SEScoops

Tag: Ricky Steamboat

  • Ricky Steamboat Addresses Why he Backed Out of Ric Flair’s Last Match

    Ricky Steamboat Addresses Why he Backed Out of Ric Flair’s Last Match

    This past July, Ric Flair wrestled in his advertised last match by teaming with Andrade El Idolo to defeat Jay Lethal and Jeff Jarrett, but that wasn’t the original plan. 

    Fellow WWE Hall Of Famer Ricky Steamboat was originally planned to be part of the match, but didn’t end up not doing it. Steamboat is considered one of Flair’s greatest rivals dating back to their matches in the 80s and 90s.

    While speaking to Bill Apter of Sportskeeda, Steamboat explained why he decided against being part of Flair’s last match.

    The Real Reason

    “Initially, when Conrad, who is the promoter, when we talked, I drove to Nashville and we had a sitdown. I was still training pretty good and feeling pretty good, and I said ‘okay.’ We hadn’t signed or sealed the deal on the money part of it, but what put the nail in the coffin is, about a week after that, I found out that Flair was wearing a pacemaker. All these years and I never knew. I immediately said, ‘I don’t think I want to do this.’ I don’t want my legacy to be that I was in the ring if he happened to pass away or something went wrong. I didn’t want that.”

    Steamboat noted that he initially publicly stated that he turned down the match due to not having any interest in wrestling again, but it was due to him not wanting to throw Conrad Thompson or Flair under the bus. 

    Steamboat had his own last match when he teamed with FTR (Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler) to defeat Brock Anderson, Jay Lethal and Nick Aldis on November 27, 2022 at Big Time Wrestling.

    H/T to Fightful for the transcription

  • Ricky ‘The Dragon’ Steamboat Teams with FTR – Wins First Match in Over a Decade

    Ricky ‘The Dragon’ Steamboat Teams with FTR – Wins First Match in Over a Decade

    WWE Hall of Famer Ricky ‘The Dragon’ Steamboat proved he’s still got ‘it’ with a win last weekend in his first match in 12 years.

    In September, it was confirmed that Steamboat would be wrestling for the first time as part of the Big Time Wrestling promotion.

    Prior to last weekend, Steamboat’s most recent bout had been at a June 18, 2010 event for WWE’s then-developmental territory: Florida Championship Wrestling.

    One Last Match

    Competing at the appropriately named Big Time Wrestling Return of the Dragon event, Steamboat teamed with FTR in a six-man tag.

    It had been confirmed before the event that the trio would face Brock Anderson and Jay Lethal as well as a mystery partner.

    That partner was revealed to be Nick Aldis, but the two-time NWA World Champion and his team came up short against Steamboat and FTR.

    When Steamboat hit his signature arm drag, the crowd popped loudly and at one point, Steamboat ran wild with knife-edge chops.

    The finish saw FTR and The Dragon lock in three Figure-Four Leg Locks to get the submission victory.

    More Legends

    The show was built around the return of Ricky Steamboat, but he was far from the only legend to compete.

    On the pre-show, Scott Steiner won a battle royal which also included Tommy Dreamer and Shane Douglas.

    Bret ‘Hitman’ Hart appeared on the show via video to praise Steamboat’s career, and Teddy Long acted as “special commissioner” for the Big Time Wrestling World Championship match between “Dreamcrusher” Danny Miles and “Neon Ninja” Facade.

    When Mr. TA laid claim to inventing the Cobra Clutch, he was on the receiving end of the hold by Sgt. Slaughter, and the Rock ‘n Roll Express defeated the Briscoes.

    Ric Flair on Ricky Steamboat’s in-Ring Return: ‘At Any Level, he’s Better Than 50% of Today’s Wrestlers’
  • FTR to Team With Steamboat at Return Of The Dragon

    FTR to Team With Steamboat at Return Of The Dragon

    Big-Time Wrestling has announced that Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat will make his hugely anticipated return to the ring by teaming up with current triple tag team champions FTR at Return of the Dragon.  

    They will be facing “Black Machismo” Jay Lethal, Brock Anderson, and a mystery partner. They will be accompanied to the ring by “The Enforcer” Arn Anderson at the historic Dorton Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina on Sunday, November 27th.

    This will be the first time Steamboat will be stepping between the ropes in twelve years after a short renaissance between 2009 and 2010 after stealing the show against Chris Jericho at WrestleMania XXV His last match was at an FCW house show teaming with his son Richie Steamboat against Trent Baretta and Caylen Croft.

    Ricky Steamboat

    Also on the card is former RoH Tag Team Champions The Briscoes who will take on the legendary Rock ‘N’ Roll Express in what is billed as “R’N’R’s last match at the Dorton Arena ever!”

    Dorton Arena is steeped in wrestling tradition, with Jim Crockett Promotions holding regular shows from 1963 until WCW last visited in December 1993. Located on the North Carolina Fairgrounds, the unique building famously was the venue where Roddy Piper defeated Ric Flair for his first of three reigns of the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship.

  • Ric Flair is Inspired To Have One Final Wrestling Match, Again

    Ric Flair is Inspired To Have One Final Wrestling Match, Again

    Ric Flair could be about to lace up his boots for one last match, which would be his second last ever match in recent memory.

