Standing in the center of a ring, housed within the narrow walls of a nondescript Police Athletic League gym just wide enough to hold it, quite possibly the greatest pure babyface in pro wrestling history distilled wisdom to an attentive crowd.
It has been nearly 23 years since a back injury sent WWE Hall of Famer Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat into retirement and more than six years since a health scare forced him to give up taking bumps for good. However, Steamboat, a month shy of 64, hasn't lost his youthful zest for the business, let alone his fit and muscular frame.
With more than 40 years of experience in the only profession Steamboat has known, teaching remains the lifeblood of his enthusiasm. Steamboat spoke for five hours to a crowd of more than 30 aspiring pro wrestlers, giving pointers and advice to performers ranging in experience from those who have yet to make their debut, to established independent names, including Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling veterans Ricochet, Matt Taven and Vinny Marseglia.
These days, he makes occasional appearances for the company as an ambassador, which allows him the ability to freelance on the independent scene, where he gives seminars and often appears as a guest referee. Steamboat's connection with the indie circuit predates his post-retirement WWE run, when he made a series of memorable guest appearances during the fledgling days of both Total Nonstop Wrestling and Ring of Honor, working with the likes of CM Punk and Mick Foley.
But despite Steamboat being most well-known during his s heyday for his aerial moves, martial arts strikes and deep arm drags, the concepts of technique and athleticism no longer make up the basis of his message. Steamboat, whose real name is Richard Blood, is much more focused on returning to the basics. They are out there just doing stuff to fill in the blanks, just doing stuff to do stuff.
I would like them to be able to tell a story so the fans could actually follow the match along. Steamboat's teaching relies heavily on the foundations of what made him successful: psychology, selling and telling a cohesive story by focusing on one body part.
A stickler for tiny details, he calls them "Ricky's Rules. Trained in Minnesota by Verne Gagne and The Iron Shiek in , Steamboat says the biggest difference between the business today and when he first debuted with the AWA in is the number of opportunities to work under the old territory system. When those kids out there get in the ring today, they are looking across the ring at someone with six months or one year experience. Steamboat estimates that he averaged between and matches per year during his first few years as a professional, compared to "one show a week or every other weekend" that many young wrestlers get today.
Watch the video. Sign In. Richard Blood Actor Additional Crew. Up 98, this week. View rank on IMDbPro ». Retired American professional wrestler of Japanese descent as Ricky Steamboat. He trained under Verne Gagne , and first made his name in the old Mid-Atlantic territory in the Carolinas. See full bio ». Filmography by Job Trailers and Videos.
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Mustafa, despite no longer working for the company. They lost the titles to Arn Anderson and his new partner Bobby Eaton at a live event in January The match received a 5-star rating from Dave Meltzer. He lost the title to Scott Steiner at a television taping on September At Starrcade, the two faced in a rematch for the title which resulted in a time-limit draw. He also had one last feud over the WCW World Heavyweight Championship with longtime rival Ric Flair, which culminated in a match at Spring Stampede where the title was briefly held up due to both men's shoulders being pinned at the same time.
Their final singles match was on Main Event in July which ended on a disqualification when Steve Austin interfered. On the August 28 edition of Clash of the Champions, he got a rematch against Austin where Steamboat hurt his back, but managed to pin Austin for the United States Heavyweight Championship. However, he had to give up the belt due to the injury at Fall Brawl. He retired for good in September He was also the referee for the four-way double-elimination match to crown the first holder of the TNA X Division Championship.
In , he 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. The latter part of saw Steamboat feud with Mick Foley over which style of wrestling was superior, pure wrestling or hardcore wrestling.
After working with CWF for about a year, he took his act north to the Carolinas where he made a name for himself working for Jim Crockett Promotions. Steamboat cut his teeth by working with some of the best wrestlers of the era. He calls Flair one of his favorite guys to work with and the pair went head-to-head in some legendary championship matches. He took part in the first three WrestleMania events. He was perhaps the nicest guy I ever worked with and that was no act.
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