Early career (1983–1988) He initially wrestled under the name Rob Rechsteiner before he took on the simpler
ring name Rick Steiner. He spent time in the
American Wrestling Association,
Montreal promotion International Wrestling, and the
Universal Wrestling Federation (UWF). While in the UWF he formed a
tag team with
Sting, winning the
UWF World Tag Team Championship in 1987. Also in 1987 he wrestled for
New Japan Pro-Wrestling. The UWF was bought out by
Jim Crockett Jr. in 1988, acquiring much of its roster (including Steiner), for his
National Wrestling Alliance territory,
Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP). The following week on
Nitro, the Steiners picked up their first win since returning after they defeated
The Public Enemy. After briefly
feuding with both the Warriors and Public Enemy, the Steiners began feuding with the
World Tag Team Champions Harlem Heat. On July 24 at a house show, the Steiner Brothers defeated Harlem Heat to win the World Tag Team Championship, although they re-lost the title to Harlem Heat three days later. The Steiner Brothers then reclaimed the title after defeating
The Outsiders on January 25, 1997, at Souled Out. Only two days later, they were stripped of the title by
Eric Bischoff. In a shocking move during the August 4, 1997 episode of
Nitro, the Steiner Brothers introduced
Ted DiBiase as their new manager (DiBiase was no longer a member of the nWo and had not been seen on TV since April). After starting a winning streak, the Steiner Brothers defeated the Outsiders in a rematch for the World Tag Team Title on August 9 at
Road Wild, but due to winning via disqualification, they did not win the title. On the October 13 episode of
Nitro, the Steiner Brothers finally reclaimed the World Tag Team Title after defeating Hall and his substitute tag team partner
Syxx. On the October 27 episode of
Nitro, the Steiners successfully retained the title in their first defense against The Public Enemy. After several successful title defenses, they re-lost the title to the Outsiders on the January 12, 1998 episode of
Nitro. Nearly a month later, they defeated the Outsiders for the championship on the February 9 episode of
Nitro. During a title defense against the Outsiders during
SuperBrawl VIII on February 22, the Steiner Brothers disbanded when Scott
turned on Rick and DiBiase, becoming a
villain in the process by allowing the Outsiders to pin Rick and win the World Tag Team Championship. Scott subsequently joined the
New World Order (nWo)
faction and began
feuding with Rick, whilst also trying to get him to join. In addition to Scott, Rick also began feuding with various members of the nWo, facing them in either singles matches or teaming with
Lex Luger on occasion in tag team matches over the following months, and DiBiase remained in Rick's corner during this stretch. Rick took several months off soon after this due to shoulder surgery caused by an ambush attack from Scott and
Brian Adams during the May 4 episode of
Nitro. Scott would talk trash about Rick for months until Rick finally healed and was ready to return for revenge. Upon returning from his injury, Rick was no longer accompanied by DiBiase (Rick made his return to TV during the August 3 episode of
Nitro). Rick and Scott were then scheduled for a long-anticipated match at
Road Wild, but the match didn't happen after Scott and Bagwell came out to claim to
J. J. Dillon that Scott could not compete "due to injury". Then, after wrestling to a "no contest" against Scott at
Fall Brawl on September 13, Rick teamed up with Scott's "former" ally
Buff Bagwell to defeat Scott (who was a substitute for Scott Hall) and
The Giant for the
World Tag Team Championship at
Halloween Havoc on October 25 despite Bagwell turning on Rick during the match. Immediately after the tag team match, Rick defeated Scott in a singles match (which included overcoming an ambush attack from Bagwell and
Stevie Ray. At
World War 3 on November 22, Steiner was attacked backstage by nWo Hollywood, who injured his right shoulder. Despite the attack, Rick still made his way to the ring for his scheduled match against Scott, but he clearly wasn't healthy enough to wrestle which led to the match ending in a "no contest" (Rick was further attacked by Scott and Bagwell in the ring before
Goldberg ran in to make the save). This would be Steiner's last TV appearance for several months. On January 7, 1999, the titles were vacated, with a Tag Team Title tournament beginning that evening on Thunder. On the March 1, 1999 episode of
Nitro, he made his televised return as he and Goldberg defeated Scott and Bagwell. After winning several matches, Steiner became a
villain and lost to
Booker T in a match for Booker's
World Television Championship on the April 12 episode of
Nitro. On May 9 at
Slamboree, Steiner defeated Booker in a rematch to win the World Television Title. After becoming a villain, Rick reunited with Scott on a few occasions and began feuding with
