Ricky Steamboat expects a fight in Charlotte and vows to ‘get the upper hand’
Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat knows exactly what’s going to happen when he returns to the wrestling ring at Grady Cole Center in Charlotte on Saturday night.
Somebody will try to pick a fight with him, the WWE Hall of Famer told The Charlotte Observer in a phone interview Wednesday.
Well, not for real, we think.
Steamboat, who turns 69 on Monday, is scheduled to serve as “special matchmaker” for the SuperFight hosted by Major League Wrestling, which makes its Charlotte debut this weekend.
Steamboat’s famous bouts at the center with other top wrestlers of the ‘80s and ‘90s made him a legend. He went on to win many individual heavyweight and tag-team championships as a “baby face through my career, a good guy,” he said.
What Steamboat said he doesn’t know is which wrestler — current or former — plans to leap into the ring to try to knock him down.
Whoever that person is doesn’t stand a chance, Steamboat said.
“I’ll get the upper hand and send him right back out into the crowd,” he said with the same self-assuredness that helped propel him to icon status in the ring.
Steamboat’s greatest adversary
Asked by the Observer on Wednesday, Steamboat said Ric Flair was his greatest adversary.
Yes, the same man Steamboat also credits with transforming him into a main-event wrestler through their legendary bouts, including their three-match series for the National Wrestling Alliance championship in 1989.
According to World Wrestling Entertainment, those bouts, along with Steamboat’s WrestleMania III bout against “Macho Man” Randy Savage in 1987, turned him into a wrestling icon.
Steamboat once knocked Flair out with a backhand chop during an interview on a Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling broadcast, according to ProWrestlingFandom.com.
Steamboat, whose career began in 1975, recalled how Flair called him one day with a plan.
“’I saw your work on TV,’” Steamboat said Flair told him. “I thought you’d be a great match” against Flair in the ring.
By that, Steamboat said, Flair meant a great adversary, with their matches against one another riveting fans.
Both were well built, Steamboat said, but Flair had blond hair while Steamboat had black hair. Flair often played the role of villain, he said, while he, Steamboat, was “always the good guy.”
Flair even pitched the potential rivalry to league promoters at the time, Steamboat recalled.
”’This is Ric Flair,” he said Flair told league owners. “You’ve got this new kid starting, and I’d like to start working (with) him.’”
“He got me to main-event status,” Steamboat told the Observer.
Where is Ricky Steamboat?
Steamboat said he travels the country making appearances at comic conventions and other events.
He’s lived outside of Knoxville, Tennessee, for about seven years, after marrying Sandi McAlister, Steamboat said. The wrestler, whose real name is Richard Blood Sr., has been married five times. He previously lived in the St. Petersburg, Fla., area, he said.
Steamboat also lived in the Charlotte area and opened a gym during the 1980s, according to Observer archives. His son Richie, who played football at Lake Norman High School, raced at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the early 2000s and made his wrestling debut at Sugaw Creek Recreational Center in 2008.
Wrestling’s greatest era
Ricky Steamboat rose to prominence during what he says is the “golden era” of pro wrestling, which included such famous names as Hulk Hogan and Savage. Steamboat had a long rivalry with Savage over the WWE’s Intercontinenal championship.
On Wednesday, Steamboat described the 6-foot-7 Hogan as “a big man. Bigger than life. To me, at best, his work was average. But for a big man, they made him into the best character. He was the company guy. He got all the TV time.”
The 5-foot-10 Steamboat weighed 235 pounds when he wrestled.
Steamboat said he looks forward to returning to where his career started, where Flair helped skyrocket him.
“Next week marks 45 years from when I first came to Charlotte,” he said.
And he’s happy to share memories with fans, during a meet-and-greet he expects to last for over an hour.
MLW SuperFight
Tickets to Saturday’s event at Grady Cole Center range from $10 to $65 and are available on Eventbrite.com. MLW world heavyweight champion Alex Hammerstone will headline the event against Davey Richards. Doors to the center at 310 N. Kings Drive open at 6:30 p.m., with the first bell set for 7:30 p.m.
This story was originally published February 24, 2022 at 6:45 AM with the headline "Ricky Steamboat expects a fight in Charlotte and vows to ‘get the upper hand’."