Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat

[PlayTheGame]

Wow, Steamboat definitely still has it. Coming into WM25 I honestly felt that the Legends/Jericho match would suck, but Steamboat completely saved that much- he ended up being quite amazing in the ring! The following night on Raw he performed just as well, maybe even better! Wow, this guy is amazing! He's aged so well, and still looks great. So, do you think the WWE should keep him around? And, if so, what kind of role should he have? Part-time wrestler? He could make a good manager for a face. He could even fill in a GM or Announcing role. I don't know, I'm just bouncing around some ideas. I'd love to hear your ideas on whether or not the WWE should keep him around and, if so, what they should do with him. I for one think that Steamboat still has alot to contribute to the WWE.

[K-Fizz]

General freakin' Manager. Gotta problem with his decision? Meet him in the ring.

[The Bearded One]

I was thinking last night during his match how great he looked. He could still wrestle good enough, hell not just good enough but pretty damn good, and wondered how often he could take the beating of a match. The best role would be some kind of GM figure so that he can still be an option for a match. No questions asked, Steamboat's still got it.

[PlayTheGame]

It seems as though SD! is now in need of a GM. Steamboat would be a great choice. I dont think it will happen, as there are many other choices as well. However, it would be really awesome if it did, as it would mean he'd always be around for a potential match. The WWE needs this guy, he's actually pretty over with the crowd and he's only been back for a little bit now. The fans are impressed with him- the WWE should be smart and capitalize on this.

[Ty Burna]

I missed his match at Wrestlemania last night, but I heard he was quite impressive. I didn't quite believe it at first but seeing how well he performed tonight, I'd say bring him in to do something. He's way too valuable to be just a road agent, and its obvious that the fans love him. I like the idea of being GM of Smackdown as I think it could be a fresh shake up.

From what I understand, Raw is going to get more of the proven stars, and Smackdown will get more of the younger talent. I think it'd be great for the younger stars to have a chance to work with Ricky on screen, he can teach them quite a bit.

[finneycom1]

After watching "The Dragon" last night, I definitely feel he still has some good ring time left in him. Here's the thing, after discussing this with some friends that I watched WM with last night, we all came to one conclusion: Ricky Steamboat is as entertaining as 75-80% of the current WWE roster. He's just like Flair was at the end of his career. Flair was just as entertaining, from '02-'08 in the ring as most of the roster! Sure, their move set doesnt contain as much as alot of the younger guys. But if it is entertaining to watch, and the crowd gets into it, why not have them performing in some big time matches?

Do you know why these guys are still entertaining to watch? B/C they want to be out there. They know their time is limited, and they are putting all on the line to entertain us. I have been a wrestling fan now going on 20 years. I remember watching Flair vs. Steamboat on TBS back in '89. These guys always gave it thier all. They want to entertain us.

So give Steamboat some ring time. He deserves it!! Go Dragon!!

[jpfizzle]

Whilst Undertaker Vs. Michaels was undoubtedly the match of the night it has been Steamboat's performance in the legends match that has stayed in my mind all day. Tonight he looked fantastic and I think he should get another outing with Jericho at Backlash. I don't think he should be kept around as a wrestler though because as there is only a small number of things to do with him before he becomes a jobber like Flair was for about 3 years prior to his build up to the retirement match. Steamboat is in the hall of fame now and every fan watching over this weekend has been awoken to just how good he was in the ring. Not many guys can go like we've seen him go so long after there heyday but I would hate it if what he has accomplished this weekend was tarnished by staying around just a little bit too long.

[Just-Dun Biased]

I guess it really depends if he still thinks he can go. Me personally, well I liked to see him take a Flair 2003-2005 type role were he is a manager that also wrestles every once and while.

["Cool Guy" Jensen]

Ricky ''The Dragon'' Steamboat looked great in the ring tonight. I wasn't born to actually see Steamboat in his prime, but I got a glimpse of it tonight. Anyone who was born at the time can safely say that he hasn't lost a step. I would love to see him sign a Legend's contract, similar to the one ''Hacksaw'' Jim Duggan is under. His ring skills are pretty solid and he's a great performer.

