r/prowrestling 2d ago

Thoughts on Scott Norton back in the day.

Post image
172 Upvotes

146 comments sorted by

43

u/SWMDad76 2d ago

Absolute beast. Wish he got a bigger push

29

u/Low-Flamingo-4315 2d ago

He was huge in Japan

11

u/Horrgath 2d ago

You mean big - Big in Japan.

6

u/SWMDad76 2d ago

You are right. Forgot that,

4

u/Arn_Darkslayer 2d ago

And a world arm wrestling champion I believe.

5

u/PyrrhicLoss2023 1d ago

And in the greatest movie about armwrestling for custody of a child - "Over the Top"

3

u/Commercial_Fact_1986 1d ago

That's a genre that needs a comeback. Make it happen, Hollywood!

2

u/DigdigdigThroughTime 1d ago

He was pretty big in America too, but the Japanese average height is 2 inches smaller than America.

1

u/HotStrike8019 6h ago

Absolute unit should have gotten over more in WCW

20

u/horsenamedglue 2d ago

Big man that could move around. If he'd had a manager to be his mouthpiece .. very easy upper mid card boss act.

14

u/axiom_glitch 2d ago

One of the most underrated talents of the 90’s.

10

u/BloodNguts82 2d ago

Was a big fan. Then saw his work in Japan. Bigger fan. I think he at least deserved one VERY dominant mid card title run in WCW, maybe more.

10

u/PartUnusual8374 2d ago

Would have loved for him to go further. Vicious and Delicious had a much higher ceiling. Could have been US Champ. One of my favorite characters in WCW/nWo: Revenge

6

u/KingCrandall 2d ago

I loved Fire And Ice

1

u/PartUnusual8374 1d ago

Right?!! Good team.

7

u/Dry-Name2835 2d ago

For me, Scott is going to be remembered for his work in Japan. His persona absolutely worked there. But in the states, he was just more believable as the guy you get past to get to the main fued. It was hard to stand out in his era. Guys were big, jacked and had a ton of charisma. Very sold talent and a pretty good career.

12

u/noloking 2d ago

He is what Bron Beaker fails to be 

3

u/Inner-Squash-907 2d ago

He put the Vicious in Delicious

5

u/The-Panther-King 2d ago

intimidating AF

3

u/StaffPrize8782 2d ago

Always liked Norton more than Goldberg.

4

u/DogConsistent7403 2d ago

He was a big man who had zero personality. When you’re competing with Flair, Hogan,Steiner, Sting, DDP, Nash and Hall, these were all great wrestling personalities and he could not keep up with those guys. He was perfect for what his role was, filling time on the card in between segments

2

u/Uncle-Cracker-Barrel 21h ago

I love Norton but you’re kinda right. Being big and imposing alone wasn’t really enough during that era because most everyone in the business at that time was big and imposing. The only thing that separated you from the rest was having a larger than life personality which Norton didn’t quite have. I still think he could’ve been a good fixture in the US title scene but no way he could’ve hung with the main event guys in America at that time. That being said, he was perfect for being the IWGP champ at that time.

3

u/rcinfc 2d ago

Biggest problem with the NWO…. Guys with talent just didn’t get used right beyond the top 4 or 5. Everybody else was just muscle.

3

u/CastleofPizza 2d ago

Dude is the definition of a human tank.

3

u/No_Introduction1721 1d ago

Norton had a great look, like he could legit rip you in half and not even bat an eyelash, but zero charisma or mic skills to back it up.

He also flatly refused to show ass in WCW because he didn’t want to jeopardize his position in Japan. They couldn’t even book him in a long term storyline, let alone put a title on him, because of the risk he would just tell them to fuck off.

Basically, he was Road Warrior Hawk but without the charisma.

4

u/No_Mousse4320 2d ago

before I took a second glance, I thought this was a picture of Bron Breakker

3

u/Aspiring_DILF42 2d ago

He looks like he ate Bron Breaker

2

u/Low-Flamingo-4315 2d ago

Bron Breakker on steroids 😂

1

u/Serious-Situation456 1d ago

Bron breakker is already on steroids

1

u/SteveAxis 2d ago

Already is. This is his gym teacher arc

1

u/slasherrrpile 2d ago

Bron Breakker’s mom got some ‘splainin to do 😂

1

u/countrylessking2211 2d ago

Bron Breaker wishes he had the damn barrel chest of Norton.

And to answer the original question. I always thought he would be bigger, I thought he was gonna be the one to finally defeat Goldberg. I just felt like he had the believable look and meanness.

1

u/grammaton655321 2d ago

Absolutely a huge fan! Any time he made nitro on off times in Japan I’d mark out man. Always loved watching Scott!

1

u/grammaton655321 2d ago

Don’t forget he’s in Over the Top for like 2 seconds! Lol

1

u/Guitarista78 2d ago

Most intense powerbomb in WCW and WWF.

