This Week in Wrestling History: Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat!
We are now a week removed from Wrestlemania XXVIII and that crazy time of year for wrestling fans is now over. The Rock prevailed over John Cena in the main event, Daniel Bryan dropped the World Heavyweight Championship to Sheamus in 18 seconds in what has proven to be a controversial decision from WWE, CM Punk retained the WWE Championship against Chris Jericho in a very classy match-up and "The Dead Man" went 20-0 at Wrestlemania as The Undertaker and Triple H put on a truly epic, enthralling, show-stopping 30-minute classic in the Hell in a Cell. Reception of the event has seemingly been very positive, with many claiming this years Wrestlemania to be the very best for many years. It's no surprise that over the last few weeks I have focused this column solidly around Wrestlemania but as the WWE calendar year now begins again, and Brock Lesnar returned to Monday Night Raw to deliver an F5 to John Cena in what many are speculating will be the main event at Wrestlemania 29, the time to take the focus exclusively off the event itself has arrived. After all - there is a man who has carved somewhat of a legacy for himself in this calendar week in years gone by.
Richard Henry Blood a.k.a Ricky Steamboat is the name arguably most associated with class and professionalism in professional wrestling. Wrestling a full, near-twenty year career as a babyface, Ricky Steamboat never reached the dazzling heights of the main-event status in WWF that he did in the NWA/World Championship wrestling. Despite this he has gone down as one of the very best of all time and a 'WWE Legend' when he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2009. By paying close attention to what his colleagues and peers have to say about him, it is no surprise. Steamboat had a hall of fame career that earned the respect of his peers and continues to this day as a road agent for WWE, several of the current roster commenting that he still gives his time to the younger wrestlers and helps them with their matches and their own careers.
Steamboat entered the National Wrestling Alliance in 1977 after spending a year working in the AWA, CWF and GCW and was quickly paired with Ric Flair. In his NWA rookie year Steamboat would defeat Flair for the NWA Mid Atlantic Television Championship as well as the NWA (Mid Atlantic) United States Heavyweight Championship in singles competition. The chemistry the two men had in the ring had not gone unnoticed and during Steamboats eight year first tenure in the NWA they would develop a friendship and an understanding with one another in the ring that would last a lifetime.
Steamboat left the NWA for the WWF in 1985 and initially it appeared that he may achieve the same success there. His time in the company however was short as he returned to the NWA in 1989. In his time within the WWF he was given the ringname of Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat and, at Wrestlemania 3, participated in what is generally considered to be one of the best matches in the events history when he defeated Randy Savage for the WWF Intercontinental Championship infront of over 93,000 fans. When Steamboat took time off to be with his new-born son and dropped the belt to The Honky Tonk Man, he never received a similar push again from the WWF. The Dragon has suggested himself in the past that he may have been punished for upstaging Hulk Hogan vs. Andre The Giant with his instant classic with The Macho Man lower down on the card at Wrestlemania 3.
1989 would, in many ways, still become Ricky Steamboats year as he returned to the NWA and was once again paired to work with Ric Flair. In February the brewing feud between the two would really ignite when Steamboat defeated Flair for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. In this week in wrestling history, on April 2nd 1989, the two would meet again, this time at The Clash of The Champions: Ragin' Cajun in New Orleans. The event was historic as it was shown on free-to air TV alongside WWF Wrestlemania V on PPV. Ratings-wise there was only one winner as World Championship Wrestlings attempt to sabotage Wrestlemania and hurt the buy-rate proved to be unsuccessful. However, even though Hulk Hogan faced Randy Savage in an anticipated, blockbuster main event at Wrestlemania, the Clash had by far the best wrestling match of the evening as Ric Flair looked to win back his title from Steamboat in a near-60 minute, two out of three falls match. The match would end in controversy, setting up yet another classic encounter at Wrestle War the following month. The two men would wrestle each other up and down the country in a huge series of untelevised matches and perfected their craft with one another in the ring. Ric Flair, the man with arguably the most decorated career of any professional wrestler, has stated conclusively that Ricky Steamboat was the very best opponent he ever had.
