Big Poppa Pump Reveals Why He "tried to piss everybody off" After His WWE Heel Turn

TOI Sports Desk / TIMESOFINDIA.COM / Mar 8, 2025, 15:56 IST

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WWE Hall of Famer Scott Steiner, known as Big Poppa Pump, turned heel by attacking his brother Rick in 1998. The dramatic change in his appearance and personality, suggested by Eric Bischoff, made him a unique heel. In an interview, Scott revealed the idea sparked from visiting a strip club and aiming to be different from the Steiner Brothers.

Big Poppa Pump Reveals Why He "tried to piss everybody off" After His WWE Heel Turn

Scott Steiner (Image via WWE)

WWE Hall of Famer Scott Steiner, popularly known as Big Poppa Pump, turned heel after attacking his brother Rick when the duo were defending the WCW World Tag Team Championship against The Outsiders in 1998. His heel turn came as a shock to fans, as the Steiner Brothers were known babyfaces in the WWE. But after his change, it felt like Steiner had become a massive a** who pissed everyone off on purpose. And in a recent conversation, Big Poppa Pump revealed why he changed his personality.

Scott Steiner aka Big Poppa Pump's drastic heel turn

Scott Steiner, aka Big Poppa Pump, recently sat for an interview on "Talk Is Jericho" during the Jericho Cruise. He talked in detail about attacking his brother Rick in the ring and turning heel, shocking everyone. He also went through a dramatic change in his appearance, having bleached his hair and wearing a chain coif during his entrances.

"I saw that on display, and I said, 'Oh s**t, that might look good,' and I wore it out that night, and I wore it ever since."
Scott saw the chainmail coif during a visit to a strip club in Detroit. He was there to look at outfits for the girls he walked out with during his entrances, and found the perfect fit for him instead.

Big Poppa Pump talked about his drastic change in personality

Big Poppa Pump was a whole lot different from the rest of the heels at the time. He was not like Hulk Hogan or Kevin Nash and knew he had to make a niche for himself. He also had to be different from what he was as a part of the Steiner Brothers, so he knew that his heel turn had to have something distinct.
"I totally had to go against what I always was with Steiner Brothers (...) so I tried to be an a**hole, tried to be a d**k, and tried to piss everybody off."

He also spoke of how the whole heel turn came to be, revealing it was Eric Bischoff who came to him with the idea of going against his own brother.
"The tag teams were a little bit down, so Eric [Bischoff] came up to me and said 'You want to turn against your brother?' I said yeah, it's time."
And that's how Big Poppa Pump came to be: one of the greatest heels in WWE, and one of the greatest wrestling legends in WWE.
Also Read: WWE Icon Big Poppa Pump Is Ready to Roast an Entire Country After Being Troubled at The Border

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