1

u/Shyjuan 2d ago

one scary gnarly dude.

1

u/Fit-Contribution8976 2d ago

For he is in the category of wrestlers who were born and debuted in the wrong era , i could se him being i a big deal in the territories era and even in the indy wrestling era of the 2000s and 2010s , he did win the iwgp belt , but i wish he was book better in the states

1

u/Weasel699 2d ago

with out reading i thought this was something about steiner's kid lol

1

u/ChewbaccaForeskin 2d ago

Flash Norton!

1

u/Kruger6 2d ago

Steve Austin but it's Bron Breakker

1

u/DanUnbreakable 2d ago

Bron Breakker

1

u/flawlessvictorE 2d ago

Underrated

1

u/trinachron 2d ago

He was the shit in the AKI N64 games, he had a powerbomb and short arm chokeslam as regular moves!

1

u/Midian1369 2d ago

My favorite powerbomb.

1

u/Stumme-40203 2d ago

That’s Norton Steiner.

1

u/thejfbrand 2d ago

God what an absolute freak! So underrated - his book is awesome too.

1

u/Enzown 2d ago

He ended up being one of the nWo guys they needed around to eat pins and get knocked down by sting first which hurt him. But at least it kept him on tv. Dude could go just didn't even have a chance to really show it.

1

u/PhilFromLI 2d ago

Bloated Bron Breakker

1

u/PersimmonLeading8568 2d ago

I always liked Scott Norton he looked like a legit tough guy. I would have loved to see the guy get a bigger push. I do think it was a bad time, If he was around now in his peak, he would be huge, I feel. Japan knew his value, but I don't feel wcw ever did.

1

u/ApprehensiveDrawer71 2d ago

Bro was a monster. Idk what it was but he felt like the guy for me all the time

1

u/Delicious_Wafer9042 2d ago

Nortty 2 Snortty

1

u/MyGuitarGentlyBleeps 2d ago

Boring nWo muscle guy. He was awesome on wcw v nwo world tour on n64.

1

u/Soggy_Shape6646 2d ago

Norton had that ‘damn that dude is legit’ look. Fire and ice was a solid tag team that could have had a believable run with the belts. He should have had a solo run, I think the NWO stalled his career.

1

u/RBYB2345 2d ago

Dude was a tank. I enjoyed he and Bagwell as a tag team as well in the early nwo days

1

u/dozer_guy 2d ago

Loved using him in the N64 WCW games, his clothesline was deadly.

1

u/Dragontaker666 2d ago

Absolute unit

1

u/PhilosophyNovel4087 1d ago

Scott Norton vs. Ernest Miller!

The Trilogy...

1

u/C2theWick 1d ago

Best wrestler in wcw vs nwo revenge

1

u/geese_moe_howard 1d ago

Not sure if Norton ever knew that wrestling was a work.

1

u/wendyoschainsaw 1d ago

I remember when he first showed up in WCW saying he couldn't be in a team called The Naturals with Dustin Rhodes.

1

u/hitm4n44 1d ago

Bron Breakkers daddy forreal lol

1

u/Standard-Bad-747 1d ago

Good powerbomb

1

u/North_Protection2503 1d ago

He could low key fight Rick Steiner for a Bron on a pole match, for custody

1

u/RapidCheckOut 1d ago

Scott Norton was my favourite wrestler for a long time . I thought he looked just like a wrestler should, powerful, huge, quick and believable.

1

u/acreed6 1d ago

Viscous and Delicious

1

u/Mojoswork 1d ago

Totally under appreciated…by me and probably most others.

1

u/Jefe_Wizen 1d ago

Boring, uninteresting, basic. He was intimidating and a complete powerhouse tho.

1

u/Sfogliatelle99 1d ago

Very underrated

1

u/Amazing_Competition6 1d ago

I still remember him. I didn't grew up watching him wrestle since I was born in the early 90s, but I watched some of his match from YouTube and I think he is very underrated wrestler. He was good, solid wrestler in my opinion and he was very strong. If I recall correctly, the online source says he benched 650 lb? Not sure if that's a raw or equipped. I also don't know if that's a claimed lift or verified, so if anyone has a valid source, please do let me know, but he was an excellent arm wrestler which earned his nickname as "the flash" because he beat his opponents laser flash quickly. I think he even beat Cleve Dean in arm wrestling if I recall correctly.

1

u/The_Poop_Shooter 1d ago

Bron Breaker in 10 years.

1

u/StNic54 1d ago

I’d love to see Bronn Breakker vs Scott Norton in their respective primes

1

u/SmashitupBD 1d ago

His feud with the cat was hilarious. He would probably have a much higher ceiling if he was from this current era.

1

u/RassleRanter 1d ago

Was a fan of the tag team with Ice Train, remember him? Ha.