    In July, the Nature Boy competed in his last ever match as part of Starrcast V, where he teamed with his son-in-law Andrade El Idolo to defeat Jeff Jarrett and Jay Lethal.

    Other events at the time celebrated Flair’s career in wrestling, including a roast of the two-time WWE Hall of Famer.

    Getting Back in the Ring

    Ric Flair may have confirmed his retirement in July, but he may be getting that wrestling itch again.

    While speaking on his To Be The Man podcast, Flair spoke about the impending in-ring return of Ricky ‘The Dragon’ Steamboat (via Wrestling Inc.)

    Steamboat coming back makes me want to come back again. I went back up to Lincoln and started training again. What else is there to do?”

    Ric Flair on the possibility of wrestling again.

    Before Flair’s last match in July, it was reported that the plan was for Ric to face Steamboat in the former’s final match, playing off their legendary rivalry.

    It was later reported that the Dragon turned down the idea of facing the Nature Boy.

    Ricky Steamboat

    Steamboat will wrestle as part of the Big Time Wrestling event at the Dorton Arena in Raleigh, NC on Sunday, November 27.

    This will mark The Dragon’s first match in over 12 years, with his most recent being a tag-team match with his son Richie in 2010 as part of FCW.

    Steamboat’s most recent singles match saw him defeat Drew McIntyre at a WWE Live event in August 2009.

    Ric Flair On CM Punk’s Media Scrum Rant: “I Love It”
  • Ricky Steamboat to Wrestle for the First Time in Over a Decade

    Ricky Steamboat to Wrestle for the First Time in Over a Decade

    Ricky ‘The Dragon’ Steamboat will be lacing up his boots one more time after over a decade away from the ring.

    Steamboat, considered one of the greatest of his generation, is a former NWA World Heavyweight Champion, and one-time Intercontinental Champion, among other accolades.

    In 2009, he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame by his long-time rival Ric Flair.

    Returning to the Ring

    Earlier this year, it was reported that Steamboat was going to face Ric Flair in the latter’s final match, but that didn’t happen.

    On Twitter, the Big Time Wrestling promotion confirmed that The Dragon will wrestle as part of November 27, event at the Dorton Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina.

    This will be Ricky Steamboat’s first match since competing at the June 18, 2010 event for WWE’s then-developmental territory: Florida Championship Wrestling.

    That event saw Steamboat team with his son Richie Steamboat to defeat Caylen Croft and Trent Barretta.

    The Hall of Famer’s most recent singles match came in August 2009, when he defeated a rookie Drew McIntyre at a WWE Live event.

    Life After the Ring

    While Steamboat’s full-time days in the ring are long behind him, The Dragon remains active in various roles.

    In 2012, Steamboat worked as a trainer for NXT (now WWE’s developmental program) and became an ambassador for the company the following year.

    In his first televised appearance for TBS in 28 years, Steamboat served as the guest timekeeper on the August 17, 2022, episode of AEW Dynamite.

    Ricky Steamboat Declined Offer To Face Ric Flair One Last Time
  • WWE Hall Of Famer Announced for AEW “House of The Dragon” Dynamite

    WWE Hall Of Famer Announced for AEW “House of The Dragon” Dynamite

    All Elite Wrestling invades the Charleston Coliseum in Charleston, West Virginia this Wednesday for the House of the Dragon edition of AEW Dynamite. The tie-in comes from the soon to be released House of the Dragon HBO series, a spin-off of the hit Game of Thrones.

    AEW President Tony Khan revealed on Twitter this evening that along with a stacked lineup the show will feature an appearance from WWE Hall of Famer Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat, who will serve as the company’s guest timekeeper for the evening. Khan writes:

    “For tomorrow’s Wednesday Night AEWDynamite presented by HBO’s @HouseofDragon, we have the perfect special guest timekeeper for the event: Ricky The Dragon Steamboat, one of the greatest pro wrestlers of all-time, making his return to TBSNetwork tomorrow night @ 8pm ET/7pm CT!”

    Steamboat’s appearance won’t be the only thing fans can look forward to on Dynamite. The big rumor is that former world champion Kenny Omega will be returning as the Young Bucks mystery partner for the opening round of the trios tournament to crown the first-ever AEW Trios champions. They will be facing RUSH, Dragon Lee, and Andrade El Idolo.

    Stay tuned.

  • Ricky Steamboat Planning To Wrestle Ric Flair On July 31st

    Ricky Steamboat Planning To Wrestle Ric Flair On July 31st

    Ric Flair isn’t the only person coming out of retirement as Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat has the same idea. 

    Fightful Select reports that there are plans for the 69-year-old to come out of retirement to wrestle another match as Flair and Steamboat will be facing each other. It won’t be a singles match, but rather Dave Meltzer has reported that he was told by Flair that it will be FTR & Flair vs. Rock N’ Roll Express and “someone else.”

    Obviously, that someone else will be Steamboat if the plan goes accordingly on July 31 at the Starrcast event in Nashville, TN. 

