Real Name - Richard BloodBirthdate - 2/28/53
5'11" 235 lbs. - Charlotte, NC
Athletic Background - Wrestling, Football [High School]
Teacher(s) - Verne Gagne, Billy Robinson [`76 Camp]; Dean Ho
Professional Background - AWA(`76), Florida(`76), GCW(`76), GCCW(`76), Mid-Atlantic(`79-`84), WWF(`85-`88), NWA(`89-`91), WWF(`91), WCW(`92-`94)
Groups - none
Peak Years - `79-`89
Finisher(s) -
- Flying Body Press
- Double Chickenwing
Favorites -
- Flying Karate Chop
- Reverse Thrust Kick
- Dropkick
- Armdrag
- Chop
Ringwork Rating -
| Move Set | 10 |
| Science | 8 |
| Aerial | 5 |
| Power | 9 |
| Strikes | 9 |
Intangibles Rating -
| Entertainment | 7 |
| Selling | 10 |
| Bumping | 9 |
| Carrying | 10 |
| Heat | 8 |
| Legacy | 7 |
Place in History - Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat is easily one of the top workers of all-time. While he was never a stand alone top star, Steamboat's ability to work match as a babyface put him in some high profile programs. The most notable are first against Randy Savage in the WWF, which produced almost inarguably the company's best match of the 80s at their biggest show for years - Wrestlemania III. Then a few years later, Steamboat would rekindle his feud with Ric Flair in a series of NWA World title matches in `89. The three matches are often considered the very best of the 80s and still stand up very well for their drama and athletic excellence. What "The Dragon" lacked in great mic skill, he made up for by being able to tell a great story in the ring. Even if Steamboat had stopped before his WWF run, he would be highly though of amongst insiders. His matches with Flair over the TV and US titles were excellent and really showed off their potential for greatness which both capitalized on. Also of note was his alliance with Jay Youngblood, which meant for some of Mid-Atlantic's best tag matches and the two are really one of wrestling's great teams. Though he was originally named for Hawaiian Sammy Steamboat hoping it'd get him over quicker, Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat turned his own awesome ability in a stellar career that might not have been full of great accolades, but provided us fans with some of the best matches to ever take place.
