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Pro wrestler Scott Steiner reunites with old friend Jim Harbaugh, glad he's back at Michigan

Posted: Jun 7th 2016 By: Nick Baumgardner

Scott Steiner's professional career has taken him plenty of places.

He's performed in North Korea, Russia, Japan and just about everywhere in between. He's been inside a steel cage and he's used a steel chair. He's held countless championship belts, including the world heavyweight title and the tag team gold.

His old finishing move, "The Frankensteiner," was known as one of the top athletic maneuvers in professional wrestling.

But through it all -- the holds, the bumps, the bruises and the belts -- Steiner knows that one of the biggest keys to staying relevant inside sports (pro wrestling or otherwise) is to find a way to remain entertaining.

And when it comes to his old college buddy Jim Harbaugh, Steiner's all smiles.

"I love it. He's entertaining. That's what it's all about," Steiner said last week. "It's better than being boring, you know?"

Steiner (born Scott Rechsteiner), paid a visit to his old friend in Atlanta last week during Michigan's satellite camp stop at Maynard H. Jackson High School.

Before he became one-half of the famed Steiner Brothers (a tag team with his brother, Rick), Steiner turned a stellar wrestling career at Bay City Western High School into a scholarship ride at Michigan.

His career as a Wolverine coincided with several big-time football players, including Harbaugh. Steiner was an All-American wrestler for the Wolverines in 1986, the same year Harbaugh was the Big Ten's player of the year and the third-place finisher in the Heisman voting.

He was close with a number of players, living with Jumbo Elliott and Mike Boren. And he was one of the only non-football players that longtime strength coach Mike Gittleson allowed to use the team's facilities.

Steiner and company had plenty of fun.

Maybe too much at times.

"I lived with Jumbo (Elliott) for like three weeks until Bo (Schembechler) found out," Steiner recalls. "He kicked us out.

"He didn't like it. He thought we were too crazy."

Steiner smiled and said, from time to time, he enjoyed hanging out with a few of the old "rebel football players."

Harbaugh was included in that group, albeit carefully.

"Yeah, Jim was a rebel but he was (careful)," Steiner said with a chuckle. "He had too much (attention) on him."

After both left Michigan, Harbaugh stopped by to watch Steiner and his brother wrestler for Ted Turner's now-defunct World Championship Wrestling promotion during his time with the Chicago Bears.

Steiner's career took him down one road, while Harbaugh's went down another. They didn't stay in close touch throughout the years, but when the two were reunited in Atlanta last week, Harbaugh threw his hands in the air and let out a big shout when he realized Steiner had made it out in support of his camp.

Now 53, Steiner makes his home in the Atlanta area -- just up the street from his brother, Rick. He recently opened a Shoney's restaurant outside of Atlanta.

And, true to form, he had several former wrestling pals -- members of the famed NWO -- on hand to help him cut the ceremonial tape.

Steiner says he's followed Michigan's football program throughout his wrestling career but has an increased interest now that Harbaugh's back in charge. He says he'd like to make it up to Ann Arbor for a game at some point down the road and was even interested in bringing his two young sons to Harbaugh's youth camp in Ann Arbor later this month.

"They're into everything," Steiner says. "Football, baseball, basketball. They do it all."