In the late 1980's Rick Steiner was an absolute monster of a man. Possessing all the genetic freakiness that would later turn his brother into Big Poppa Pump, young Rick Steiner was destined for a lengthy and decorated singles run.
Yet, this destiny never came to fruition. Why?
Simply put, Rick's joined forces with his brother Scott Steiner to form arguably the greatest tag team in the history of professional wrestling: The Steiner Brothers.
Together, the Steiners ran roughshod over WCW, WWF, and the rest of the wrestling world. In a time when tag team wrestling was at it's zenith, Rick and Scott Steiner were in the very highest echelon, with perhaps only the Road Warriors representing true competition for the mantle of world's greatest tag team.
After forming this legendary team, Rick Steiner was absent from the singles wrestling scene until his brother's radical shift from startlingly athletic wrestling prodigy into White Thunder/Superstar/Big Poppa Pump/Big Bad Booty Daddy. Rick underwent an attitude shift of his own, welding dogs onto the shoulders of his leather jacket, but this wasn't enough to stand out in the crowded late 90's wrestling scene amongst the likes of Goldberg and Steve Austin.
A few injuries later, and Rick Steiner's days as a main eventer were over, practically before they began.
Rick Steiner reminds me a lot of current WWE Superstar, Cesaro. A guy with all the physical talent in the world, a nose for the business, a winning look, superhuman strength, and the wrestling chops to put any opponent down.
Until recently, Cesaro has been wrapped up with bad girls, bad management, and bad tag teams. And while his recent pairing with Tyson Kidd showed great potential for dominating the tag team scene, an injury to the Canadian highflyer put an abrupt end to their reign.
While certainly unfortunate, this injury and Cesaro's subsequent spinoff into the singles division has been nothing short of a revelation. Two very strong showing against a living legend in John Cena and suddenly Cesaro looks like a future World Champion. This is the very same type of blue chip potential that young Rick Steiner once exhibited.
Blessings come in many different forms, and while you would never hear Rick Steiner wish ill on his own flesh and blood, one wonders... What might have been if a prime Dog Faced Gremlin had gotten his shot against the likes of Bret Hart, Lex Luger, Sting, Yokozuna and the other elite champions of the early and mid-90's.
From the looks of it, Cesaro won't suffer from these types of questions anymore.
***
OFFICIAL WRESTLER WRANKINGS FORMULA
ANY WIN = 2 POINTS
US OR INTERCONTINENTAL TITLE BOUT = 1 POINT
WWE WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE BOUT = 3 POINTS
NON "BIG 4" PPV BONUS = 1.5X
SUMMERSLAM, SURVIVOR SERIES, ROYAL RUMBLE = 2X BONUS
WRESTLEMANIA = 3X BONUS
The WWE season begins on the day after WrestleMania 31 and culminates with WrestleMania 32. The wrestler who accumulates the most points over the course of the season, wins the coveted Wrankings Championship!
Monday Night Raw-- 7/6/15
Main Event-- 7/7/15
Smackdown-- 7/9/15
-----------------------------------
WRESTLER WRANKINGS, WEEK 15 *TOP TEN*
1. Seth Rollins -- 41 points
2. Neville -- 40
3. Ryback -- 39
4. Dean Ambrose -- 36.5
5. John Cena -- 35
6. Roman Reigns -- 27.5
7. Bad News Barrett -- 26.5
8. Sheamus -- 25.5
9. Dolph Ziggler -- 23.5
10. Randy Orton -- 23
Thanks for reading, Cagesiders. We'll see you back here next week!