[DD84]

Steamboat is still very good in the ring. I didn't think about, but yeah he should be the GM of Smackdown. On another thread I wrote Teddy Long for SD GM, but it would be cool to have a GM who would fight you and probably beat you. Also, please can WWE sign his son. If his son is half as talented as him, he his way better than the Great Khali in the ring.

[Cekjr77]

If you weren't born at the time to see the Dragon, and you haven't seen the match yet, check out his match with Savage at WM 3. BEST IC title match EVER! And Steamboat was awesome the past 2 nights as well! (I bet Savage could still go too). Anyways, I like the GM idea. I could definitely go for that. I know it's far fetched but I would've liked to see him challenge JBL for the IC Title tonight on Raw. If people want prestige back to that belt, then who better? Atleast i'd like it better than Frickin' Rey Mastrio. (Santino's name for him). Too bad when Nash lawn darted him in the trailer, he didn't stick. I would've really pissed myself then! I know the Dragon with the IC belt is way far fetched, but after watching him go, why not? But let's hope for the GM job. I really like that idea. Good Call!

[Theo Mays]

Ricky Steamboat has been awesome these past two days. And as much as I'd love to see him return, I don't see it happening. He went out with a major bang. Hall of Fame induction, a great WM performance and another good performance on Raw. If he does decide to stick around as a wrestler, good for him. I personally would love if he got a GM role or a manager role. Though with SD needing a new announcer next to JR, maybe Ricky takes that job. Either way I hope he goes a prominent TV role.

[bigbootydaddyV]

are you guys serious?? steamboat looked great?? he should come back and still wrestle?? come on now...you're just feeding into what the jericho angle is all about. I really liked steamboat back in the day, he was awesome and it was like watching bruce lee in the ring (yes i know how unbelievably racist that was but it was the point of his gimmick) but now he is obviously past his prime and in no condition to wrestle regularly. Ok, he got that last wrestlemania match, should he have? probably not, but he did, got to go out on a grand stage but thats it, walk away gracefully. I don't wanna hate on him bc i really enjoyed him back in the day, but it's at that point now where these legends come back like you want for so long but only to come back and disappoint bc u see how much they've aged. The jericho angle last night was only good as a play on the wrestler but other than that it was a waste of prime tv time. With only so many slots open on wrestlemania how many guys didn't get their chance to be on it, its a perfect example of what jericho has been saying.

[Jersey Wannabe]

Kind of makes you wonder what would have happened if he had made a comeback a few years after his back injury like shawn michaels did.

He is definetly still fun to watch. But I dont think I would want him to make a full return.
Maybe a match here and there.

As for Having him as GM, i think that is brilliant.
The chant of "you still got it!" gave me goosebumps.

[Rome]

Steamboat had been reffing/wrestling for ROH for quite some time – it was a known fact he still had it.

But props to the WWE fans for serenading him with the "You Still Got It" chants tonight – very classy, very appropriate.

But I hope for his own sake he doesn't deflate his own pop by milking this.

[SuperKick36]

I know a few people who only recently started watching wrestling, and they had no idea who he was but they loved him just because he's old and balding, but he can fly around the ring, skin the cat, and put on a good show.

I'd like to see him fill Tazz's spot or become a GM, and have a part in the shows more.

[8five]

I have a little bit of a different idea. Miz and Morrison are going to get split up at the draft there is no way around this. They have lost the battle with the colons and they are teasing that the dirt sheet will go away once they split. I think Morrison can become a face a lot easier then Miz who just generates heel heat. What is one way to turn John into a face but let him accept the guidance and mentoring of someone who was a lot similar to him back in the day like Ricky. If you want to blur lines make Ricky GM of smackdown and have him get Morrison with his first pick next week. Then over the next few weeks have them talk on camera about potential and why Ricky took him first. You can continue to build on this and next thing you know you have Morrison as a face challenge the Smackdown champion at Summerslam who is none other then Chris Jericho. You let the entire story run its course and you can have Morrison representing the legends as a young guy with respect against the still disrespectful veteran in Chris.

[RATED R CHAMPION]

Amazing Ricky Steamboat Has Shown Why He Is One Of The Greatest Of All Time!!!!!! He Shocked Me At Wm 25, And Last Night On Raw, I Think They Should Keep Him For Training Guys Who Are Awful In The Ring, Young Talent And Also To Be The Manager Of Someone, And Wrestle A Couple Of Times !!!

