Ricky Steamboat

[10.0] "One of the greatest pro-wrestlers of all time. Rooting against Steamboat was almost impossible; he was one of the most natural babyfaces the business has ever seen and the definition of a family man. His career is filled with unforgettable classics, he stood as one of the defining figures of the 1980s, and he kept delivering incredible performances until the very end of his career. Incredible positional versatility allowed him to excel as a main eventer, mid-carder or tag wrestler, while his technical, fast-paced style was built on masterclass in-ring psychology. His rivalry with Ric Flair was one of the greatest derbies in pro-wrestling history - the legendary 1989 trilogy alone is enough to understand how extraordinary Ricky Steamboat truly was."

[9.0] "Perhaps the greatest pure babyface of all time, Ricky Steamboat is one of the all time great wrestlers who is often overlooked, mostly due to his inconsistent career and lack of staying power that really would cement his legacy with fans. One of the best conditioned wrestlers ever, Steamboat was made famous from his multiple broadway-length matches between him and Ric Flair. A master of selling and getting sympathy, Steamboat excelled wherever he made an appearance. Unfortunately, anywhere he popped up he wasn't there for too long and would be out of the public eye every few years, keeping him from building real momentum. Highlights are his early matches with Flair, his 80s WWE run, and his late 80s/early 90s WCW runs. He hit Japan twice in the 80s, resulting is some classic matchups. His only weakness is probably his mic skills, but he was good enough for it not to matter much, especially when paired with an interesting heel or tag team partner. Even so, his promos have become the baseline blueprint for any babyface promo. He also only ever had the one world title reign, and it didn't last very long or produce any really memorable matches. Several great runs with midcard belts though. A in the ring B+ look/gimmick, and C on promos. His arm drags were a thing of beauty."

[9.0] "Probably the best pure babyface in wrestling. Though he was just a tad overrated in my mind. He can make absolute magic when paired with other good wrestlers, but he could never seem to carry someone bad or middling to something great. Which (in my opinion) separates the great wrestlers from the all-timers."

[9.0] "Looking at his career retrospectively, Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat may have been the best pure babyface of all time. While his promo work wasn't as spectacular as his in-ring, and he wasn't the tallest or most muscular, you believed him. An outstanding worker with some of the best selling and babyface fire you'll ever see. His matches with Ric Flair are rightly stuff of legend; we'll likely never see a series of matches as good as these ever again."

[10.0] "One of the best of his era, the forever babyface Ricky Steamboat. One of the quickest movers, most technically gifted wrestlers North America has ever created, Steamboat's NWA/WCW time is a story of ups and downs but the matches in 89 against Flair and his series with Rick Rude were all really good, and of course his WWF run had the famous match vs Savage at WrestleMania."

[10.0] "Ricky Steamboat just doesn't age, go back and watch his stuff from the 80s and it would fit in perfectly today. Had great matches over the years, the most infamous being the match against Randy Savage at WM3 that really showed the wider audience what wrestling could truly be like. His very brief return to WWE in 2009 was just amazing too. One of the greatest wrestlers of all time and really helped shape what wrestling is today."

[9.0] "THE textbook/benchmark/measuring stick babyface. Exceptional timing and pacing. His body control is extraordinary. In Mid Atlantic he was a cornerstone of the company. His tag team with Jay Youngblood was spectacular. HOWEVER, always seemed lost in the shuffle & a square peg in a round hole when it came to the WWF, yah sure WrestleMania 3 but aside from that, Vince never knew what to do with him and Ricky never knew what to do in the F. In WCW is where he had his peak moments. The series with Ric Flair was legendary, his bouts with Steve Austin were wrestling clinics. Knock down drag outs with Paul Orndorff. Phenomenal tag encounters all over the place; great teams with Dustin Rhodes and Shane Douglas. Sometimes he let enhancement talent get in too much offense though (the Tiger Chun Lee match and ilk are ridiculous) and it hurts the curb appeal."

[7.0] "He's an amazing in ring performer. If you account for that only then he's a 10/10. But he lacked charisma and his promo skills were nearly non existent. That ought to be figured in when determining his overall score."

[10.0] "The ultimate babyface. Close your eyes and imagine Ricky as a heel. It's not going to happen. What an incredible wrestler! I absolutely love Ricky Steamboat and everything he did and accomplished in his career. His matches with Ric Flair are some of my favorite childhood memories. Incredble athlete and almost a perfect wrestler. Only missing the mic skills, but that is happily overlooked in this case."