    This would mark Steamboat’s first match since a 2010 FCW tag team match with his son against Caylen Croft & Trent Baretta. The bout will also mark them competing across six different decades. 

    Steamboat and Flair have wrestled each other hundreds of times with their last being in 1994. The report noted this match has been in the plans for Starrcast for several weeks with Steamboat meeting with Conrad Thompson in person. 

    One of the angles for the show was to help provide Flair and Steamboat with memorable final matches as both likely didn’t expect what was their last match to be so. 

    Ric Flair’s Last Match Set for July 31st
  • Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat Booked For MLW Event

    Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat Booked For MLW Event

    Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat has been booked for MLW’s February 26th, 2022 show in Charlotte, North Carolina. Steamboat will play the role as MLW match-maker for the event as well.

    “The legend returns to the hallowed grounds of the Grady Cole Center where “The Dragon” emerged as a main eventer and forever became a part of Charlotte’s rich wrestling history,” reads an MLW press release.

    “Celebrated as one of the sport’s all-time greats, Ricky Steamboat has signed on as the matchmaker for MLW’s big Charlotte card.”

    MLW’s current match-maker is Cesar Duran. He is the former Dario Cueto from Lucha Underground and plays a very similar role in MLW. The promotion is currently airing episodes of “MLW Azteca”. These episodes feature matches taped during their show in Tijuana, Mexico on December 3rd.

    One match already booked for the show in Charlotte will see Alexander Hammerstone defend his MLW World Championship. Hammerstone will face the winner of the 2021 Opera Cup, Davey Richards.

    The 68-year-old Steamboat is a 1x NWA World Heavyweight Champion. He was inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame Class of 2009. Additionally, Steamboat was a 4x NWA United States Champion, 1x WWE Intercontinental Champion, 2x Mid-Atlantic NWA Heavyweight Champion.

  • Ricky Steamboat On “The Greatest Wrestling Matches Ever”

    Ricky Steamboat On “The Greatest Wrestling Matches Ever”

    Edge and Randy Orton faced off in what was billed as “The Greatest Wrestling Match Ever” at Backlash on Sunday. One person who has been in several matches that many consider to be amongst the best of all-time recently took part in an interview on the subject. Ricky “the Dragon” Steamboat’s clashes with “Macho Man” Randy Savage and “Nature Boy” Ric Flair are often mentioned in the discussion of best matches of all-time.

    During an interview with the Sporting News, Steamboat compared Edge vs Randy Orton to his WrestleMania III match against Savage.

    “Edge being away for a while reminds me of the time back in December of 1986 when Randy Savage and I started our angle for WrestleMania 3. I had virtually a three-month layoff from an injury angle we ran so I didn’t wrestle at all,” Steamboat said.

    “I can remember that my match with Savage at WM3 lasted less than 20 minutes. Understand this: I’ve routinely gone an hour wrestling Ric Flair, Harley Race and Blackjack Mulligan. But after the Savage match, I collapsed in the locker room because I was so gassed out.”

    Ricky Steamboat Compares Randy Savage to Ric Flair

    Steamboat also discussed the differences working with Randy Savage and Ric Flair during the interview.

    “Randy was the type of guy that would have everything lined up for a match from top to bottom. But with Flair, we wrestled maybe 30 matches to a one-hour draw and only had a few spots lined up.”

    “Flair was a guy who 90 percent of your match was called on the fly while Savage was a guy who had 90 percent of it set in stone before the match began.”

    Ricky Steamboat On Wrestlers He’d Like To Work With

    Steamboat was also asked during the interview about wrestlers from today’s WWE roster he’d be interested in working with.

    Seth Rollins, Bray Wyatt, Roman Reigns and AJ Styles. Seth Rollins was a guy who came to WWE with years of time in the indies but he listened and he just got it. Styles is a great mix of old and new school. Bray Wyatt has always been able to step up when asked to do something different. He’s very athletic for his size but it’s all about his creativity,” Steamboat said.

    The full interview can be read here.

  • Ricky Steamboat Reveals Which Top WWE Star He Would Like To Manage

    Ricky Steamboat Reveals Which Top WWE Star He Would Like To Manage

    In a recent interview with Pancakes and Powerslams podcast, WWE Hall of Famer, Ricky Steamboat discussed a host of topics, including his memorable feud against Chris Jericho in 2009, which superstar was the most difficult to work with in the ring and a lot more.

    During the interview, Steamboat was asked which star he would like to share the ring with if he had the chance of competing in one more match. The Hall of Famer replied to this by stating the name of current WWE Universal Champion, Seth Rollins.

    Ricky added that he would put Rollins over right in the middle of the ring and explained that he sees the current Universal Champion as the next great wrestler based on his experience with ‘The Beast Slayer’ in FCW.

    Lastly, the former WWE Star spoke about him possibly taking on a managerial role in the WWE and claimed that if he had the chance of managing a superstar from the current day roster, then it would definitely be former Universal and WWE Champion, Roman Reigns.

    Steamboat continued by saying that Reigns is in the same 50/50 position John Cena was in his prime time and claimed that he really likes the former Universal Champion as a man.

