| Ricky Steamboat | |
|---|---|
| Statistics | |
| Ring name(s) | The Dragon Richard Blood Rick Steamboat Ricky Steamboat Sam Steamboat, Jr. |
| Billed height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) |
| Billed weight | 235 lb (107 kg) |
| Born | February 28 1953 West Point, New York |
| Resides | Charlotte, North Carolina |
| Billed from | Honolulu, Hawaii (in WWE) Charlotte, North Carolina (in WCW) |
| Trained by | Verne Gagne The Iron Sheik |
| Debut | 1976 |
| Retired | 1994 |
Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, (born Richard Blood on February 28, 1953 in West Point, New York) is a former professional wrestler who went on to become a wrestling road agent. He was well-known among wrestling fans as being one of the few wrestlers who stayed a face throughout the expanse of a long career.
Contents |
Career
Early Career (1976-1977)
Ricky debuted in 1976 in the American Wrestling Association and became one of the greatest professional wrestlers of the 1980s and early 90s. He took the name Sam Steamboat, Jr. from older Hawaiian wrestler Sam Steamboat, to whom he is not actually related, and also wrestled for a time under his real given name before settling on the name Ricky Steamboat (or, alternatively, Rick Steamboat), by which he would be known for the remainder of his career. He went from the AWA to Championship Wrestling from Florida, then to Georgia Championship Wrestling.
Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling (1977-1985)
In 1977, he entered the National Wrestling Alliance-sanctioned Jim Crockett Promotions (which ran under the concurrent brand names "Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling" and "Wide World Wrestling" [later "World Wide Wrestling"], as well as airing syndicated TV programs under those respective names), where he would remain for the next eight years of his career. Steamboat, who had been brought in as part of a talent exchange (a trade that sent Steamboat to Mid-Atlantic and One Man Gang to Georgia) by JCP booker George Scott on the recommendation of Wahoo McDaniel, was initially billed as a protege of Wahoo, and barely spoke above whispers in interviews. In the ring, he was a spectacular performer who showed Bruce Lee-like fire, and quickly became one of the territory's most popular performers. Matching him with his brash young counterpart, Ric Flair, was a natural fit. Steamboat stepped up to the plate during an interview on the syndicated Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling when Flair, the then-Mid-Atlantic television champion, began goading the youngster. Steamboat knocked Flair out with a backhand chop to set up a match between the two. Steamboat's star making performance came when he pinned Flair after a double thrust off the top rope to win the Mid-Atlantic TV title at WRAL studios in Raleigh, North Carolina. Flair and Steamboat would face each other in many matches in the years 1978, 1984, and 1989. Over the next eight years in JCP, Steamboat would go on to capture the United States Championship three times and the World Tag Team championship six times (once with Paul Jones and five times with Jay Youngblood). He also held the Mid-Atlantic heavyweight singles crown and wore the Mid-Atlantic tag straps four times (twice with Paul Jones, once with Dino Bravo, and once with Jay Youngblood). He also won the TV title a second time (which by that point had changed to the NWA World Television title). Fans in the Mid-Atlantic territory to this day talk about classic Steamboat moments: The day Flair dragged his face around the television studio, causing facial scarring, and Steamboat retaliating the following week by ripping Flair's expensive suit to shreds; when longtime tag team partner Paul Jones turned heel on Steamboat at the end of a two-ring battle royal; Steamboat and Youngblood painting yellow streaks down the backs of Paul Jones and Baron Von Raschke in order to embarrass them into defending the World tag team title against the two; Steamboat and Youngblood's amazing (and top drawing) feud with Sgt. Slaughter and Don Kernodle; Steamboat and Youngblood being turned on by their friends Jack & Jerry Brisco; Steamboat in a shocking (and surprisingly emotional) feud against former mentor Wahoo McDaniel; and his last great series in the territory, feuding with Tully Blanchard over the NWA TV title. After having creative differences with JCP booker Dusty Rhodes, Steamboat, who had been the face of the Crockett-owned promotion, along with Flair, for nearly a decade, accepted an offer from Vince McMahon and jumped to the World Wrestling Federation in 1985.
