Exclusive: Scott Steiner Had Reservations About AIW Match With Hornswoggle Over 2000 WCW Experience

AIW isn’t a company that has trouble standing out, and they’ve done that again for their upcoming Slumber Party Massacre show.

John Thorne, who owns and operates AIW, has become close with former WWE Cruiserweight champion Hornswoggle — aka Swoggle. When the two got to talking about plans for WrestleMania weekend, Swoggle insisted he do something outside of the box in an effort for both AIW and himself to make an impression. How does one standing 53 inches tall go about that? Getting booked against former WCW Champion Scott Steiner.

When we spoke to Thorne ahead of their April 4 Slumber Party Massacre show, he spoke of Steiner’s response to the match. 

“I don’t know what his hours of operation are, but he’ll usually text me between the hours of 2 AM and 4 AM on a Wednesday. I get like a text that says ‘do you have me booked against Swoggle?’ like six weeks ago. I respond, and don’t get a response for weeks. I was a little nervous on how he was taking that. He called me last week and was explaining his, I guess reservations about the match. I can’t make this stuff up. He was worried about how the match was going to end up because of WCW entering him into a midget tossing contest in 2000 or 2001. He said it was really difficult for him to work with a midget and lift them up, but he’s not opposed to it. It’s a very strange dynamic and we’re trying to work our way through it. I don’t know how Scott Steiner vs. Swoggle is going to turn out. We wanted to do something so far outside of the box and that nobody would ever book, and would get attention on the show,” Thorne said. 

As for now, all is good and the match is still on. Steiner won’t be the only former WCW name on the show, and Swoggle won’t be the only former Cruiserweight Champion on the event. Shinjiro Otani will make his first stateside appearance in over ten years, taking on Eddie Kingston. Thorne spoke to the matchup as one that was true to the spirit of AIW. 

“Otani was a guy on my list who I wanted to use, but I hadn’t reached out yet,” said Thorne. “I was approached by Game Changer, who asked if I’d be interested in bringing Otani over during WrestleMania weekend, which I jumped at immediately. I started thinking of people who could work well with Otani, and there’s a billion people. Someone who is a huge fan of Otani and early NJPW is Eddie Kingston — that’s the most perfect matchup we could offer.”

You can see Absolute Intense Wrestling’s Slumber Party Massacre April 4 at 11 PM EST at the White Eagle Hall in Jersey City, New Jersey. You can also stream the event live on Fite TV. The show features Scott Steiner, Swoggle, MJF, Colt Cabana, Ethan Page, Shinjiro Otani, Eddie Kingston and several others.