  • Ricky Steamboat Undergoes Hip Surgery

    Ricky Steamboat Undergoes Hip Surgery

    WWE Hall of Famer Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat went through hip surgery on Monday in North Carolina. He posted a picture on his Twitter account after his successful surgery, stating, “Got up and walked down the hall about 4 hours after surgery with zero pain. Thx for all the love and prayers sent my way….prayer works!”

    https://twitter.com/real_steamboat/status/1013936815399727105

    Steamboat has been a one-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion and has had an illustrious career in the WWE and WCW. He has been a WWE Intercontinental Champion and eight-time WCW World Tag Team Champion. He was inducted in the WWE Hall of Fame in 2009.

    SEScoops wishes The Dragon a speedy recovery.

  • Ricky Steamboat On What Today’s Wrestlers Are Missing, His Iconic WrestleMania 3 Match

    Ricky Steamboat On What Today’s Wrestlers Are Missing, His Iconic WrestleMania 3 Match

    WWE Hall of Famer Ricky Steamboat recently spoke with our friend Raj Giri of WrestlingInc to promote his appearance at PCW ULTRA’s May The 4th Be With You event from Wilmington, California.

    Steamboat discusses his legendary WrestleMania 3 match with Randy Savage, how influential it was, how the match was put together as well as the one thing he would change in the match. He also discussed what today’s wrestlers seem to be missing in the ring. Here are the highlights:

    Not expecting how influential match with Randy Savage would become:

    “I did know [about winning the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania 3], yes. I was told by Vince [McMahon]. Of course, it’s very rewarding, but truth be told, Randy and I never knew that it was going to escalate the way it has over the years and still be talked about 31 years later. We wanted to actually just steal the show that night.”

    Working with Randy Savage for the first time:

    “Randy and I never really got to work [prior to WrestleMania 3]. The first time was when we hooked up at WrestleMania, so we didn’t have a chance to have a bunch of matches under our belt to get ready for the big show and try some stuff. Everything that was put together for the match was strictly based on our gut feeling on the story we were trying to tell. We tried to make it a championship match and that’s the bottom line.”

    How they got around to putting the match together:

    “I didn’t realize it then, it was only later, that with the number of guys coming up and talking about the match, and I’m going back years later, and how we kind of changed the blueprint of how you put together a match because of all the false finishes in that match. And the false finishes to me is what made it a championship match. He’s trying to hold onto the belt and I’m trying to win it from him. I think if my memory serves me, we had 21 false finishes in a match that went about 17 minutes.

    The hard part is when you’re caught up in all the action, all the drama, and the story that you’re trying to tell, is trying to remember 21 false finishes in the sequence that it was laid out. I was really stressed out before that match. I kept going through the match and all of the false finishes over and over and over in my mind, but, God, that was hard to do because customarily you would understand back then, a lot of the matches, we called it in the ring.

    Nothing was really set up from A to Z like this one. We took notes on a legal pad, a yellow legal pad, and, God, I can’t remember how many steps we had, but once we got the match down, I’ll give you an example, at night, I would get with Randy and say, ‘okay, number 32 is this, this, and this. Tell me the rest of the match.’ And he would go, ‘number 33 is this, this, and this. 34 is…’ and we would quiz each other back and forth, back and forth, just so we would have it.”

    What he would add to the match:

    “If I was to add something to that match, it would have been this one moment to which I would have come off the top rope with my dive, which was my finish and I would have had a 1-2 count and Randy kick out just so the fans could have a little curve ball thrown in there. Back then, you never really prostituted your finish, but I think it would have fit. It would’ve worked. You see it sometimes in the main events today, a guy’s finish, especially with two top guys, and the other guy kick out only later on in the match to be caught in the finish again and for it to work.”

    What today’s performers are missing:

    “What I see lacking is two guys hooking up in the locker room and going over their match and lining things up, but what’s missing is being able to tell a story. Every match should have a story in it and I see a lot of that lacking. I see a lot of guys doing a lot of good stuff, and I call it stuff, filling in the blanks in their match, but the stuff doesn’t tie in. It’s not related. The phrase that I use a lot is you’ve got to connect the dots and keep connecting them up to the finish. And a lot of guys out there are doing stuff just for the sake of doing stuff.

    And I say, ‘a lot of you guys are throwing away moments.’ I see a guy crashing through two tables and 15 seconds later they’re running around chasing each other and I said, ‘oh my God, you just crashed through two tables! What are the fans thinking when 15 seconds later, you’re in the ring chasing each other?’”

    You can check out the interview on WrestlingInc by clicking here.

  • Ricky Steamboat Talks About WWE Refusing To Let Him Turn Heel & Working With Flair

    Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat recently did an interview where he opened up about never turning heel throughout his in-ring career. In an interview with the Post and Courier, the Hall of Famer said he requested to turn heel back in the early 90’s, but then-WWF creative guru Pat Patterson shut the idea down.

    “Pat [Patterson] simply told me that it would probably ruin my career,” Steamboard recalled. “I just wanted to experience what it felt like on the other side of the fence. As we all know, the heels have the most fun out there in the ring.

    “When you are a face for a long time and you turn heel, your stock value immediately goes up, especially if you’re able to pull it off in the ring and on the mic,” he said.

