[1998-02-22-WCW-Superbrawl VIII] Scott Hall & Kevin Nash vs Rick & Scott Steiner

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[soup23]

We cut to Rick in between Scott's legs and the turn happens. Crowd erupts at this and Scott suplexs Rick and decks Dibiase. Rhodes posts Dibiase and we have a new NWO member. That is now three new members (Dusty, Adams, and Scott) in around 3 weeks. Rick actually kicks out of the first pinfall attempt. Rick gets a flurry but gets clubbed by Nash. Hall botches the first attempt at an Outsiders Edge but hits the second one and The Outsiders reclaim the tag straps.

[Zenjo]

Yet another new member joins the NWO. In this case the heel turn and subsequent focus on singles would be a huge success for Big Poppa Pump.

[Loss]

This didn't feel like as big of a deal to me as I think it probably did to most people at the time, as the Steiners were just really a thing of the past to me at this point, and Scott turning on his brother felt like something happening about seven years too late. It was weird that Rick fought back after the turn because I think it took away from it as a focal point at least a little. Can anyone turn without joining the NWO? Did Scott ever even get a chance to explain his motivations? Does he hate WCW? Big Poppa Pump had a little bit of value as a singles wrestler once he settled into the gimmick, but it's fascinating watching the booking decisions in 1998 at this point. Everything involves the same players, so even the fresh stuff feels stale.

[Childs]

Couldn't agree more--the Steiners felt like ancient history. When was the last time they'd been treated as a big deal? Maybe 1993? Big Poppa Pump did end up as one of the more useful players in the post-peak NWO, so I guess it wasn't a total waste.

[PeteF3]

Even if the Steiners were past it, and there's no question that they were, this turn deserved more than a standard "swerve" type turn with a few token weeks of build-up. Plus, that build to the turn had really nothing to do with the NWO at all, just Scott being a glory hound. Meltzer is correct that brother vs. brother feuds generally don't work--Bret vs. Owen was an exception because so much thought was put into making that storyline as believable as possible. This is just generic, though it certainly would end up being a boon to Scott's career.

[TravJ1979]

I was happy this happened as the Steiner's, or any babyface tag team in WCW at this time, were just stale as fuck. Steiner's career got an extra ten years out of this turn.