World Wrestling Federation (1985-1988)
Shortly after his debut in 1985, the WWF repackaged Steamboat with the nickname "The Dragon", also replacing Steamboat's jacket-and-trunks attire by having him wear a keikogi and long tights. His father was white, and Steamboat's mother is Japanese American, hence his Asian features which were crucial for his "Dragon" gimmick. Steamboat kept the nickname and gimmick for the remainder of his career. In his first three-year WWF stint, Steamboat feuded with Don Muraco, Jake "The Snake" Roberts, and the "Macho Man" Randy Savage. At WrestleMania III on March 29, 1987, Savage and Steamboat competed in what many wrestlers consider the best match in WWF history, in which Steamboat captured the WWF Intercontinental Championship from Savage, paying off an injury angle where Savage crushed Steamboat's larynx several months prior. The highly influential match was considered an instant classic by both fans and critics and was named 1987's Match of the Year by both Pro Wrestling Illustrated and the Wrestling Observer. Several weeks after winning the Intercontinental Championship, Steamboat asked WWF owner Vince McMahon for some time off to be with his wife Bonnie, who was expecting the birth of their first son, Richard, Jr. This did not sit well with WWF management as he had been molded to become a long-term Intercontinental Champion. He lost the belt to The Honky Tonk Man on June 2, 1987; his son was born later that month. Ricky came back in time for the first annual Survivor Series in November. However, management was still bitter over his impromptu sabbatical from his first WWF run, and he was not pushed or given any meaningful feuds (Steamboat himself has implied in interviews that he was being punished for 'one-upping' the Hogan-Andre main event at WrestleMania III). His last major WWF appearance was at WrestleMania IV in March 1988, where he lost to Greg Valentine. Shortly thereafter, he announced his retirement.
World Championship Wrestling (1989)
Ricky Steamboat made a triumphant comeback in January 1989 and returned to the NWA (specifically, NWA affiliate World Championship Wrestling) where he had a noted series of matches with "Nature Boy" Ric Flair. He ended up capturing the NWA World Heavyweight Championship from Flair in February. Aside from several rematches with Flair, he was also the last NWA World champion to defend the belt in All Japan Pro Wrestling in a match against Tiger Mask II (Mitsuharu Misawa). After a controversial ending at Clash of the Champions VI, Flair and Steamboat would then face each other in their final rematch- until 1994 - at the first ever WrestleWar on May 7, 1989. There, Steamboat lost the title back to Flair. After losing the title and with Flair now turned into a babyface after being attacked by Terry Funk, Steamboat would remain the #1 contender to the NWA World Title, a fact that irked fellow babyface U.S. Champion Lex Luger. This dispute culminated in Luger attacking Steamboat at Clash of the Champions VII, thus turning heel. Luger stood over the fallen Steamboat and arrogantly said, "There's your #1 contender!" Steamboat them demanded a no-DQ match versus Luger at the Great American Bash, but just before the bell Luger demanded the clause be dropped or there wouldn't be a match. Steamboat would lose the match by disqualification after hitting Luger with a chair. However, due to a contract dispute, this would be Steamboat's last match of note in WCW in 1989.
World Wrestling Federation (1991)
After losing the NWA title, Ricky again ventured into semi-retirement in late 1989. Ricky did return briefly to the WWF in the summer of 1991 wearing a dragon man costume and blowing fire before his matches. He was not promoted as a major star, as it seemed that there was still some bitterness from his first run with the company. Theories also suggest that since he had won the NWA title (the WWF's main competitor at the time), he was purposely buried to give the impression that he won the title in a smaller, less competitive league than the WWF. The highlight of that run was at SummerSlam 1991, where he wrestled in a six-man tag team match with the "British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith and the "Texas Tornado" Kerry Von Erich. Shortly thereafter, he again left the WWF.
World Championship Wrestling (1991-1994)
In November 1991, Steamboat made a surprise return to World Championship Wrestling (WCW) as the mystery tag partner of Dustin Rhodes, replacing an injured Barry Windham. He captured the WCW World Tag Team Championship with Rhodes in his first night back and would later capture the unified WCW/NWA World Tag Team Titles with Shane Douglas. He also captured the Television & United States Heavyweight Championships. He would also have one last feud over the world title with longtime rival Ric Flair, which resulted in a match at the 1994 Spring Stampede where the title was briefly held up due to both men's shoulders being pinned at the same time. They had a rematch shortly afterwards on WCW Saturday Night where Flair would defeat Steamboat to reclaim possession of the title. Their final singles match was on WCW Main Event in July 1994 which ended on a disqualification when Steve Austin interfered. Steamboat and Flair's last encounter was in a tag team match on WCW Saturday Night where Steamboat teamed with Sting against Ric Flair and Steve Austin. While feuding with "Stunning" Steve Austin in 1994, Ricky Steamboat took a bad bump off the top turnbuckle and severely injured his back. He managed to pin Austin to win the United States title but had to give up the belt due to the injury. Steamboat was fired by WCW President Eric Bischoff via Federal Express package (while injured), thus ending a nearly two decade relationship with the Crockett/Turner wrestling organization. He retired for good in September 1994.