Sting, culminating with a successful title defense at The Great American Bash on June 13. After four months as champion, he lost the title to
Chris Benoit on the September 13 episode of
Nitro, before reclaiming it a little over a month later at
Halloween Havoc on October 24. At
Mayhem, Scott Hall defeated Booker T to retain his
United States Heavyweight Championship as well as win Steiner's World Television Championship, which he had to vacate due to being injured. On December 19 at
Starrcade, Steiner reformed the Varsity Club with Mike Rotunda and
Kevin Sullivan to wrestle an
eight-man tag team match with
Jim Duggan against the
Revolution, whom Duggan had been feuding with. However, the Club
turned against Duggan, allowing him to be pinned. After Starrcade, Sullivan left the club as Steiner and Rotunda wrestled as a tag team throughout the rest of 1999 and into March 2000. After taking a hiatus in late August, Rick returned on the January 15, 2001 episode of
Nitro as he helped
Kevin Nash fend off Scott after a
World Heavyweight Championship match, turning Rick into a
fan favorite again. Two days later on
Thunder, he made his in-ring return with a victory over
Kwee Wee. On the February 5 episode of
Nitro, Steiner defeated
Shane Douglas to win the
United States Heavyweight Championship. Later that night, he teamed with Nash to face Scott in a handicap match, but turned on Nash and allowed Scott to pick up the victory, thus
turning into a
villain once more and also joining Scott's group
the Magnificent Seven. On March 18 at WCW's final
pay-per-view,
Greed, Steiner lost the U.S. Heavyweight Title to Booker T. On the final episode of
Thunder on March 21, Steiner wrestled his final match for WCW in a losing effort to
Hugh Morrus. WCW was bought by the
World Wrestling Federation only days later and Steiner's contract was not picked up. Rick would not wrestle for a year.
New Japan Pro-Wrestling and Pro Wrestling Noah (2002–2005, 2008) Following WCW's closure, Steiner returned to the ring in February 2002; returning to New Japan Pro-Wrestling. He continued to wrestle in local venues and made several appearances, with fellow former WCW superstar
Buff Bagwell, around the southeast United States and the
independent circuit. In May 2002 Rick reunited with Scott, since the closing of WCW, and defeated
Hiroshi Tanahashi and
Kensuke Sasaki which was refereed by
Chyna. In 2002, he also made an appearance in
All Japan Pro Wrestling losing to
Bill Goldberg. In 2003, he teamed with
Scott Norton in New Japan. Rick worked for
Pro Wrestling Noah from 2004 to 2005. On January 4, 2008, the Steiners lost to
Giant Bernard and
Travis Tomko for New Japan at the Tokyo Dome.
Reunions (2005–2006) The brothers reunited for the
Wrestling Fan Xperince in
Winnipeg,
Manitoba to defeat
Buff Bagwell and G-Man on December 6, 2005. On June 2, 2006, Steiner Brothers (Rick Steiner and Scott Steiner) defeated Elvis Elliot and Original Sinn (Sinn Bodhi) at a UCW wrestling show at Bay City Western High School in Auburn, Michigan entitled "Steiner Brothers Return Home." They went to
United Wrestling Federation in
Wilson, North Carolina, to defeat the team of
Matt Bentley and Frankie Kazarian. They also defeated Team 3D the next night in
Wilmington, North Carolina. On December 9, 2006, the Steiners won the
NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship.
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2002–2003, 2006–2008) He then debuted for
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling during the promotion's debut show on June 19, 2002, where he participated in the 20-Man
Gauntlet for the Gold match to determine a winner for the vacant
NWA World Heavyweight Championship, which was ultimately won by
Ken Shamrock. Steiner made a one-night return to TNA in October 2003, brawling with
Jeff Jarrett. On the May 4, 2006 episode of
Impact!, he returned as a possible partner for
Sting at the pay-per-view
Sacrifice. He made a second appearance on May 11 in a similar role. In 2007, Rick and Scott reunited at
Sacrifice after Scott and
Tomko lost a
World Tag Team Championship match, leading to the Steiners attacking Tomko. On the episode of
Impact! following Sacrifice, the Steiners busted down the door to
Jim Cornette's office and asked for Cornette to have
Team 3D meet them in the ring the next week for an opportunity at the World Tag Team Title. However, the match never transpired due to Scott needing emergency surgery after damaging his trachea during a match in Puerto Rico. Scott was then replaced by
Road Warrior Animal at
Slammiversary, where Rick and Animal lost to Team 3D for the World Tag Team Title. Rick and Scott Steiner were inducted into the
WWE Hall of Fame on April 1, 2022. A few days later, at the end of the April 5 episode of
NXT after Breakker retained the title, Rick was kidnapped by
Joe Gacy and
Harland, locked up and tied inside a cage. ==Personal life==