[8.0] "Ricky was a great Babyface. Worked very hard to get the top. Then decided he needed time off once he started getting the top spot and world titles. As others have noted he was never a great talker or promo guy. Some of his promos with the then WWF were silly including the one where he was training against Ninjas. His return to the Federation in 90-91 with the fire breathing Dragon gimmick was regrettable. Had a great career but he faltered a little at the end."

[10.0] "One of the greatest wrestlers ever! If he had any weakness it was his promos. He wasn't awful but he never really had a memorable one. That said, his timing and athleticism were world class and should be studied by any prospective wrestler worth their salt."

[10.0] "A legend among legends, hands down one of the greatest professional wrestlers to ever live. Steamboat earned his reputation as one of the best babyfaces of all time. He earned his place as one of the greatest in-ring workers as well. A class act, incredible wrestler, Steamboat rules."

[9.0] "Ricky Steamboat is one of the smoothest and most beloved wrestlers of all time. His in ring work was near flawless, built on crisp technique, perfect pacing, and believable emotion. He had a natural babyface presence that connected with fans without needing an over the top character. Every move felt polished but never mechanical. Whether working legendary bouts with Ric Flair, stealing the show at WrestleMania against Randy Savage, or elevating younger talent, Steamboat always delivered. He told stories through action better than almost anyone, making fans truly care about the outcome of his matches. A master technician and one of the greatest babyfaces in wrestling history. His matches remain a blueprint for in ring storytelling done right."

[10.0] "Ricky Steamboat is probably the best babyface in the history of wrestling. He is fantastic in every single way and is just one of my all time favorites, and one of those guys who could've gone in any era and been a star."

[10.0] "Although his mic skills were limited, Ricky Steamboat was a wrestler "beyond his era" in the ring. A Ricky with a good physique can put on tremendous performances in the 1970s, 90s, pg era and modern wrestling. I especially recommend watching his rivalry with Ric Flair. As a result, Ricky Steamboat is one of the most excellent wrestlers in the ring of his era"

[9.0] "Aside from being average on the mic, Ricky Steamboat was almost a perfect performer. Few could match him in the ring during his day and his matches with Ric Flair, Randy Savage and Steve Austin were fantastic to bordering on legendary."

[9.0] "The only reason I don't give Steamboat a perfect 10 is because his mic skills were a little meh. He had the intensity and enough skills to carry 3 bums to a 3 star match. Not much else you can say about The Dragon."

[10.0] "Ricky Steamboat is the wrestler that embodies the phrase "ahead of their time". It is simply insane to watch his matches from his main career run back, his work from back then still wrestles circles around so many people active today. Even in his mid 50s in the late 2000s he was still on top form. He is also one of the most likeable wrestlers of all time, his charisma and selling puts him at the top of the greatest natural babyfaces of all time ranks alongside Rey Mysterio, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Dusty Rhodes and Steve Austin. He is simply one of the best."

[9.0] "He and The Macho Man are the wrestlers desperately wished I could have watched live but I was to busy not being born. What a captivating performer and in my top three of the Golden age"

"Alongside Rey Mysterio, the most natural babyface in wrestling history. Wasn't a flashy talker and didn't need to be, he had handsome movie star features and yet was a very relatable real life personality. In the ring he was literal decades ahead of his time, during a brief return to WWE action in 2009 he proved that the way he wrestled in the '80s was the blueprint for how things are done today."

[9.0] "9 The Dragon Ricky Steamboat is a Legend. Just his matches with Ric Flair or Randy Savage make him a top guy. I always thought Steamboat brought out the best in Flair and Savage. Even in the later part of his career he was doing great stuff with Steve Austin and others."

[10.0] "Maybe the best face in the hiatory of pro wretling, ricky the drafon steamboat is a one of a kind talnet. You will almost never see a bad match with him in it and when he was at his best (mostly aginst fliar) he could at times look prefect. He is in manny ways the template good guy having never cheating and always standing up for what his right yet nevr felt corny when doing so. In short the drgon is one of the graatest to ever step into a wrestling ring"

[10.0] "Steamboat was an innovator in pro wrestling. He was one of the first smaller stars to gain major popularity. He was the total package in the ring and the crowd absolutely loved him to the point nobody would turn him heel."

[10.0] "Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat is an absolute legend, one of the greatest pro wrestlers of all time. He is a legendary babyface, one of the most iconic we've ever had. His ring skills are flawless, he is very ahead of it's time and also is one of the most technical wrestlers ever."

