THE DRAGON RAGES ON
Promoter Les Thatcher calls Ricky The Dragon Steamboat the purest babyface in the history of the business. And fans worldwide wouldn't argue. "Wrestling has changed, but life changes," said the resident of North Carolina in between speaking at the Mark Curtis Fantasy Camp and serving as guest referee at Pillman 2001.
"His speech at the camp was tremendous," said Thatcher. It was part instructional and part motivational. "I just try to impart the science of wrestling. Once guys know the basic moves like suplexes and body slams, you try to teach them chain wrestling. Then the psychology. It's all part of the package of being a performer."
Steamboat made a career of being a pure wrestler, and dozens of wrestlers list him as their toughest opponent. He's battled all the great ones, from Ric Flair to Shane Douglas. Now he gets satisfaction not from scoring a pinfall, but from seeing young stars catch on. "Their minds start clicking and they begin to see how a
match progresses. That's very rewarding for me."
If Steamboat is a good teacher, it's because he had a great instructor -- the legendary Verne Gagne. Steamboat made his debut in 1976 and worked in the NWA before going to the WWF in 1985. There he became The Dragon.
Steamboat defeated Randy Savage at Wrestlemania III two years later for the Intercontinental title in what many consider one of the greatest matches ever. The two went at it for 14 1/2 minutes in an epic battle. "We were both in peak condition. That was a great show," he said with a smile.
He worked until a back injury forced him to retire in 1994. "It's tougher now for guys because if you don't hit a spot every few seconds, the crowd chants (e-boring, boring, boring).' I try to tell guys to be patient and not force the spots. Do them when they have meaning because you can't do a whole match that way."
The impatient nature of fans also means they can burn out watching the sport, he said. "You want to build them up. If you have six matches and in all of them you have guys bumping all over the darn place, by the time you get to the main event, there's nothing left to show the crowd."