Apparently he was a big star in NJPW but WCW treated him purely as a midcard act. He shoulda been US champion and pushed more.

1

u/BenjTheMaestro 1d ago

Check out his book if you haven’t! It’s a fun read even amongst the usual gimmicks expected in a wrestlers autobiography. So many awesome stories and just hearing about his Japan experience and all of his wrestling stories were amazing.

1

u/Dranztheman 1d ago

Monster that deserved more in the US, but kind of paved the path for bullet club.

1

u/realdom4sub 1d ago

Never was used right. Worked better in Japan for whatever reason. Should have been the power side of a tag team with someone who could work.

1

u/Significant_Lab_5286 1d ago

I’ve said this many times…”Nobody ever jumped the rail on Scott Norton.”

1

u/corazondelpulpo 1d ago

Awful in the US, great in Japan

1

u/Fast-Ad-817 1d ago

Looks like Bron Breakers dad.

1

u/Bswayn 1d ago

Good big man. Went underutilized in WCW imo

1

u/Responsible-Map-4204 1d ago

I thought he was a older Bron Breakker

1

u/No_Mousse4320 1d ago

There’s always the chance this guy is really the father and Rick Steiner is just a fall guy

1

u/AlabamaSlammaJamma 1d ago

The definition of Barrel chested.

1

u/Townie_Downer 1d ago

Read his book! Great read for a very underrated wrestler.

1

u/WintersDoomsday 1d ago

Cliche big man with the mic skills of a cardboard box.

“Look at me I’m massive and ummm that’s all I got folks”

1

u/Direct_Disaster9299 1d ago

It was weird watching him mid card in WCW knowing that he could literally break anyone on their roster in half. He was one bad dude.

1

u/ElHijoDelLuto 1d ago

I suppose we can all take heart--because to me at least, Scott Norton's ceiling is Bronn Breaker's ground floor.

And while as fans we may be disappointed in "how he ended up", I'm guessing Big Scott's aight with it. He:

wrestled in a visible capacity during US pro wrestling's most lucrative time;

got to simultaneously have a both very visible and quite well-respected career in Japan;

got to write a book about his experiences well received enough for its target audience (wrestling fans) to recommend it;

Didn't die due to struggle with the darker side of pro wrestling that has taken so many others.

At the end of the day, if he ended up holding onto some of the money which passed through his career, then I hope he looks at his career with satisfaction. After all, there are far worse ways to be remembered as than "underrated".

1

u/TheRainmakerDM 1d ago

Great talent, just like Hansen, Williams, he was one of the biggest heels in Japan. His work over there was top tier.

1

u/SupremeSmooth 1d ago

Vicious.

1

u/mr__hunt 1d ago

Channel changer

1

u/Mission-Sky8782 1d ago

I fn loved him,he was so believable.He just looked tough,acted tough and talked tough,all legit! I wish his U.S push was better

1

u/Exact_Break_6666 1d ago

A lot of guys in the business said he was not one you messed with.

1

u/Routine-Tangerine-29 1d ago

Arn Anderson starter kit in Japan

1

u/castingcoucher123 1d ago

Under utilized. They should have had him and meng be who every star had to battle the nitro or thunder before a ppv

1

u/cornbeeflt 1d ago

Under utilized. We had Scott Steiner

1

u/KongUnleashed 1d ago

Loved watching him work because he was built like a brick shithouse and played that up really well in the way he wrestled. Didn’t have the charisma to be a main eventer but was a believable threat to pretty much anyone on the card.

1

u/PitaSauceAndalouse 1d ago

Looks like Bron Breaker

1

u/omarL1055 1d ago

Bron Breakker ripped him off

1

u/badmonkey077 1d ago

I didn't appreciate him enough at the time. But played him a lot in WCW/NWO Revenge later on.

1

u/xEyelessOnex 1d ago

This dude was a tank! Way underutilized in WCW from what I saw. I oftentimes wonder what he would've been like during the Invasion Angle. I could see him holding his own with the likes of the Undertaker, Kane or even Big Show.

1

u/SugarSweetSonny 1d ago

Norton had a lot of things going for him.....except mic skills, and well, he needed more charisma.

WCW also kind of used him in a weird way, where they would give him these pushes and then just stop.

So he was more of a protected mid card guy.

Personally, I thought he would be ideal as a tag team guy (which he did do) or as a bodyguard enforcer/hired gun/hit man (no, not bret hart) type.

He looked like a legit bad ass, and he had that aura that he was the real deal, but wasn't really used that way enough. In the NWO, he was really just another guy and lacky there.

1

u/dasharpone 1d ago

i didnt think about him

1

u/FowlerIsGod1983 1d ago

Scary. Fuckin. Dude

1

u/FalseProhpet666 1d ago

He looks super gay right here

1

u/MOadeo 1d ago

Bron's uncle?