[9.0] "One of the greatest babyfaces, incredible matches especially for the time, with many legendary feuds and matches he is an absolute legend of pro wrestling"

[9.0] "Bell to bell, one of the greatest babyfaces ever. Usually with perennial babyfaces you always get one demographic which doesn't like them but Ricky Steamboat transcended that. Everyone loved him. He just looked like a wrestler. Not a great promo but in the ring he just had that babyface match formula nailed. Always a good match and often great."

[9.0] "Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat was the WWF's answer to Bruce Lee in the '80s. I loved him back then, but love him even more now in retrospect. His Wrestlemania III match with Randy Savage I watched live and his trilogy with Ric Flair in 1989 are some of my favorites. He wasn't the greatest talker, but you could always count on Steamboat giving you a good in-ring performance."

[10.0] "The best babyface of all time, in my opinion. A guy with arguably the best physique in all of professional wrestling. A guy who looked the part. All of the girls loved him. All of the kids loved him. He had a great presentation as far as character went. He could sell his ass off. He could get sympathy from the crowd. He had great fire in the ring. He had a great comeback. He's one of the those guys who you never saw have a bad match. He had great in ring chemistry with 95% of the heels that he got in to the ring with and thus was able to produce some classic matches that stand the test of time. He didn't have the best mic skills, but he's one of the cases where he's so damn good in the ring that it overshadows what he couldn't deliver on the mic."

[9.0] "As far as technical proficiency, he maxes out rating. His selling, being able to do baby face comebacks without ruin the illusion of previous injury or peril, is a master class. He surely has countless matches that didnt make it to TV every bit as legendary and amazing as his greatest hits. The completely basic baby face gimmick leading up to his feud with Flair didnt generate the heat that it could have- heat that would have made those matches resonate with wider audiences at time- because Flair was something of a tweener and not firing on Ricky as fraud or beholden to his wife. Unfortunately, Ricky was not as skilled at protecting his place on card, getting usurped by Funk after the trio of Flair matches were rushed through in less than 20 weeks, with tons of house show battles as well. His promo skills were not that amazing. And he wasn? t afraid to play third fiddle rather than wade into deep water with the political monsters. As a result, there is so much untapped potential there despite a CV worthy of the hall of fame and some of the greatest matches in North American and world history."

[10.0] "A man who has had some of the greatest matches of all time in wrestling. His match at WrestleMania III against the Macho Man was often regarded as the greatest match of all time or at least one of them. His feud with Ric Flair, was fucking LEGENDARY. That is the stuff that wrestling is made of."

[7.0] "Always had some good matches but i feel he didn't get to the level he needed to be at to be an all time great"

[9.0] "Steamboat is one of the all-time greatest babyfaces and greatest in-ring technicians ever. He had legendary feuds with Savage and Falir, amongst others, and the Flair series in 1989 still holds up as one of the all-time greats. I do feel his promos were occasionally unfocused or lacking in real heat, particularly after the Flair series started in 89'. His "good guy" credentials made him look extremely lame at times. But Ricky was bigger than all of that and had a hell of a good run in the 90's as well in tag teams with Shane Douglas and Dustin Rhodes and a very underrated rivalry with Steve Austin."

[9.0] "The best babyface of all time. Know exactly how to get sympathy from the crowd. Can work against possibly any workers. A true legend in the ring. His only down point was his mic skill and promo."

[10.0] "One of the best bell to bell in the 80s. In the WWF between 85 and 87 would usually have the best match on the card. Matches with Flair are legendary."

[9.0] "He was an all time great ring technician. Had countless great matches with flair as well as macho man. Great look and great character that didn? t require him to be good on the mic. He probably deserves the 10s he gets but his lack of another 1 or 2 heavyweight titles holds him back for me."

[10.0] "One of the best babyface in wrestling history, his character work is great and almost nobody can force you to root for him like Steamboat, but he's more than just the best babyface ever, he's one of the best in-ring workers ever, his 89 Flair matches do more than just hold up today, they're absolutely stunning"

[9.0] "As an adult, I can totally appreciate how technically sound he is. He also does a lot of classic babyface taunts. You don't see many people able to pull that off. His character is a one-dimensional, but we're looking at it with our modern eyes. Back in his day, that was all you needed. He was so easy to cheer for. I just always wanted to see him win. His loss to Honky still hurts me. I recently watched his 1990s WCW years, and he did have some great matches. However, I think his time was wasted often and he never reached his potential during the latter part of his career."