This calendar week in wrestling history did offer up some other key moments in the career of The Dragon, however. Fast-forwarding a full twenty years to April 5th 2009 and the retired Steamboat returned to the ring with some Hall of Fame friends to face Chris Jericho. In the build-up to the 25th anniversary of Wrestlemania Jericho, working as a heel at the time, had attacked WWE legends and hall of famers off the back of the film The Wrestler starring Mickey Rourke. The film, so Jericho claimed, glorified the has-beens of the wrestling industry and as a result set about targeting the legends he claimed were holding men like himself down. In retalliation, Ric Flair returned to accompany a team of legends to the ring in the form of "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka, "Rowdy" Roddy Piper and Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat to face Jericho in a three-on-one handicap match, with Mickey Rourke sat in the crowd at ringside. Chris Jericho would make Jimmy Snuka his first victim, eliminating Superfly from the match by submission before subsequently going on to defeat Piper also. What followed was a one-on-one encounter as the fifty six year old Steamboat took it to the former Undisupted Champion. Steamboats performance in the ring impressed the majority of fans as he rolled back the years, utilising his trademark armdrags and climbing the top rope to deliver his signature chops and high cross-body. Steamboats performance brought fans to their feet as he proved the kind of shape he was still in and the quality of match he was still able to produce after nearly fifteen years out of the ring.
The next night on Monday Night Raw, on April 6th 2009, a match was made to showcase the fall out from Wrestlemania. At Wrestlemania 25 John Cena lifted both The Big Show and Edge onto his shoulders and delivered a huge Attitude Adjustment to capture the World Heavyweight Championship. After the demise of The Hardy Boys, Matt defeated Jeff in a gruelling Extreme Rules match. Kane and CM Punk became the final two men in contention for the Money in the Bank briefcase where Punk was able to narrowly edge Kane out and win his second straight Money in the Bank. Twenty four hours later a massive Wrestlemania All-Star 10 Man Tag Team Match was made as the team of Jeff Hardy, CM Punk, Rey Mysterio, Ricky Steamboat & John Cena took on Chris Jericho, Kane, Matt Hardy, Big Show & Edge.
The match was fast-paced and inventive but one man inparticular has captured the audiences breath as the fans chanted "we want Steamboat!" throughout the early goings. When the legend finally tagged in to the match the fans chanted "you've still got it" as Steamboat showcased his skills one more time, just as he had the previous night. When the match broke down somewhat chaotically to its conclusion, Steamboat celebrated with his team mates before the superstars of the current roster made way to allow Steamboat his moment with the WWE Universe in celebration of a hall of fame career, an honour that had been given to him only two nights earlier.
To fully understand the legend of Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat we are required, of course, to look much deeper into the work of one of the most exciting performers of his time. The man also had key matches with the likes of Don Muraco, Rick Rude, Steve Austin, "Cowboy" Bob Orton and Jake Roberts as well as great battles with tag team partner Jay Youngblood against the likes of Sgt. Slaugher & Don Kernodle and The Brisco Brothers. Following the Wrestlemania All-Star 10 Man Tag Team match he would also then go on to have one more match, meeting Chris Jericho at Backlash on April 26th 2009 in a one-on-one encounter. His legacy almost certainly continues today as a road agent for WWE and maybe most notably in the form of his son, Ricky Steamboat Jr. who is currently wrestling in the WWEs developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling as Richie Steamboat.
When "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2007 he put it better than arguably anyone ever could in summing up this his classic rivalry with The Nature Boy and both mens sparkling careers when he stated that Ric Flair was the greatest wrestler to have ever lived and that when offering advice to young kids wanting to become wrestlers he urges them to study tapes of Ricky Steamboat. One would imagine that the legacy of Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat could be seen for years to come in the young talent climbing the ranks in professional wrestling.
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