Question about Steamboat/Savage Punishment

[Guest FeArHaVoC]

I never heard this story before and I was watching WWF back then, but I don't remember this. Probably because I was young and didn't look for stuff like that.

 

Anyway, I was reading 411Wrestling.com and Scott Keith was asked a question about Hogan depushing Steamboat and Savage after they upstaged him at WM3.

 

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<Question> I have a question about the Steamboat post-mania III de-push. Why was

Hogan only upset with Steamboat for upstaging him? Why wasn't Savage

(who was equally over with the crowl albeit in a heel capacity) punished

for upstaging Hulkamania? Was it simply the fact that Steamboat was the

face in the match?"

 

<Scott Kieth> Savage was punished -- he was jobbed out and humilated on TV repeatedly throughout 1987 until the fans turned him face late in the year and Hogan apparently mended fences with him long enough to give him the rub.

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Anyone have more on this Story? I've never heard Savage or Steamboat talk about this, and I've seen the Steamboat RF Shoot.

[The Dames 0]

I just can't believe that Vince and Co. would be stupid enough to punish workers for having a ***** match that is still remembered today. I understand the reasoning, but damn...they busted their asses, gave the fans a great, historic match, for what?

 

Dames

[Guest converge241]

exactly Dames

 

i think everyone remembers Hogan- Andre in a special light as well, as in Steamboat - Savage didnt necessarily make people forget about it

 

Steamboat - Savge was just scientifically off the charts and had a great build up while Hogan- ANdre, while not a great match was a "mythical" encounter

[Guest Choken One]

I always heard that Hogan was afraid that Steamboat would over take him in popularity...Which I never brought...Steamboat was what Benoit is today...Great wrestler but horrible with Charisma and drawing power...

 

I still don't understand the whole jobbing the title so shortly to HTM? I know it has SOMETHING to do with being with his sons and Savage threating to jump or something like that...

 

Besides, Steamer was never made for WWF anyways...

[cawthon777 0]

<Question> I have a question about the Steamboat post-mania III de-push. Why was

Hogan only upset with Steamboat for upstaging him? Why wasn't Savage

(who was equally over with the crowl albeit in a heel capacity) punished

for upstaging Hulkamania? Was it simply the fact that Steamboat was the

face in the match?"

 

<Scott Kieth> Savage was punished -- he was jobbed out and humilated on TV repeatedly throughout 1987 until the fans turned him face late in the year and Hogan apparently mended fences with him long enough to give him the rub.

I'd suggest not taking an Internet writer's opinion and memory as truth.

 

I've never once heard about Hogan de-pushing Steamboat. I've never once heard Steamboat say anything bad about Hogan. The only reference to Hogan I've heard him talk about is that he often main evented the B house shows while Hogan main evented the A house shows, which is for the most part true. While Hogan had guys like Orndorff or Bundy, Steamboat took on Muraco and Savage in the main events.

 

According to Steamboat's interview on the LAW a couple of years ago, what happened is that shortly after WrestleMania III his wife was set to give birth and he wanted to take time off. Not a lot of time, just a few weeks. So he asked Vince and, to Steamboat's surprise, Vince felt he should drop the title before doing so. Considering Steamboat would have been back in time before the next TV taping, he didn't see why it was such a big deal that he drop the belt - but he went along with it.

 

Then the following year at WrestleMania IV, Steamboat assumed he would go over Valentine in the opening round of the world title tournament and then lose to Savage in the next round as payback for WrestleMania III. To his, and everyone else's, surprise he was jobbed out in the first round and went into semi-retirement.

 

As far as Savage being punished and being "jobbed out" - that's completely off. Check my own archives from 87, which are very detailed. The only people Savage jobbed to in 87 was Steamboat post-WM III and Hogan. He won KOTR, dominated George Steele, and remained a mid carder right on the verge of main eventer. If anything, Savage took a big step up after WrestleMania III.

[Guest Agent of Oblivion]

I always heard that Hogan was afraid that Steamboat would over take him in popularity...Which I never brought...Steamboat was what Benoit is today...Great wrestler but horrible with Charisma and drawing power...

Are you mental? Steamer had an INCREDIBLE natural babyface charisma. So much in fact, that he once approached Pat Patterson about possibly turning heel, to which Pat replied "You could go out there with a chainsaw, cut your opponent to pieces, and the fans would still love you."

 

Hell, the guy was extremely over as a face his entire career. Well, aside from maybe "The Dragon" era, which wasn't really anything more than a fantastic worker getting saddled with a ridiculous gimmick in a time when everyone had ridiculous cartoon gimmicks.

[Guest Coffin Surfer]

I always heard that Hogan was afraid that Steamboat would over take him in popularity...Which I never brought...Steamboat was what Benoit is today...Great wrestler but horrible with Charisma and drawing power...

Are you mental? Steamer had an INCREDIBLE natural babyface charisma. So much in fact, that he once approached Pat Patterson about possibly turning heel, to which Pat replied "You could go out there with a chainsaw, cut your opponent to pieces, and the fans would still love you."

 

Hell, the guy was extremely over as a face his entire career. Well, aside from maybe "The Dragon" era, which wasn't really anything more than a fantastic worker getting saddled with a ridiculous gimmick in a time when everyone had ridiculous cartoon gimmicks.

You beat me to it, but yeah, Steamboat was always over as a top baby face. All you have to do is watch Wrestlemania III to see that, the crowd was going crazy for him.

 

I also hate the Beniot has horrible charisma theory, which isn't true at all. Mic skills and charisma are two completely different things. To have no charisma means you get no reaction from the crowd, but yet Beniot is a master at playing the crowd when he wants to. In fact in 11/96 Beniot/Black Tiger, Benoit does one of the greatest jobs I've ever seen of controlling the crowd with his actions, better than anything the Rock or Stone Cold ever did. Though IMO, Beniot of course could never match thier drawing power or be a cross over star like them.

[Guest Choken One]

Huh...I never really brought Steamboat as Charismatic guy...Just a really good wrestler...

[Guest nWoScorpion]

Steamboat was awesome, yes, but whenever I'd hear a interview with I hit a very special button (FF >>)

[Guest The_Radical]

Just a quick point about Steamboat's babyface tendencies...anyone ever see him play a heel? (This is rhetorical)

 

The Radical has spoken.

[Guest MillenniumMan831]

I loved it when Steamboat would snap on a hated heel like Muraco, Roberts, ect. The heel would have control of the match, and then The Dragon would be all "FUCK THIS!" and unload on the heel.

 

The ref would try to hold him back all the time.

Pissed me off!

[Guest Agent of Oblivion]

Steamboat was awesome, yes, but whenever I'd hear a interview with I hit a very special button (FF >>)

His promos were usually bland babyface material, but it was a different story when he was in the ring. The guy ALWAYS had the fans behind him.

[Guest Goodear]

Uh, no. People at the end of his WCW/NWA (whichever it was at that point) World Title reign were cheering Flair over Steamboat simply because Ricky didn't have the charisma to hang with a top guy. They did the same thing at The Great American Bash '88 when he took on Luger. Sad but true. People liked him and all... but it was too easy to put him aside when a more charismatic guy was facing him.

[Guest Choken One]

Yeah On most accounts your right...but that was really only with Flair and no one else...

[cawthon777 0]

It's true that Steamboat was kind of a bland face wrestler - but Flair is the only heel I recall who was cheered over Steamboat.

 

During his first WWF stint, he was over huge. Had his own video, was in one of the biggest feuds of the time.

 

He faced guys like Rude, Austin, and Pillman during his WCW years and they were all more charasmatic - yet Steamboat always got the overwhelming crowd applause.