‘It’s like we’re back in time.’
Ricky Steamboat will return to wrestling on Sunday.
Steamboat is the centerpiece of Big Time Wrestling’s Return of The Dragon show, which airs live on FITE. Only three months before turning 70, he is teaming with FTR (Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler) against Jay Lethal, Brock Anderson and a mystery opponent.
The match, which takes place at the Dorton Arena in Raleigh, marks Steamboat’s first in a dozen years.
“I think I can still entertain the crowd,” says Steamboat. “I’m wrestling with some great workers and I’m teaming with FTR, who are phenomenal. I keep telling myself, ‘Don’t be stupid, Steamboat.’ I’m going to be smart about this. My goal is to sprinkle in some ‘Ricky Steamboat dust’ throughout the match. If I can do that, I’ll be happy.”
Only four months removed from Ric Flair’s return bout, Steamboat now becomes the latest legend to step back between the ropes. If anyone is expecting a classic, they are going to be disappointed. Yet that isn’t the objective of this match.
It is fitting for this to coincide with the weekend attached to Thanksgiving. This six-man tag is covered in nostalgia, not altogether different from hearing a story you already know. Steamboat’s return is a chance to remember the style of pro wrestling that built today’s era, and it serves as an opportunity to reflect on the moments that shaped people into lifelong fans.
“I hope people will watch me wrestle and think, ‘I remember,’” says Steamboat. “I hope they remember how they felt, I hope they remember where they were. We’ve spent a lot of special memories together, and this is a chance to recognize that.”
Due to injuries, Steamboat was forced into retirement in 1994. He returned briefly in 2009, performing in a three-on-one handicap match with Roddy Piper and Jimmy Snuka against Chris Jericho at WrestleMania 25. He looked so impressive that it led to a singles bout against Jericho just a few weeks later at Backlash, but Steamboat would retire for good after 11 more matches.
“I felt right at home in the ring with Chris Jericho,” says Steamboat. “I didn’t have nearly as many limitations then that I feel I have now. I’ve been venturing down to the nearby wrestling school to get my feet wet. There are some things I thought I could do well, even at 69, but they’re not as easy as they were 30 years ago. But I feel pretty good about this.”
Steamboat has the benefit of teaming with FTR, one of the best tag teams in all of pro wrestling. In addition to that, he holds a secret weapon in his bond with fans. Steamboat remains a beloved babyface, the type that rarely exists in the modern age of pro wrestling.
“I have so much respect for our fans, and I think of them often,” says Steamboat, whose connection with fans always felt so pure. “Think of my big matches—whether it was against Ric Flair, Randy Savage, Jake Roberts, Don Muraco or Steve Austin, the fans were always there for me. I want this match to be a big thank you to all of them.”
This farewell bout is also a chance for Steamboat to reintroduce himself to fans who came onto the scene decades after he first broke out in Jim Crockett Promotions. For those already intimately familiar with “The Dragon,” this will be a rare chance to create a new memory with one of wrestling’s icons.
“I’m packing some turkey sandwiches from Thanksgiving for my trip to Raleigh,” says Steamboat. “I can’t wait. I’ve wrestled in all the major venues around the world—in Europe and Japan, at the Philadelphia Spectrum, Boston Garden, Madison Square Garden and the LA Forum, but after this, Raleigh is always going to hold a special place in my heart.
“It’s like we’re back in time. For one night, we get to relive it all over again.”
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Justin Barrasso can be reached at JBarrasso@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @JustinBarrasso.