Stats
Height
: 5’10”
Weight:
235 pounds
Weight Class:
Light Heavyweight
From:
Honolulu, HI
Career Highlights
: NWA Champion; Intercontinental Champion; United States Champion; NWA Tag Team Champion; WCW Tag Team Champion; WWE Hall of Fame (2009)
Attributes
Strike Power
: 80
Grapple Power:
75
Submission:
80
Strike Defense
: 90
Grapple Defense:
90
Speed:
85
Agility:
85
Adrenaline
: 90
Recovery
: 90
Durability
: 70
Charisma:
80
Tag Team:
90
Overall:
89
Abilities
Hammer Throw
Outside Dives
Resiliency
Leverage Pin
Signature Moves
Double Chicken Wing
Situation: Standing behind
Running Cross Body 1
Situation: Running or Irish Whip rebound
Finishers
Diving Cross Body 1
Situation: Dive vs. standing opponent
Diving Brain Chop 2
Situation: Dive vs. standing opponent
Bio
He was arguably one of the greatest talents ever to step inside the squared circle. Few, if any, have been as consistent across the board from a standpoint of in-ring workmanship, fan acceptance, and overall positive credibility as a ring performer.
And it is those attributes that garnered Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat a slot in WWE’s Hall of Fame, Class of 2009.
Making his debut as part of the AWA in 1976, Steamboat continued to ply his craft that year with stops in Florida and Georgia. But it was the following year in the Mid-Atlantic area where the Hawaiian began gaining considerable notice.
Outside the ring, Steamboat was modest and soft-spoken; yet once battle was underway, he exuded unrivaled fire and energy, endearing him to that area’s fans.
During his nearly eight-year Mid-Atlantic tenure, Steamboat would hold great success in tag team action, forming a dynamic and highly successful tandem with Jay Youngblood.
In singles action, his most memorable confrontations took place against the “Nature Boy,” Ric Flair—an unforgettable rivalry that would reignite at WCW in 1989 and saw Steamboat gain the NWA World Championship from the Nature Boy.
Through the years, many of the Steamboat-Flair matchups rank among the best one-on-one contests ever held, so much so that even the Nature Boy credits his long-time adversary as one of his greatest opponents ever.
“Steamboat had everything—charisma, work rate, intensity, and one of the best bodies in our business,” he wrote in his New York Times best-seller To Be The Man. “He was just amazing.”
Earning an opportunity to join WWE in 1985, Steamboat decided to develop a persona that was to be known as “The Dragon.”
He immediately gained the adoration of WWE fans with his classic encounters against such individuals as “The Magnificent” Don Muraco and Jake “The Snake” Roberts.
However, the match that WWE enthusiasts instantly remember Steamboat by remains WrestleMania III in 1987, when he defeated “Macho Man” Randy Savage to win the Intercontinental Championship in front of more than 93,000 fans.
Two impressive gladiators collided in a match that has since been deemed an absolute classic, but in the end, it was Steamboat who prevailed.
Today, “The Dragon” is a producer for WWE, applying his vast knowledge, savvy, and psychology from his years of in-ring competition to WWE’s current crop of Superstars.
Ricky Steamboat’s entry into WWE’s Hall of Fame speaks volumes about truly one of the most admired and respected individuals that the wrestling industry has ever seen.
Breakdown
Ricky Steamboat is a great all-around Superstar with an Overall rating of 89. He reverses well and he’s not really weak in any area. His Diving Cross Body is his most famous move; it will delight WWE fans who remember him in the ring taking control with this top rope attack.
Use the Outside Dives ability to keep the pressure on opponents outside the ring, and bring back the past with a Leverage Pin reversal, just like his pin of Randy “Macho Man” Savage for the Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship in 1987.