    Steamboat’s most famous in-ring rival during his legendary career was Ric Flair. Steamboat says he learned a lot from “just listening” to Flair, and from repetition.

    “I think one of the biggest attributes that helped me and other guys, too, during that era was the fact that we wrestled nearly every night back then,” he said. “Monday night we’d be in Greenville and the next night we’d be in Columbia, so it’s only 90 miles.”

    You can read the entire promotional interview for the Mid-Atlantic Wrestling Legends Fanfest with Steamboat here.

  • WWE NXT Internal Documents From 2011-2012 Revealed Online

    Rob Naylor, who worked as Creative Assistant under Dusty Rhodes in Florida Championship Wrestling/WWE NXT from 2011 to 2013, tweeted some interesting stuff over the weekend. He kept formats, memos, and other documents from his time with WWE and decided to make some images of them public…

    Format sheet for the first Full Sail University pilot taping in 2011 (note the puns):

    A list of indie wrestlers from 2012 that Naylor would sign if he could, which he was asked to make by Triple H’s assistant (the note about Alex Shelley being clear of a TNA contract is most likely due to TNA’s lawsuit against WWE and Brian Wittenstein being an ongoing matter at the time):

    https://twitter.com/NINaylor/status/701186517667020801?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

    And finally a list of independent promotions to watch (Dragon Gate USA being the only one that isn’t running shows anymore in 2016):

    https://twitter.com/NINaylor/status/701186638005870593?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

    Naylor also mentioned that he found other things going through his collection of records, like performance reviews and a list of tips from Ricky Steamboat on how to work babyface, so hopefully there’s more to come.

  • Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat Speaks On WWE Hall Of Famers Selling Their Rings

    WWE Hall of Famer Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat was recently asked about fellow Hall of Famers selling their rings from WWE, like Sunny recently tried to do on eBay. In an interview with The Roman Show, Steamboat says that while he understands if they need the money for medical bills, he finds it disrespectful for WWE alum to sell their Hall of Fame rings.

    “You have to look at the situation and the circumstance,” Steamboat explained. “I feel bad for the guys who ever it is unless they needed money,” he said. “A lot of guys as they get older their hips and their knees of course not being able to afford hospitalization and so on, but if they are selling to get money to go buy a car I find it disrespectful.”

    Steamboat ranked his 2009 Hall of Fame induction among the greatest moments in his career, along with wrestling Randy Savage and other legends.

    “People ask me what was one of the most memorable moments of my career. In 20 years of active wrestling and all the wrestling I got with of (Randy) Savage, (Ric) Flair, Don Morocco, and the list goes on and on. A memorable moment was when I got inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2009,” Steamboat said. “I look at it I’ve done everything in my career to get that ring and recognize to be a hall of famer it was a big moment for me.”

    You can listen to the full interview here. Steamboat will be appearing next at the Legends of Wrestling event in Miami, at the Miccosukee Resort and Gaming on Saturday, January 23rd.

    Related: Sunny offered $100k for Hall of Fame ring & a sex tape

  • Former WWE Star Wrestles His Retirement Match, Ricky Steamboat Teaches Amateur Wrestling

    – Former WWE Superstar and ECW World Heavyweight Champion Justin Credible, 42, wrestled his retirement match at Friday night’s Pro Wrestling Syndicate event in Sayreville, New Jersey at Starland Ballroom. Credible faced Tommy Dreamer in a hardcore match to end his 23-year wrestling career.

    Credible held the ECW World Heavyweight Championship for 162 days in 2000 and was a two-time ECW World Tag Team Champion with Lance Storm as the Impact Players. During his time with WWE in the early 2000s, he was an eight-time Hardcore Champion. He is also known for his mid-1990s stint with the company under the name Aldo Montoya.

    – WWE Hall of Famer Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat, who appeared at a Big Time Wrestling event at Powhatan High School in Virginia on Saturday, demonstrated some amateur wrestling moves to the Powhatan wrestling team in a hallway. Here is footage.

  • WWE Pulls NXT Fallout Video, Laurinaitis/WWE, WWE Rivalries

    – For whatever reason, WWE has pulled the NXT Takeover: Respect “Fallout” video from their official YouTube channel. The video featured Bayley and Sasha Banks reacting to their 30-minute “Iron Woman Match” on the show.

    – The next episode of WWE Rivalries will premiere on the WWE Network on Tuesday at 5pm and will look at the legendary Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat rivalry. The official preview reads as follows:

    “Opposite personalities with equal in-ring talent, Flair and Steamboat would battle in some of the greatest matches in history.”

    – It appears as though former on-air RAW General Manager John Laurinaitis is the agent in charge of WWE’s current tour of Saudi Arabia. Below is a tweet that Laurinaitis posted during the event.

  • Ricky Steamboat Shares Dusty Rhodes Memories, Talks Ric Flair, Randy Savage

    WWE Hall Of Famer Ricky Steamboat recently appeared as a guest on the Two Man Power Trip Of Wrestling podcast. Below are some of the highlights from the interview.