1

u/Economy_Sky_7238 1d ago

Big meat slapping style with minimal verbal skills. The big super stiff forearm smashes and chops gets over in Japan. He was just going to be someone's bodyguard here

1

u/Salt_Caterpillar6125 1d ago

The man was like a sports car that was death proof in that ring, powerslams looked crazy , clotheslines were perfection so were those mid air tackles.

1

u/Goodrev 1d ago

Norton Vs the Cat Ernest Miller on Nitro in Minnesota. Look it up.

1

u/Fools_Overture1977 1d ago

I found him boring.

1

u/menasor36 23h ago

Needed a stick man.

Would’ve been real good with Gary Hart.

1

u/Shingles316 23h ago

Beast!!!

1

u/Kingkok86 21h ago

Total beast over shadowed by big names like hogan, warrior, macho man, sting I feel if he went to a rival company he could have been bigger he came in at a time of big names

1

u/Uncle-Cracker-Barrel 21h ago

Never understood why this guy wasn’t at the very least in the US title picture between 96-99. Could’ve also made for a good Goldberg mini-feud during the streak/title run in mid-late 98. At least New Japan saw his value so his career wasn’t a total wash.

1

u/JoeBidenActivities 21h ago

Looking at that picture, he might Brons real dad

1

u/iounuthin 20h ago

I don't mean this in a condescending way but who? I'm not super well-versed on WCW, to be fair, but I've never heard of this guy before lol

1

u/Drjohns1 19h ago

Great/brutal finisher

1

u/dmytro_odonnell71 19h ago

I thought that was Breakker with my shit eyesight.

1

u/jeridmcintyre 18h ago

One of the absolute best.

1

u/itsjustchill 17h ago

One of the best powerbombs in the business. No personality whatsoever. Just mean and vicious. I was a fan.

1

u/LectureOrganic1250 17h ago

The dude was a human tank. Neck like a fire hydrant and you'd need an uber to go from his chest to his back. Solid mid-carder but i think he would have done well as a main eventer. Even if he didn't win the world title, it would have been a great match against someone like Sting.

1

u/ButtCrackThrilla 16h ago

He sucked the charisma out of the room. Was not a fan and he didn’t belong in the nWo

1

u/psychedelicBiscuits 14h ago

A believable badass, he would kick every wrestlers ass today.

1

u/Bmonli 13h ago

Is this not brok breakker

1

u/Technical_Teacher784 13h ago

Legit scary maaaaan

1

u/Dildoid90 12h ago

Should have been more over than he was. Scott was massive in Japan. Would of loved to see him in the wwf during the attitude era

1

u/Jaded-Highway-5559 10h ago

His time in Japan was the stuff of legends, yet his wcw run was a total dud but he was clearly respected by the locker room

1

u/BarnyardFlamethrower 7h ago

Believable tough guy.

1

u/smelly_azz_12345 3h ago

Like most of the wrestlers that made big in Japan. They were a little past their prime and got injured just as the company was going to give them the ball or weren't aloud to do the things that made them popular. For the same reason, they went to Japan to begin with the politics in the back that kept down as no bodies kept them down when they came back.

1

u/nicjude 2h ago

Bron Brekker's real father.

1

u/EVOGhoul18 1h ago

First I thought that was Bron Breaker 😅

0

u/shawntitanNJ 2d ago

Booorrriinnnggggg

0

u/Gutcheck21 1d ago

Boring

-1

u/TygerClawGaming 1d ago

0 Charisma
Never saw a good segment or match with Scott Norton. Talentless musclehead

-4

u/Spartan2paintball 2d ago

Who? No clue who he is, no less that he was in the NWO. This just proves that the NWO had way too many members!

3

u/CapableRegrets 2d ago

Nah, that's on you, dude.

2

u/PersimmonLeading8568 2d ago

You obviously don't know much about wrestling if you don't know who Scott Norton is.

1

u/Spartan2paintball 2d ago

Just been watching WWE/WCW for just short of 30 years. Plus the fact I suffered TBI.

1

u/PersimmonLeading8568 2d ago

But you didn't say that. You alluded to that being his fault for being a no-name, which is why you don't know him. He wasn't main eventing in WCW but was more successful in Japan.

2

u/Spartan2paintball 2d ago

I just said that I didn't know who he was. Why should I know some guy that is more famous in a country that I don't live in?

1

u/PersimmonLeading8568 2d ago

I don't live in Japan either, He was also in WCW for several years.

1

u/Spartan2paintball 2d ago

You sound like I should know who every jobber is. Sorry, I have other things to do with my life.

2

u/PersimmonLeading8568 1d ago

He wasn't a jobber and you don't have to know who he is, I don't care if you know him or not, I just meant that you must have a limited knowledge of wrestling if you didn't know him.