Armchair Bookers: What if Ricky Steamboat...

[Zack Malibu 0]

Another Saturday, another topic...this one actually came as a request, so I hope it spurs some good discussion.

 

In 1994, one of the greatest in ring performers of all time had to hang up the tights due to a back injury sustained in a match with Steve Austin. Now, let's think what would have happened had The Dragon not gotten that injury that forced him into retirement and could continue to wrestle. Would Jim Duggan have ever gotten the US Title (and would Steve Austin ever jobbed out in seconds to him?) Would he be pushed as much amidst the Hogan era, or shunted into the background? Would Steamboat, the ultimate babyface, be able to handle the NWO invasion less than two years later? How would you have him carry on if he were able to?

[Diamonddust 0]

Another Saturday, another topic...this one actually came as a request, so I hope it spurs some good discussion.

 

In 1994, one of the greatest in ring performers of all time had to hang up the tights due to a back injury sustained in a match with Steve Austin. Now, let's think what would have happened had The Dragon not gotten that injury that forced him into retirement and could continue to wrestle. Would Jim Duggan have ever gotten the US Title (and would Steve Austin ever jobbed out in seconds to him?) Would he be pushed as much amidst the Hogan era, or shunted into the background? Would Steamboat, the ultimate babyface, be able to handle the NWO invasion less than two years later? How would you have him carry on if he were able to?

 

He would have been treated probably like Flair was:

 

Hogan would have probably considered him a threat since the old school WCW fanbase would have been behind him.

[cabbageboy 0]

Steamboat had no place in the cartoon circus that WCW was becoming in the mid 90s. Bear in mind Steamboat was never a Hogan guy, since Hogan always was a bit threatened due to Steamboat/Savage stealing the show at WM 3.

 

To be honest I always thought Steamboat saw that writing on the wall, saw what WCW was becoming, and just retired rather than attempt to rehab the back injury. Was that injury any worse than Shawn Michaels circa 1998?

[Hawk 34 0]

I think Steamboat might have considered a short run in ECW against the likes of Malenko, Benoit and Douglas. However, Steamboat would've been in a very awkward situation with both major mainstream promotions. Too serious for the cartoonish/political world of WCW and too old for the youth movement of WWF.

 

In this situation, I think he sees Hogan coming as well as his band of friends and decides it isn't worth it. Knows that WWF isn't a place for him with the youth movement. He puts over Austin and departs for ECW where he enjoys a brief run in the mid-card and also puts over the new generation. He goes into semi-retirement, working the occasional independent show and perhaps becomes a trainer of sorts. Regardless of the injury, I don't think his career on a mainstream level was gong to last beyond 1995 and he was never a tremendous vocal talent to have a spot as a manager/announcer.

 

 

 

 

 

[The Truthiness 0]

He puts over Austin and departs for ECW where he enjoys a brief run in the mid-card and also puts over the new generation

 

I'm sure Heyman would've put the title on Steamboat and had him above mid-card status.

[King Kamala 0]

Yeah, I think if Steamboat did show up in ECW, he'd be way above mid-card status. Heyman would have probably paired Steamboat with Shane Douglas playing up their past tag team and Steamboat's history with Flair.

 

I think Steamboat might have stuck around for a bit in WCW in the mid-card/upper mid-card scene before leaving. I think he'd probably either head to Japan or retire. Even before the back injury, I thought Steamboat was nearing the end of his career.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

I can't think of a single wrestler that would have been more out of place during the Monday Night Wars than Ricky Steamboat. You hate to see a guy retire early, but in the case of Steamboat, it was probably the best thing for him in the long run.

 

Not sure where he would have fit into Hogan's WCW. Probably would have finished the feud with Austin in the fall and then moved on from the company some time in 1995. I could see Vince giving him one more shot working the upper card with Bret, Shawn and company. With his family values I don't think he would have touched ECW with a ten foot pole. He probably would have retired by '95 or '96.

[The Truthiness 0]

I can't think of a single wrestler that would have been more out of place during the Monday Night Wars than Ricky Steamboat. You hate to see a guy retire early, but in the case of Steamboat, it was probably the best thing for him in the long run.

 

Not sure where he would have fit into Hogan's WCW. Probably would have finished the feud with Austin in the fall and then moved on from the company some time in 1995. I could see Vince giving him one more shot working the upper card with Bret, Shawn and company. With his family values I don't think he would have touched ECW with a ten foot pole. He probably would have retired by '95 or '96.

 

I think Heyman would've toned it down if he had somebody like Steamboat.

[cabbageboy 0]

Why? Steamboat was a bad fit for the ECW product, even the more scientific ECW product. Guys like Eddie, Malenko, and Benoit wrestled with much more high impact moves that could pop even a cynical hardcore crowd.

 

What great technician did Heyman ever put the world title on in ECW? Douglas was a marginal technical wrestler but mostly got pushed due to his ranting promos. Sandman and Raven were both brawlers. Funk could work but in ECW mostly did the vicious hardcore stuff. Guys like Malenko, Guerrero, and Benoit were fine for the TV title level, but I just don't think Heyman thought their style exactly represented his product.

 

I guess Taz was the most scientific guy who held the ECW title, but his suplexes and submissions were designed to portray him as a vicious badass.

[The Truthiness 0]

Why? Steamboat was a bad fit for the ECW product, even the more scientific ECW product. Guys like Eddie, Malenko, and Benoit wrestled with much more high impact moves that could pop even a cynical hardcore crowd.