[10.0] "Ricky Steamboat is one of those guys who I never really liked at a younger age - I had a ton of 80s DVDs when I was younger around 15 years ago so I watched a ton of Steamboat and others and he never got me excited or anything. It was odd. Thought he was fine but not worthy of his praise. But then over the past few years, I have begun watching older wrestling once again and as I started to watch more Steamboat matches, the more I begun to like and appreciate everything he has done. And now he is one of my all time favourites. Great, great feud with Flair, great series of matches with Savage. Tons of great matches ranging from Rude to Austin to Arn. One of the biggest reasons WCW in 92 shined. Had one of the best performances after years of not showing in 09. Just an around great wrestler. His selling is amazingly unique and something worth an essay on by itself. His offence is simplistic but his timing, the emotion and drama behind it makes it all the more great. His ability to keep you invested in him as a face without needed to turn heel is special as well."

[9.0] "A super fan favorite & a joy to watch in the ring. His mic skills & one-note persona are the only things that held him back from being in the conversation of best ever."

[9.0] "if I was only rating on workrate and highlight matches I would go 10... steamboat had some of my all time top 10 matches in history. but promotional work/interviews are an important part of wrestling... the ability to talk fans into buying tickets to watch an upcoming match get settled. steamboat was really at his best when some super charismatic opponent {randy savage/ric flair/jake roberts} was kicking his butt... as a clean cut babyface battling for his life, steamboat did a great job.. but it was the other guy who did all the mic/promo work to really get us to care. 9 is not a grade to be ashamed of I hope. steamboat will always be one of my disappointments thought, because I did watch his prime and I kept thinking this guy was right on the edge of being a top 3-4 guy in the business. he just never got to those heights despite all the top angles he was put in"

[9.0] "One of the few people of his era who actually had the in-ring ability to be considered a legend today. Amazing."

[10.0] "A legend in the business that could go with anyone on any given day. Steamboat was technically sound and could fly like an eagle. An all time great."

[10.0] "Ricky Steamboat was one of the best wrestlers of all time, and one of the best babyfaces of all time as well. He could sell so well, and in a manner that very few could replicate. People knock him for not being a good promo, but Ricky could deliver a great sports-style promo, something serious, that treated his match as something serious. In that respect, Ricky was like Bret Hart."

[9.0] "Legendary wrestler. Not the greatest with promos but I loved that he was a consistent face for virtually his entire career. There were very few matches where I wasn't cheering for him."

[6.0] "Ricky was a fantastic wrestler. He had so many great moments feuding with all time greats Ric Flair and Randy Savage. Even had some matches with a pre Stone Cold Steve Austin and Rick Rude. My big issue with Steamboat is that he was limited in his character. He did not stick with WWE for any length of time. And he was never booked the way he should have been. I put him in the same category as Benoit, Eddie, Jericho. He was a 10 wrestler. But in all the other categories that count like promos, longevity, drawing power, main events, charisma, adaptability etc he falls into more of a 6 to 8 rating."

[9.0] "The greatest babyface wrestler of all time. Steamboat was an amazing seller and had great energetic offense that was a winning combination. It if wasn't for the fact that he was completely devoid of personality he would of been a top level draw for years."

[9.0] "A true pro. Effective at every position on the mat. With the lone exception of WrestleMania 2, I can't think of a bad performance (I think he may have been double parked that day). I'd give him a ten, but a signature run as World Champion is missing from his resume. I really enjoyed his work and I go back from time to time to revisit his matches."

[10.0] "One of the best chain wrestlers ever, he could go hold for hold and move for move for an hour with anyone. His NWA/WCW stuff is amazing, and they still hold up to this day. The best tribute to his wrestling abilities is that he became massively over in an era dominated by cartoonish characters with big personalities and bigger mouths as a fairly vanilla babyface with pretty poor mic skills."

[10.0] "Ricky Steamboat is a tried and true babyface at is's finest. Has had many amazing matches with Ric Flair, and the first amazing wrestlemania match vs Randy Savage at wrestlemania 3. Also has plenty of great mid card matches."

[9.0] "Not only did Ricky Steamboat have one of the best WWE carriers in history but he also had a great carrier in WCW facing the likes of Steve Austin and Rick Rude. He had a great look and a great move set. He won multiple championships had tons of great matches. Overall Steamboat definitely deserved to be in the HOF. 9/10."