Tony Schiavone reflected on Ricky Steamboat’s illustrious wrestling career, particularly his time in the Mid-Atlantic territory, while speaking on a recent episode of his ‘What Happened When‘ podcast.
He noted that many fans remember Steamboat for his legendary matches as Ricky ‘The Dragon’ Steamboat, including his WrestleMania III match against Randy Savage. However, Schiavone emphasized that it was in Mid-Atlantic where Steamboat made his name, and his memorable bouts with Ric Flair were instrumental in solidifying his status as a wrestling icon. Schiavone said,
“With the exception of grey hair, he looks pretty much the same. He was a phenomenal star in the Mid-Atlantic. Even though fans remember him more as Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat — WrestleMania III against Randy Savage and then coming to work for WCW — this [Mid-Atlantic] is where he made his name. Ric Flair is the man he made his name with. Everybody thinks of his ’89 series with Flair but there were so many phenomenal matches that fans on a national basis, or even regional basis, never saw — unless you went to the Greensboro Coliseum.”
Schiavone also shared his experience working with Steamboat during his recent appearances in AEW, revealing that initially, Steamboat was hesitant about taking certain bumps in the match. He said,
“He was very cautious in the beginning … ‘I don’t want to do this and that’ … but when he got the arena, it all changed. He got into the excitement of it. It was really great working with him.”