The fact that Steamboat name would've been bigger then anybody in the company, probably would've made Paul look at the bigger picture. I doubt the Philly fans would've shitted on a guy like Steamboat. I don't think the Philly fans would have made a big fuss about seen one garbabge match a show, instead of 3. Steamboat could have taught the younger guys a few things about how to work, while Heyman concentrated on hiding their weakness, and teaching them how to cut promos. Gordon could've handled the business side.

 

They could've brought a few journey men (like they did anyway) for dream matches or suprise challenges for Steamboat. The Dragon could've done a lot for ECW, so I think Paul would've been smart enough to keep the curse words and and "shoot" promos to a minium....Or Maybe not, Heyman isn't the smartest guy.

 

 

What great technician did Heyman ever put the world title on in ECW? Douglas was a marginal technical wrestler but mostly got pushed due to his ranting promos. Sandman and Raven were both brawlers. Funk could work but in ECW mostly did the vicious hardcore stuff. Guys like Malenko, Guerrero, and Benoit were fine for the TV title level, but I just don't think Heyman thought their style exactly represented his product.

He didn't have many and the few he had didn't stay long.

 

I guess Taz was the most scientific guy who held the ECW title, but his suplexes and submissions were designed to portray him as a vicious badass.

 

 

What in the hell was "scientific" about Taz? Suplexes?

[Boner Kawanger 0]

Interesting discussion. Not the direction I expected. I've given this one a lot of thought after watching a lot of Steamboat recently, and I'm the one who suggested the topic. Thanks for posting it, Zack. Anyways, my original line of thinking was that by 1997, Piper and Flair were still main eventers (Flair's treatment notwithstanding) and by mid-year were embroiled in the "Tradition Bites" feud with the original Wolfpac. Therefore, I figured Steamboat would have still been around in WCW. I don't know when his contract ran out, but WCW was more than willing to hemorrhage money at the time in order to keep their giant roster. Unless the Steamer was planning to retire by '96, I think he'd have been more than willing to stay if the money was right. Since this is my What If, we'll say he'd stay around. The ECW discussion is a great splinter point. Hopefully I can come up with something to match it by the time I type the rest of this up.

 

Let's assume that since Austin jobbed the US Title to Duggan that Steamboat was booked to retain. I know assuming anything via basic logic with WCW is risky, but stay with me. Let's say he too would lose the title to Vader. All that matters is that the injury never occurs. Let's say he appears sporadically throughout 1995, wrestling tag matches and maybe people on the level of DDP with the occasional Flair/Horsemen match. I doubt he would have had much interaction with Hogan, as that level would have been reserved for Luger, Sting, and Savage. I wouldn't be shocked if WCW managed to book a Savage/Steamboat match at some point. I don't want to focus on '95 too much, though, so I doubt he would have been in War Games but I bet he would have been brought in for Starrcade's World Series against Japan. And that would have been awesome.

 

Entering 1996, Ric Flair and the Macho Man had a pretty intense rivalry going over the world title. Since Hogan was taking a short break at the time, they could have plugged Steamboat into the feud since the two were his greatest opponents. It's pretty tough to come up with something for him to do between March and July, so let's say he takes a sabbatical.

 

The nWo comes in after Bash at the Beach. All that happens as we know it happens. I think Steamboat would have been brought back (in kayfabe by Flair) at some point in early 1997 to help him with the Wolfpac. Since this is my What If, this changes the main event of Slamboree from Ric Flair, Roddy Piper, and Football Player vs. Hall, Nash, and Syxx to Flair, Piper, and Steamboat vs. Hall, Nash, and Syxx. The finish is a triple submission via Figure Four, Sleeper, and Double Chicken Wing. If this was the case, I honestly think it serves as a pretty cool retirement for the guy. To be honest, if he could still go at this point, I don't see him making it through the summer. I suppose his time really had come in 1994, but I still think it would have been cool to see THE guy who personifies traditional babyface go against the biggest heels in WCW history.

 

The ECW option, off the top of my head, would be putting him in TV Title contention working with Malenko and Guerrero for the technical aspect. If Shane Douglas was doing his "Flair is dead" schtick, then that could transition Steamboat into a feud with the Franchise. I don't know, I'll have to give it some thought. My ECW timeline for the mid '90s is fuzzy.

 

 

[Papacita 0]

No way Steamboat wouldn't work ME in ECW. Aside from the afforementioned history with Douglas (that feud just writes itself), he'd be--with maybe the exception of Funk--far and away the biggest name on the roster. Sure, he wasn't known for his brawling, but neither was Austin when he came over, and he never worked outside of the title picture.

 

Depending on when he joined, I could see him taking the belt from Shane and then having to fend off Benoit and Malenko, who are out for revenge...more as a way to elevate those two than anything. I could MAYBE see him joining Foley in his anti-hardcore stuff in 95, or maybe even coming against him as a defender of the hardcore fans, but I can't see him being all that effective in either role and he probably wouldn't last all that long.

 

As far as WCW, it's surprisingly hard to say since I just can't picture him in Nitro-era WCW (in fact, I never realized the debut was so soon after his retirement). I like the suggestion of a feud with Vader, since I can't ever recall them facing...plus Vader destroying Steamboat would probably do more to build Vader up than beating Duggan would. IIRC, there was also a bit of mystery as to whether Savage would come into WCW as a Hogan ally or an enemy...I could see Steamboat playing a minor role in that situation. Eventually, he settles into a feud with Arn Anderson, Col. Parker and the Stud Stable, which bleeds into the Horsemen reformation in fall 95, and a minor feud with Benoit and/or Pillman. Outside a couple of title matches against Flair, the eventual Savage rematch is the only other option I see for him, and that could take place in 97 once Savage joins the nWo. In fact, let Savage retire him, and have him be a casulty of the nWo.