Posted on by bdamage1
Brian Damage
In the history of pro wrestling, it isn’t uncommon for a wrestler to turn heel (bad) or babyface (good) at least once or twice in a career. It has become somewhat the norm and expected. Some of the biggest babyfaces in wrestling have played a heel at one point or another…Hulk Hogan….Sting….The Ultimate Warrior…Dusty Rhodes….Andre the Giant…even wrestling’s version of Superman…John Cena was a heel at one time.
One wrestler that can honestly boast of never playing a villain is none other than the ‘Dragon’ Ricky Steamboat. In his 20 plus years as an active combatant…we as fans never saw Steamboat with a devious manager…use a foreign object…cheat to win or put down the fans. He has always been the king of babyfaces. The ultimate good guy that was a tremendous worker.
It’s rather amazing that in all the different territories he’s competed in….Steamboat never wrestled once as a heel. Not on a pay per view, a TV taping, a house show, a dark match…NEVER. It made me wonder why? Why was Steamboat the guy who never got picked to turn on a friend or a tag team partner. Why was Ricky Steamboat the guy who never trash talked fans? According to bookers and promoters…he just didn’t look the part. They never saw the money a villainous Ricky Steamboat could generate. Despite the lack of vision by some stubborn match makers…it wasn’t a lack of trying by the Dragon himself.
In 1991, Ricky Steamboat returned the World Wrestling Federation after a tremendously successful run in the NWA/WCW. A run that saw Steamboat win the world heavyweight title and battle Ric Flair to some of the greatest matches in pro wrestling history. WWF fans remembered him from his previous tenure in the WWF where he had legendary feuds with the like of Jake Roberts and Macho Man Randy Savage. Despite that impressive resume, Vince McMahon decided to turn Steamboat into a cartoon character. The dropped his name of Ricky Steamboat and only referred to him as “The Dragon.” He was also given a dragon costume to wear to the ring and did a pre match routine of spitting fire. It was almost as if the WWF wanted fans to forget who the Dragon really was. They treated him as a newcomer instead of embracing his past.
Needless to say, the gimmick went nowhere and despite some wins…Steamboat was unhappy. He felt lost…stale…stagnant and wanted to do something to reignite his career. So, after 15 years as a babyface in numerous territories around the country and the world…Steamboat wanted a change. A change to perhaps a different style he was not accustomed to. Ricky Steamboat wanted to turn heel.
Years before Hulk Hogan shocked the world and changed the face of WCW for a few years to come…Steamboat had the same idea. He approached Pat Patterson who was Vince McMahon’s right hand man and offered up the idea. He didn’t just go to Pat Patterson and ask to be turned into a heel. He laid out a complete plan. According to Steamboat, he would begin wrestling matches under a mask and full bodysuit to conceal his identity. He would begin to use underhanded tactics to win bouts. He would also start run ins and attack various babyfaces before and after matches. To further his new gimmick, he would change his wrestling style. No flying body presses, no chops….nothing that resembled the Dragon at all. All he would use would be kicks and punches.
When the timing was right, a top babyface would unmask this heel and it would be revealed to be Steamboat. Ricky believed that the shock and awe would create a tremendous buzz. Fans would never suspect him being under the mask. After pitching his idea, Pat Patterson looked at Steamboat and smiled. Did this mean Patterson liked the gimmick? No. Instead, Patterson said, “It would never work…you are the consummate babyface.” And that was that.
No heel turn, no new gimmick and not too long later…the Dragon was gone once again from the WWF. Would it have worked? Would the fans ever buy the fact Ricky Steamboat was a heel? The world never found out…
David Fullam
Should at least have tried it.