[mont3818]

Steamboat should bow out gracefully, which is what I think he's doing. He looked good, it was a nice treat to see him. Now bye-bye ^_^ MAYBE a Jericho-Steamboat 2 possibly at Backlash, but that'll be so predictable. Also keep in mind that, just because Steamboat has aged well, he is not in shape. I'm sure he can't go for more than 7 minutes of in ring action.

[Joup7]

Steamboat should make for a good manager of a young energetic talent. I don't think Morrison needs a manager, as he's pretty good on the mic already. Evan Bourne or Kofi Kingston would be interesting. Perhaps even a face change for Tyson Kidd. Steamboat I think could still wrestler as parts of a match. But if they were to ever put him in a singles match, he's gonna show his age.

[Wavy Crockett]

Steamboat Was Awesome At Wrestlemania. I Was Surprised How Energetic He Was Compared 2 Snuka & Piper. Steamboat Still Definately Has It. Piper & Snuka On The Other Hand Need 2 Stay Out The Ring Forever.

[The Catacomb]

I think they should debut his son and create a stable to work against Legacy. Have Ricky Steamboat as manager, his son (which I forgot his name...sorry), Goldust's character turn into Dustin Rhodes and shed the gimmick, and Sim Snuka as the only ones to appreciate their fathers. Call it 'Bonded by Blood' or something like that. I don't know...got the name from a thrash band named Exodus since the 'Legacy' is from Testament. They could fued with Legacy a long time and build up the young stars and give Dustin Rhodes career life again. I thing Legacy should have a fourth member though. Maybe Vince McMahon as a second or third? generation star or owner to counter Steamboat.

[RawIsRamsey]

I would love to see Steamboat in the sort of player/coach role that Finlay has. Remember, when Finlay came back four (five?) years ago, is was just to be a short time, work with the newbies, and go back to being an agent. Well, he's still around, he's still awesome, and he's over (sure, thanks to a midget, but still). And Finlay is now 50.

Sure, Steamboat is 56, but if he feels he can go, I don't see why we can't do a Ricky Steamboat retirement tour...his last REAL match was almost 15 years ago (his tustle in RoH can hardly be considered a match). I wouldn't mind seeing Steamboat have some "dream matches" then disappear...the WWE this weekend proved that the vets (HBK, Taker, Steamboat) can still go, so much as they are the ones we're discussing...not CM Punk's 2nd MitB win...not the Hardy vs. Hardy match...neither of the title matches (except how awful they were). We're talking about guys who were just starting (or ending) their Main Event careers 15 years ago...it's sad.

I do like the idea of a Steamboat-led Legacy-style stable. Him, Ricky Jr., Reid Flair, Sim Snuka/D.H. Smith...sounds good to me.

[schaeffershawn]

Ricky is one of the best of all time. Much like HBK he never wrestled a bad match in his life and could make a mop look good. A full-time return is a no no, but limited action is ok. Also, it would be natural for him to mentor CM Punk as it was his mentoring of PUnk in ROH, which got Punk his job in the WWE.

[OIL]

He did put in 2 great performances. At WrestleMaina & at RAW. However, he is an agent and he should stick to that. He is old, and you can't ask him to do that every week. He does a fine job as an agent, and that's good for him. He shouldn't return to wrestle full time, or part time. He's fine as he is.

[Dragonslayer]

I agree on this - I was literally sitting open-mouthed in front of the screen when Steamboat started gathering steam at WM, as I was so surprised and impressed by his in-ring abilities at his age. Seriously, this almost brought a tear to my eye.

But he definitely should not return as a full-time wrestler. Flair overstayed his welcome by doing that - if he had just been wrestling off and on a couple of times a year while maintaining a manager/backstage role, it would've been better. And seriously - I doubt Steamboat, no matter how good he looked at WM and RAW, could go for a year or two straight on a schedule like the rest of the younger guys. But the fans ate him up this weekend, and WWE definitely should make use of that. I would honestly love to see him as GM of SD or RAW or something like that, as others have pointed out - finally they'd have a GM you could take seriously, as he obviously has an idea about how the business works, and besides he could whoop some a** if you cross him.

But on a side note - I believe it must definitely have been a very special moment for Y2J to wrestle Ricky Steamboat (and a Steamboat in such a condition) at WM25...