After retiring
Steamboat played an important role in the genesis of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he was the referee of the first Gauntlet for the Gold for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. He was also the referee for the four-way double-elimination match to crown the first holder of the TNA X Division Championship. He has also made appearances for Ring of Honor where he refereed the first defense of the ROH Pure Wrestling Championship. He then engaged in a series of confrontations with CM Punk over Punk's arrogance in matches Steamboat refereed and then became CM Punk's inspiration to become the better person Steamboat knew he could be. In early 2005, Steamboat returned to World Wrestling Entertainment as a road agent and was introduced as a WWE Legend at WWE Homecoming in October 2005. In early 2006, Ricky Steamboat told WWE management that he would like to come out of retirement at WrestleMania 22 and work a match with Ric Flair, but the idea was nixed. Ricky Steamboat has been the special referee in main event matches between John Cena, Triple H, and/or Edge in WWE house shows. In 2006 at the RAW SummerSlam Tour in Australia he was a referee for a match between Cena and Edge for the WWE Championship. He also recently referee for another title match in 2007 with John Cena in Anaheim, CA. He also has a son named Richie, who races stock cars. On April 1, 2007, he made an appearance at WrestleMania 23 with a karate headband and a muscle shirt while various other Superstars (Jimmy Hart, Sgt. Slaughter, Irwin R. Schyster, and Dusty Rhodes) were having a small dance party in the background. He also briefly appeared at the Vengeance 2007 Pay Per View, being recognized as a former Intercontinental Champion. Steamboat served as a guest referee at a RAW house show in a match between John Cena and Randy Orton on July 21.
Wrestling facts
Finishing and signature moves
- Diving crossbody
- Double chickenwing
- Neckbreaker slam
- Arm drag
- Double Judo chop
- Knife edge chop
- Skin the cat
- Body slam
Entrance music
- "Sirius" (The Alan Parsons Project)
- "Dragon Attack" (Queen)
- "One" (Creed) on Raw live in Sydney, Australia in 2006 and Puerto Rico 2007
Championships and accomplishments
- Maple Leaf Wrestling
- Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling | World Championship Wrestling
- NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
- NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship (3 times) - with Paul Jones (2), and Jay Youngblood (1)
- NWA Television Championship (2 times)
- NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (Mid-Atlantic version) (1 time)
- NWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)²
- NWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Shane Douglas³
- NWA World Tag Team Championship (Mid-Atlantic version) (6 times) - with Paul Jones (1) and Jay Youngblood (5)
- WCW United States Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- WCW World Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with Dustin Rhodes (1), and Shane Douglas (1)
- WCW World Television Championship (2 times)
- World Wrestling Federation
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- PWI Rookie of the Year award in 1977
- PWI Tag Team of the Year award - with Paul Jones in 1978
- PWI Match of the Year award - vs. Randy Savage in 1987.
- PWI Match of the Year award - vs. Ric Flair in 1989.
- PWI ranked him # 7 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the year in the PWI 500 in 1991
- PWI Editor's Award in 1995.
- PWI ranked him # 13 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003.
- PWI ranked him # 19 of the 100 best tag teams of the PWI Years with Jay Youngblood in 2003.
- PWI ranked him # 82 of the 100 best tag teams of the PWI Years with Shane Douglas in 2003.
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter
- Tag Team of the Year award - with Jay Youngblood in 1983.
- Match of the Year - vs. Randy Savage in 1987.
- Match of the Year - vs. Ric Flair in 1989.
- 5 Star Match: vs. Ric Flair (February 20, 1989) (Chi Town Rumble)
- 5 Star Match: vs. Ric Flair (April 2, 1989) (Clash Of The Champions)
- 5 Star Match: vs. Ric Flair (May 7, 1989) (Wrestlewar)
- 5 Star Match: with Sting, Nikita Koloff, Barry Windham, & Dustin Rhodes vs. Rick Rude, Steve Austin, Arn Anderson, Bobby Eaton & Larry Zbyszko (War Games, May 17 1992)
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 1996).
- Broadcast Radio
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- Inductee into the Wrestling-Radio.com Hall of Fame class of 2007
1During this time, the title was almost exclusively defended in Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling. However, on occasion, the title was defended in other promotions through arrangements made with Mid-Atlantic.
²Steamboat wins the title after Ted Turner purchases Mid-Atlantic Championship wrestling from Jim Crockett and renames it World Championship Wrestling.
³Steamboat and Douglas win the titles after they are briefly unified with the WCW World Tag Team Championship while WCW is still an NWA affiliated promotion. After WCW's withdrawal from the NWA in 1993, the NWA and WCW World Tag Team Championships are separated once more. As a result, their one reign as NWA World Tag Team Champions has been separated into an NWA World Tag Team Championship reign and WCW World Tag Team Championship reign.
