One of the things that always drove me crazy in the late 80’s/early 90’s WWF was their penchant for whitewashing any wrestler’s past as he came into the company. Even when guys were brought in under their well-known ring name, they’d soon lose that persona and be left only with the WWF trademark instead. For instance, when Curt Hennig very first showed up, he was billed as Curt Hennig. Kerry Von Erich showed up and was still Kerry Von Erich. A couple months down the road, both were gone, as they were replaced by Mr. Perfect and The Texas Tornado. It was even stranger when guys would be well-known in the WWF itself, leave, then come back with a new name like they never existed at all!
Such was the case with Ricky Steamboat, who was brought back as simply “The Dragon”. Despite the fact he was almost never called that during his 1991 run, we can see here WWF Magazine didn’t quite get the entire memo, as while they never mention “Ricky Steamboat” in the article, they do sneak in the fact he is a former Intercontinental champion. And thankfully the photo isn’t signed “The Dragon.” Shew.
It is pretty hilarious that it notes that he spent the past couple of years in the Orient. And here I thought I saw that Flair-Steamboat classic in Chicago! Apparently I blacked out during that flight to THE ORIENT prior to that one. The article also gives us a great shot of Steamboat’s newest offensive antics, namely BREATHING FIRE! Yes kids, this isn’t just any old dragon, this guy is THE Dragon. I can’t be the only person that absolutely despised this run, right? Let me know in the comments below.