    On memories of Dusty Rhodes as the booker in the Carolinas: “I have mixed memories with Dusty. Part of it being business when I was actively wrestling and he was actively wrestling and then later on when we were both coaching and teaching at the WWE school for the up and coming wrestlers. Understanding the business part of it, he was doing a job he had to do and at the time that it was in the Carolinas back in 1984. When you are the booker or the match maker and you are also still actively wrestling, most of the guys that were bookers around most of the country at that time were no longer actively wrestling and not penciling themselves into matches. I didn’t come to realize this until a couple of months ago. I was in the Carolinas and Dusty was the new booker and Dusty was wrestling as a babyface. The way he was writing for me being one of the top baby-faces in the Carolinas and having a ton of matches against Ric Flair and it just being smart business, he was using me in a way that with him coming in, whoever I couldn’t beat he would beat. The fans would say well “Ricky couldn’t beat him, but Dusty could beat him.” So Dusty was so much better and it sort of left a bad taste in my mouth and that’s another reason why I left the Carolinas for the WWF.”

    On his all-time favorite match with Ric Flair: “It wasn’t taped and we had wrestled each other so many times in Charlotte at the Coliseum. George Scott who was the booker at the time said I don’t care how you do it but you are going to put Flair over tonight. We’ve had so many one hour Broadways that we had to make it something hot. Going sixty minutes all the time, twenty-five or thirty minutes would really shock these people. But we ended up going fifty-five minutes plus and the fans were thinking we were going to go with a draw again. We had one minute left in the match before it was going to become a draw and here comes (Steamboat) making his comeback, I’m pinning Flair over and over again, with fifth-teen seconds left and Flair in the corner I charge him, he lifts my feet up and puts his feet on the second rope in the corner and the ref counts three as the announcer is counting 5,4,3..two seconds left and Flair wins by cheating with his feet on the ropes. There was a lull in the building with the fans looking at us and then they just erupted and started throwing stuff at Flair and Flair looked at me and said “we got them tonight” and rolled out of the ring.”

    On adapting to different in-ring styles: “I learned early on as a babyface you had adapt to their style. Ravishing Rick Rude had his own style and his own way with a little bit of some Ric Flair-isms. But I always learned to adapt myself. A lot of guys would say that I was like a damn chameleon. It doesn’t matter who you are in the ring with, you can adjust and adapt. I could have great matches with Blackjack Mulligan, with him at 6’8′ 340 pounds and who was nowhere near the pace of a Rick Rude or Randy Savage, same as Greg Valentine, he worked very much like his father.”

    On knowing you have chemistry with your opponent: “I would say yes, but I don’t know how many guys would be able to agree with me. There are certain guys that you know when you lock up with each other that after the first couple of minutes you know there is something there . But it’s a double edged sword because believe me there were a couple of guys that we locked up and couple of minutes later I didn’t want to be in the ring with him. You can feel greatness in the ring. You can get two guys that gel together and it’s just like poetry or a work of art.”

    On Jake “The Snake” Roberts and the infamous DDT on Saturday Night’s Main Event: “Pulling the mat away and exposing the cement floor and being dropped in the DDT is very dangerous and it ended up being dangerous for me that night. I’m going to say it was a timing issue. If my memory serves me right whenever Jake would suck you in and pull you underneath his arm he would always look at the crowd for a moment and then drop you. In that moment you show that this is the end for this guy and he would have a little snicker on his face and a little bit of an attitude and then drop you. But as soon as he sucked me in he dropped me and I was waiting for that pause. The unfortunate thing that happened is that what everybody suspects when he does do the move YES when it happened my head did meet the cement and they took me away with a bad concussion. Part of my head swelled up so bad and ballooned out and I know I got in front of the camera with it but I cannot find any pictures of what my face looked like because it looked distorted.”

    On the rematch that never happened with “Macho Man” Randy Savage at WrestleMania IV: “In the locker room I was looking at the brackets. Randy of course goes on to win the championship. In the first round I had Greg Valentine and I was just assuming I’m going to get a win over him and Randy and I will have a return from the WrestleMania 3 match and the fans will be very very curious in wanting to see that. It was a big surprise to me that it never came out that way. I never went to Vince or any of the upper people in the company to ask why because I wasn’t that kind of guy. I always felt that whatever I was asked to do that my ability in the ring would speak for itself. Don’t get me wrong, there is a lot of politics in our business and there were guys that have the boo-hoo face because they weren’t getting there hand raised that night. Wins or loses didn’t matter to me, my worry was did the match get over? That was my priority. So I didn’t know who was going to win the championship, I just knew I wasn’t. I thought I would be with Randy in the second round and return the honors and that we were going to tear it down and GOD help the ones that follow that match.”

    Check out the complete interview at Podomatic.com.

  • NXT Adds 2nd Philly Show, Steamboat Interview, Booker T’s Podcast

    – CBS Radio announced today that Booker T’s “Heated Conversations” podcast has been picked up by the Play.IT network, the same company that broadcasts Taz’s podcast.

    – WWE has announced a second NXT live event for Philadelphia on Friday, May 15th due to overwhelming demand for the first live event the previous night.

