Rick Steiner on How The Steiner Brothers Became a Great Tag Team

Former WWE and WCW World Tag Team Champion, WCW United States Champion, and NWA/WCW World Television Champion "The Dog-Faced Gremlin" Rick Steiner of The Steiner Brothers recently spoke to The Miami Herald.

On the start of his wrestling career: 

“I got a degree [from Michigan], got a teacher’s certificate and I taught school for a little while. 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.”

On how they became a great tag team: 

“The first thing is to be able to have my brother, have him as a partner, and knowing he’s got your back. 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.”

On their hard-hitting style: 

“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]. 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.”