [camp], it was an inspirational thing he put on for all the statewide football coaches. Well, George "The Animal" Steele was there and my coach, at that time, was Steve Fraser and they were good friends. ... He said, 'Hey! You outta get in wrestling,' and I said, 'I ain't doin' that, there ain't no way.' Short story, I taught school for a couple more months, didn't make any money, called him up, he sent my resume to Verne Gagne and here I am."
Steiner was then asked about teaming with his brother, Scott, and how it came together that they would become one of the greatest tag teams in pro wrestling.
"The first thing is to be able to have my brother, have him as a partner, and knowing he's got your back," Steiner responded. "Knowing his style and him knowing my style. Then, I think it's timing, just where the business was at that time and everything. WCW was coming up, [Ted] Turner was paying big money, and the nWo thing was coming together. So, I think there were a lot of things that played into that."
Steiner continued that their hard-hitting style also made their matches more memorable and probably helped the duo stay relevant with fans.
"Also, I think it was [our] style, we always took everything to that 'gray area,' you never knew how hard I was really hitting [my opponent]," Steiner joked. "We prided ourselves on taking it to that limit and we were always coming up with new things to do, different crazy stuff to do. Because in this business I think the crazier, wilder, and more out of control you are, the better off and more people remember you."
Rick Steiner also discussed his amateur wrestling background and if he would have tried Mixed Martial Arts. You can check out the full interview in the video above.
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Jim Varsallone with an H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.