    – WWE Hall of Famer Ricky Steamboat recently spoke with Title Match Wrestling about Randy Savage’s WWE Hall of Fame induction, their legendary WrestleMania match, feuding with Ric Flair and more.

  • Ricky Steamboat Confirms His Son Richie Won’t Be Able To Wrestle Again

    Title Match Wrestling recently caught up wit WWE Hall of Famer Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat and spoke about his son’s future in the business, his reaction to Roman Reigns vs Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania 31 and standouts like Seth Rollins & Bray Wyatt from NXT.

    Steamboat confirmed that his son Richie’s days in the ring are over. Richie, a former FCW champion, injured 4 discs in his back and underwent surgery. Unfortunately, doctors told him he won’t be able to wrestle again. Ricky added that his son “gets it” and has the look for the business, but it just wasn’t meant to be.

  • WrestleMania I-X: The Top 10 Matches From The First Decade

    WrestleMania is now only a few weeks away, and to say that the build has been abysmal so far would be a bit of an understatement. Instead of criticizing the company for its incompetence, let’s relive the glory days together.

    Over the course of the next week or so, we are going to be looking at the ten best matches from each decade of WrestleMania. Today we start by looking at the first ten WrestleMania events.

    10. The British Bulldogs vs. The Dream Team (Greg Valentine and Brutus Beefcake) (WrestleMania II)

    http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2cyy4p_wwf-wrestlemania-ii-the-british-bulldogs-vs-the-dream-team_sport

    This took place at one of the absolute worst WrestleManias of all-time, and was one of the few (if not the only) highlights of the night. Davey Boy put in most of the work for his team, showcasing his power throughout the contest.

    There were multiple near-falls in this contest, with the Bulldog attempting Perfect-Plex that registered a two-count at one point. It appeared The Dream Team had the victory at one point, but Valentine foolishly pulled the Dynamite Kid’s head from the mat, and would lose mere seconds later after having his head smashed into the turnbuckle. Overall, there weren’t a ton of memorable tag matches during the first decade of WrestleMania, but this is definitely a highlight, and one that usually doesn’t get much credit.

    9. Jake “The Snake” Roberts vs. Rick Martel (WrestleMania VII)

    http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2hsfmz_wwf-wrestlemania-vii-jake-roberts-vs-rick-martel_sport

    Let me start by saying this match was pretty cheesy. We all knew the two competitors could see each other through the bags they were sporting. With that said, they employed decent in-ring psychology and told a solid story, and it was even unintentionally humorous at times. (I mean how could one not laugh at Martel delivering an elbow to the canvas after The Snake was long gone, or the two running past one another in the most obvious manner?)

    Roberts finally tracked down “The Model” and picked up the win after hitting his signature DDT. Most importantly, this was one of the first gimmick matches to be featured at WrestleMania and would lay the groundwork for the next generation, which would deviate away from the traditional wrestling style that had characterized the first six WrestleManias. For that reason alone, I feel that it deserves to be included on the list.

    8. Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant (WrestleMania III)

    http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1u6x5h_wwf-wrestlemania-iii-hulk-hogan-vs-andre-the-giant_sport

    The action in this one was basically garbage. One of the main selling points involved fans hoping to see Hogan slam Andre for the first time, even though he and others had already done so in the past. And on top of that, it was the main event of the biggest show of the year and only lasted a little over ten minutes. Don’t get me wrong, the feud leading into the event was money, but the match itself was rather meh.

    Even though the action didn’t live up to the hype, this was the most important match in the company’s history at the time, and one would be hard-pressed to find one since that had more impact. These guys worked a lengthy feud leading into the event and had millions of eyes watching a product that wasn’t even putting on pay-per-view events just a few years prior. Not only did they have millions of eyes watching at home, they also drew a record 93,173 fans to check it out on in person.

    Hogan did slam Andre and followed it up with his Leg Drop for the win. The action wasn’t memorable, but without this match, there’s a good chance the WWE would never have become the global juggernaut it is today, so for that reason alone, it has to be included in a list such as this one.

    7. Ultimate Warrior vs. Randy Savage (WrestleMania VII)

    http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2hsck9_wwf-wrestlemania-vii-randy-savage-vs-the-ultimate-warrior_sport

    After Savage lost his title to Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania V, he had tried on numerous occasions to win it back. Hogan passed the torch to Warrior at WrestleMania VI, and the “Macho King” set his sights on the newly crowed champ. After Warrior refused to grant him a title shot (instead granting one to Sergeant Slaughter), Savage interfered in the contest, hitting Warrior with his scepter and costing him the title.

    This led to a feud between the two heading into WrestleMania VII, with Savage putting his career on the line. Sensational Sherri accompanied the “Macho King” to the ring but his former girlfriend Miss Elizabeth was also in attendance. After hitting a remarkable five flying elbows drops, Savage was still unable to diminish the power of the Warrior, eventually taking three shoulder block tackles that each sent Savage to the floor. Warrior would stand over the fallen King and pick up the victory, forcing Savage to “retire.”

    Some of the most memorable action actually took place following the match, however, as Sherri attacked Savage, leading to a memorable reconciliation between Miss Elizabeth and Savage, with Savage once again becoming a fan favorite after holding the ropes for Elizabeth. Awesome match. Awesome story. Awesome Wrestlemania moment.