[Jersey Wannabe]

Going in to Mania, i was really wondering what Steamboat could do.
We all knew that Snuka and Piper were shells of what they used to be.

But Steamboat did not disappoint.
Part of me says that he should stay retired and be happy with the legacy he left behind.
Does anyone really want to see Steamboat end up like Flair?

But on the other hand part of me would love to see him win the IC belt and be the one to return it to prominence.
A legend that can still go and who was involved in one of the greatest IC title matches of all time could be just what that belt needs.

[mrkite619]

i was thinking jericho goes to smackdown in the draft & steamboat becomes gm.they can continue the feud with steamboat putting jericho in matches with kane & kahli & other big dudes he wouldn't wanna face or something like that.& hopefully it can lead to a 1 on 1 match with jericho & steamboat at summerslam in a classic 20 minute match.steamboats last match or he could wrestle actively between now & summerslam, rack up a few wins to make him look good & head into summerslam with a ton of momentum & there jericho can defeat him & ricky can retire or be gm or a manager

[SquareSix]

Like cool_guy_12, I wasn't born when Steamboat was in his prime, but being the wrestling fan that I am, I have found many of his matches online and on several dvds. The man was incredible and after watching his match last night on Raw, I have to say that he is still just as incredible. He is fun to watch, it has great nostalgia to it and he doesn't appear to have lost a step. No, he probably isn't able to do everything in the ring he used to but damn he looks just as good as 80-90% of the younger guys he was out there with.

As fun as it was to watch him still putting on a hell of a show this many years after what many people considered to be his prime, I don't want his reputation to become tarnished by staying around too long. He doesn't deserve that at all. At the most I say let him face Jericho at Backlash. After what transpired on Raw last night, the feud is still over enough with the crowd that they could pull it off. Not to mention it would be entertaning as anything else WWE decides to put on the card. After that though they should put him in some kind of on screen role for sure, just not necessarily in the ring. The Smackdown GM role would be cool. I have no idea what he would be like at commentary, but that might be an option for him also with Tazz leaving a position open.

[ilivewrestling]

well, i dont know guys. I hear what you guys are saying about flair, but i dont necessarily think it was a bad thing for him to stay as long as he did, i guess i only feel that way because i LIVE wrestling (hence the name lol) & i watch any wrestling i get my hands on. I watch old tapes wishing i could be there so i dont know but it's very exciting for me to see wrestlers who's prime was 15+ yrs ago wrestle today. I watch the matches from Ric Flair's dvd collection & Steamboat was jus always constant motion in the ring, so damnit when i saw him at WrestleMania then again last night on RAW my jaw was dropped the whole time. I literally had goosebumps watching him. I just couldnt believe i was getting a chance to Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat wrestle LIVE, TODAY, RIGHT now, like it wasnt a tape, it was RIGHT NOW. I mean the chant the fans gave him on raw "YOU STILL GOT IT". it couldnt get more appropriate than that. & at WrestleMania when he started whipping out his trademark Arm Drags on Jericho, i think that is the point where we all started to eat him up. Do I think he should return full time? I dont know. The only way to tell if he could would be for him to actually do it & find out.......But if that never happens (which we know it won't) , i will never forget 04/05/09 & 04/06/09 because i FINALLY got to see Ricky Steamboat live

[JGlass14]

Like others have said, though Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels was the match of the night, Steamboat still stood out. He was absolutely fantastic, my jaw literally dropped when I watched him hit those vintage arm drags, and I was left in straight up awe when he hit the diving cross-body off the top rope.

With that being said, I was already disappointed when Steamboat came back for that dopey tag match. He had one hell of a weekend, being inducted to the hall of fame, and then putting on a match that had all sorts of shades of Steamboat vs. Macho Man. If he came back, it'd totally tarnish that epic performance he put on at Wrestlemania. It'll be more memorable this way.

[NightShiftLoser]

Steamboat definitely did great at WrestleMania, and impressed me even more with his action on Monday. He should definitely continue to make TV appearances, but I think that was done, when he was allowed to take center stage in the ring after the match. It had the feel of a send off, and would work well if that was the case.

What I want to know, is why he wasn't making appearances for the last few years? Why have they paraded out Piper, who was fat, drunk, and couldn't make it down the aisle, much less wrestle?