The Dragon in 1991

[The Brain]

As a Ricky Steamboat fan something I’ve always wondered is why he was so horribly misused in the WWF in 1991. He had a successful three year run in the federation from 1985-1988. He left the WWF right after WrestleMania IV and returned just after WrestleMania VII. Upon his return his past was completely ignored. No one every mentioned his previous run or the fact that he was a former IC champion. Even worse, he wasn’t even called Ricky Steamboat anymore. He was simply The Dragon. He came to the ring in a ridiculous dragon costume and breathed fire before his matches. Ok the fire was kind of cool, but you get my point. Steamboat wasn’t involved in any significant storylines during his comeback and was gone after only about six months. I think it would have been much better if he just came back as Ricky the Dragon Steamboat and his past was acknowledged.

Shortly after WrestleMania III Steamboat asked for some time off because his wife was about to give birth to their first child. Rumor has it Vince was upset by this because Steamboat just won the IC title and they wanted to give him a long run. Steamboat dropped the title to the Honky Tonk Man and got his time off. He returned around Survivor Series but was gone right after WrestleMania IV without doing much in between. It was said that Vince was still upset with Steamboat for taking the time off in 1987. Do you think when Steamboat returned in 1991 Vince was still holding a grudge? Is that why Steamboat didn’t go anywhere? If that’s the case why bring him back in the first place? Why pay a guy as talented as Steamboat if you’re not going to use him?

Or did Vince think he was using Steamboat properly? The WWF was very gimmicky at this time. Maybe he just thought The Dragon was a good gimmick and Steamboat’s past was irrelevant. That still doesn’t explain why he wasn’t involved in any storylines. I don’t know the circumstances of him leaving in 1991, but what if Steamboat was used better? Would he have stayed longer? It would have been nice to see him in matches against the likes of Ted Dibiase, Mr. Perfect, and Rick Martel. Also there was this guy named Ric Flair coming into the WWF around that time. Something tells me Steamboat could have had some good matches with him.

So two questions. 1. Do you think Vince intentionally held Steamboat back in 1991? 2. If he just came back as Ricky the Dragon Steamboat, without the costume and with his past acknowledged, where would his career have gone?

 

[The Idiot]

This was the beginning of Vince's creative character development. Only way I can put it. Bringing back Ricky steamboat wasn't going to excite the fans...but repackaging him into a fire breathing dragon, now that's something the fans won't forget!
Sarcasm aside...the WWE wanted to treat him as a brand new wrestler which I don't understand because he didn't wear a mask and everyone knew who it was. If I recall Ricky was the one who gave notice and left the company for whatever reason. Who knows, WWE might have had big plans for him.

EDIT: Sorry, to answer your questions:

1. I don't think Vince held him back at all. I remember the Dragon being undefeated for quite some time. Sure, he may not have been given a huge push but at the same time he wasn't a jobber being used to put over younger talent like Snuka was.

2. The key concept here is his past being acknowledged...because this is something you can't create overnight. There's so many times where I wish the WWE would do this with other wrestlers and they didn't. Steamboat had the look, the skill and the workrate....if Vince would have put him in a solid program with Perfect or DiBiase it would have been gold.

 

[Travaje]

Ultimately, it doesn't really matter. It didn't hurt Steamboat or his legacy. He went straight back to WCW where he had another very successful run, working some of the best matches of his career (for example, his matches with Rick Rude). If he did ask for his leave, that was a very smart move on his part.

Is this a Steamboat thread or a carefully disguised Vince bashing thread?

 

[Slyfox696]

Honestly, it was probably both. First of all, we've seen on multiple occasions where Vince has turned his public television show into something where he takes pleasure in humiliating his workers, for whatever reason. Look no further than the constant degradation Jim Ross, a Hall of Fame commentator, had to endure. But, I don't think it was just the humiliation factor, because as you said, if you were just going to bring him back to humiliate him, why bother at all?

If you go back and look at the time period, Steamboat was hardly the only one with ridiculous gimmicks. We had the Beserker, the Repo man, the Ultimate Warrior, the Earthquake and Tugboat/Typhoon, the Red Rooster, The Gobbeldy Gooker, Saba Simba, The Undertaker...all of which are incredibly goofy gimmicks. But they were gimmicks, larger than life gimmicks, and some worked and others didn't. Ricky Steamboat was hardly alone in his gimmick persona.

So, I think it was a combination of both, and Vince figured that as talented as Steamboat was, he'd overcome the gimmick, and be moving up the card eventually.