Ladies and gentleman, the maestro is in.
This is another Coliseum Home Video dedicated to an “outstanding individual” which shows off their highlights of the previous year. Steamboat had debuted in the WWF in early 1985 after a long run in Mid-Atlantic that included his original feud with Ric Flair. Though he, like everybody, was in Hulk Hogan’s shadow, he quickly became the most reliable of super over midcard babyfaces alongside Tito Santana.
1. WWF Intercontinental Title: Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat vs. Greg “The Hammer” Valentine [c] w/ Jimmy Hart (MSG 6/21/85)
Steamboat is bumping and selling, Hammer is bumping and selling, both are working HOLDS, and Jimmy Hart is on the floor shouting NO KARATE!! – this is a great match between two of the greats. The thing about Steamboat is we know what he’s great at – being a babyface. And being a great babyface requires great selling and timing and great firing up on your comeback. Simple, right? Not really, because even if someone tries doing that all well it might come off as fake.
Not Steamboat though. He does all that AND it feels real. Plus he brings all kinds of other cool random stuff – blocking four big swats from Valentine and throwing rapid-fire body blows at him, or throwing kicks at Valentine’s JAW in the corner. He takes a bump to the floor when he runs into a shot to the gut, then fires up and the strike exchange that ensues from the apron is SOOO good.
Valentine meanwhile is an understated master, reacting to Steamboat strikes like it’s an annoyance he doesn’t want to deal with. His timing on putting his foot on the ropes for a near fall is genius. Steamboat tries to go for the kill but an enzuigiri sends Valentine over the top to the floor. Hart kind of helps Valentine in but not really so he stays out for a 10-count. A conservative but excellent match. ****
Jesse “The Body” Ventura’s Body Shop w/ Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat (6/22/85)
This is about a minute long and cuts off before it seems like it might get interesting. Steamboat wears a black gi and is grilled by The Body about his last name and style. Steamboat informs Ventura that he uses open hand strikes and not closed fists. It’s a good point.
Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat Martial Arts Training (TNT #47)
Mean Gene Okerlund visits a martial arts temple that Ricky Steamboat is hanging out at and it is a TNT classic. Gene walks around, commenting, “The bridge of Serenity … this is tremendously serene, with… the beautiful foliage, the gorgeous flowers.” Suddenly, they fade out and Steamboat is shirtless and FIGHTING NINJAS!!!! It is such wonderful basic-ass fight choreography. He conquers the “Three Moments of Truth” The Bridge of Serenity, The Garden of Tranquility, and finally the Monks themselves who watch him beat up ninjas a couple feet in front of him and inform him, “You have successfully passed the third test, we welcome you to our order.” Absolute insanity and one of the last classic pot-infused early TNT skits.
2. No DQ & No Countout Match: Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat vs. Brutus Beefcake (Maple Leaf Gardens 5/26/85)
Beefcake is on offense a lot here and I’d argue that Beefcake in 1985 was a fine wrestler but this match wouldn’t help that case. Steamboat at least sells big so the match isn’t quite useless. A crossbody from Steamboat appears to gets a count that looks so much like a 3-count that it fools the lighting guy – the crowd lights go on, but are dimmed again. Valiant holds Steamboat’s leg as Beefcake pins him and the crowd lights again go on, but the referee restarts the match and Steamboat skins the cat and rolls up a celebrating Beefcake for 3. **
Magnificent Muraco and Mr. Fuji interview on TNT; Ricky Steamboat hanging incident (TNT #44)
The next few matches are key parts of the Steamboat/Muraco feud which kept these two busy for most of 1985. The hanging angle is a pretty famous thing – it’s the close of a match between the two and Muraco is all bloody. Steamboat takes down Fuji, sets up a comeback which gets a major pop, but Fuji chokes him with his tie. Muraco and Fuji proceed see-saw Steamboat with the tie then throw him over the top and HANG him over the top ropes. Muraco whips Steamboat with a belt, which is just a vicious insult to injury. Stupid sexy Steamboat is worked over for a bit, just dangling by the throat, before JYD and Tito Santana make the save to a big pop. It’s a great gritty angle – one of those rare wrestling things that feels hard to work. . Better yet, Muraco is doing commentary over it from the TNT couch. Fuji threatening to hit someone with his cane in the front row is a bonus. “We are on the dark side – we control the dark side.”
3. Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat vs. Mr. Fuji (Poughkeepsie NY 8/20/85)
The best Fuji matches in the mid-80s and really any time period were helped along by the crowds. If a crowd is willing to go crazy over his crappy kung fu strikes and nerve holds than we’re in business. Thankfully, they are all in on Steamboat here and this is very good. Steamboat attacks Fuji at the bell and even hangs him as revenge, but Fuji keeps cutting him off with low blows and chops and it’s all very well timed. Steamboat trying to power out of nerve holds is so professional wrestling. He eventually lands on his feet on a backdrop and rolls up Fuji for 3. ***1/2 After the match, Muraco attacks Steamboat from behind in the aisle with a chair and jabs his throat with a broken piece.
4. Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat vs. Magnificent Muraco w/ Mr. Fuji (Hartford Civic Center 10/18/85)
Like the Valentine match, this is a great match between two of the greats, though I don’t rate Muraco quite as high as Valentine so it’s a great match just not as great as the great match up above. Feel me?
There’s so much great WRESTLING here and the crowd eats everything up: amazing rope-running by Steamboat with Muraco there for everything, Steamboat selling and peppering in chops, Steamboat collapsing off a clothesline on the apron, Muraco taking a bump off a clothesline where his neck lands on the bottom rope, Muraco just GOING FOR IT with a wild Flair flop on the apron, Steamboat showing off his strength by bringing big Muraco into the ring with an incredible stalling suplex… I said WRESTLING.
The referee pulls Steamboat away from wailing on Muraco on the outside which outrages Gorilla and Lord Alfred. This leads to Fuji distracting the ref and Muraco using a foreign object to the throat for the 1-2-3. Classic stuff. ***3/4
Piper’s Pit w/ Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat (5/11/85)
Just like The Body Shop earlier, this is about a minute long and cuts off before it seems like it might get interesting. Insecure Piper asks Steamboat why he’s called a “Dreamboat” because the ladies scream for the Hot Rod too. He also says he cheats with martial arts and kung fu, then gets offended when Steamboat calls him Rodney.
5. The Wrestling Classic – Round 1: Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat vs. Davey Boy Smith (The Wrestling Classic 11/7/85)
Compared to most of the Wrestling Classic tournament this was a breath of fresh air, even if it lasts three minutes long – fast-paced, rope-running, counters, and the crowd into everything. Davey eventually takes a bump into the ropes and it’s ruled he can’t continue. Oh, World Wrestling Federation. *3/4
6. The Wrestling Classic – Quarter Final: Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat vs. Macho Man Randy Savage w/ Elizabeth (The Wrestling Classic 11/7/85)
This isn’t WrestleMania 3 but it’s a great match and the highlight of The Wrestling Classic. The action is blazing hot, with some INSANE rope-running that features amazing speed by Ricky and great reactions by Savage. It was so good I had to rewind and rewatch it twice. There are a lot of great sequences packed into like five minutes here and most of them are based around Savage running into chops. Ricky hits a big atomic drop on the floor, a big crossbody, and the finish is great – Savage ends up on the apron and pulls something out of his tights (BOOOOO), Steamboat lifts him over the top with a back suplex and Savage clonks him on the way down to get the 3. Savage would go onto use the same trick to win Tito Santana’s IC Title a few months later. ***1/2
Prime Ricky Steamboat is a sight to behold. This doesn’t have all his good stuff but it’s a fun digest of his earliest WWF run. 8/10