    6. Bret Hart vs. “Rowdy” Roddy Piper (WrestleMania VIII)

    http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2gs2s7_wwf-wrestlemania-viii-bret-hart-vs-roddy-piper_sport

    Widely considered to be one of the greatest matches in WrestleMania history, Hart and Piper battled for the Intercontinental Championship back in the days when the title was actually worth a damn.

    Hart could make anyone look good, and Piper was an above average worker in his own right, so there was little chance of this contest being anything other than a stone cold classic. It really felt personal too, with stiff action that was a borderline street fight at times. The “Hit Man” bladed during the match and was covered in blood by the end of this brutal affair.

    After the referee was driven into the turnbuckle and knocked out for a few minutes, Piper considered using the ring bell as a weapon, but had a change of heart and chose not to. The “Hot Rod” instead attempted to put Hart away with his signature sleeper, but Hart countered the move by propelling himself off of the turnbuckle and countering into one of the most beautiful pinning combinations fans will ever see. Piper embraced Hart and helped him to the back after the contest, earning the respect and admiration of basically everyone in attendance.

  • Report: Richie Steamboat Still With WWE?

    A Twitter account that appears to belong to former WWE developmental wrestler Richie Steamboat, son of WWE Hall Of Famer Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat, has new tweets on it calling out NXT Champion Kevin Owens and praising current “Mr. Money In The Bank” Seth Rollins.

    Steamboat hasn’t wrestled a match since October of 2012 due to a back injury that appeared to be bad enough that it was career-ending.

    The son of the legendary WWE performer was reported to be released back in 2013, however that report ended up being shot down and the current belief is that he could still be signed by WWE.

    Below are the aforementioned Steamboat tweets about Owens and Rollins.

    https://twitter.com/WWERichie/status/571536645574557697

    https://twitter.com/WWERichie/status/571535463732928514

    (Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

  • VIDEOS: RVD, Ricky Steamboat, Roman Reigns, Seth Green & Charlotte On RAW Fallout

    Below are all of the RAW Fallout videos for this week, which features Rob Van Dam, Ricky Steamboat, Roman Reigns, Seth Green, Charlotte and more.

  • Backstage News On WWE Making A MAJOR Change In Plans For 2015 ROYAL RUMBLE Match …

  • Debut Set For WWE NXT Star, Former WWE Star Becomes A Deputy, Eva Marie’s Salute To Troops

    – This week’s edition of WWE NXT has already aired in Australia and a vignette hyping the debut of the wrestler known as Kevin Steen was shown. The date 12/11/14 appears on the screen as it faded to black.

    December 11, 2014 is of course the date of the NXT Takeover special on the WWE Network.

    – Barry Buchanan, who competed as Recon, Bull Buchanan and B² in WWE, is now a deputy with the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office in Georgia. His move from the wrestling ring to holding a deputy badge is profiled here.

    While continuing to wrestle, Buchanan entered the field last year at Carroll County Jail. Now that he is becoming a deputy, he is hanging up the boots later this month, with a retirement event for charity.

    “Dreams do come true,” he said. “I’ve lived one dream, now I’m starting another.”

    – Eva Marie and WWE Hall of Famer Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat were on hand for USO Metropolitan Washington’s annual Salute to Military Chefs event in Pentagon City on Wednesday night. The absent WWE Diva says she was proud to take part in the experience.

    “The greatest part of being a #WWE Diva is being able to be a part of nights like tonight,” Eva Marie wrote on Instagram. “I love and respect our military beyond words, And it is amazing to be a part of a company that feels the same @WWE . Honored to take part in this year’s “USO Metro Salute To Military Chiefs Dinner” Thank you to all of our service men and women for what you do day in and day out!”

    See Kevin Steen’s WWE NXT debut promo

  • Sheamus Talks About Possibly Turning Heel, His Plans For The U.S. Title & More

    The following are highlights of a new Miami Herald interview with Sheamus:

    On being face or heel: “I’m not opposed to going either way to be honest. I enjoy both sides of the coin. I’m sure it will come around again [for me to be a heel], but I want it to be for the right reason and right story. My goal right now is to keep moving forward and put on the best matches I can. I want to keep getting better and let people into who Sheamus really is. Character-wise, there was stuff I did before that wasn’t really me…I really want to reeducate people into who Sheamus really is. I can have a laugh and throw a crack in and have fun, but when it comes to the match it’s all business.”

    On wanting to re-establish the prestige of the United States Title: “There was more prestige when I won it the first time back in 2010, but I will wrestle Cesaro or anyone. I just want to defend the title more. That was the goal when I won it was to bring it back up to where it had been for decades. The cool thing about Night of Champions was seeing the shots of all the former champions with the title around their waste. That was really cool to see before each match. So you see that and superstars who came before you with Harley Race and Ricky Steamboat. It gives you chills. It gives you goose bumps.”

    Check out the complete interview at MiamiHerald.com.

  • Ronda Rousey vs. TRANSSEXUAL?!, Wanderlei Silva BANNED FOR LIFE From MMA + MORE!