69-year-old legend says dream match against Roman Reigns would be similar to his bout against Randy Savage (Exclusive)
69-year-old wrestling legend Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat has described what happened before his iconic WrestleMania 3 match against "Macho Man" Randy Savage. He explained how a dream match against Roman Reigns would be similar to the epic clash.
At WrestleMania 3, Ricky Steamboat defeated Randy Savage to win his sole Intercontinental Championship. The bout is still widely regarded as one of the greatest 'Mania matches of all time.
When talking about a match against Roman Reigns, Ricky Steamboat told Bill Apter in a Sportskeeda Wrestling exclusive that it wouldn't play out in a typical fashion with standard wrestling psychology. He said it would be similar to his iconic WrestleMania 3 bout against Randy Savage:
"This type of match is a match like ["Macho Man" Randy ] Savage and I had [WrestleMania 3]. Tit-for-tat. It's a back-and-forth. We didn't really have a moment in the match in which one guy had the upper hand. When Savage and I were putting that match together, I was very instrumental in the false finishes." (1:40 - 2:13)
Steamboat said that he approached Randy Savage first about what kind of bout he wanted to have, and the latter said that he wished to have a grudge match. Steamboat felt that it was something that WWE fans would expect and gave a different idea:
"I hate it when falls call a match. So he goes 'What do you think? What kind of match?' I say, 'Randy, let's make it a championship match'. I knew I was going to get the belt and I said after the program, my promos would be about how the best way I could hurt Savage was to win his championship. I can hurt him financially because he's not the champion - I am. He would be knocked down in the ratings because now I'm the champion and he's not. Instead of going after his throat, I'd go after his championship." (2:57 - 3:50)
Steamboat didn't want a typical, predictable finish and thought they needed to leave it in the air for the fans.
You can watch the full video below:
Ricky Steamboat called the finish of the Randy Savage match "prostituted," but why?
@WWE Randy Savage/Ricky Steamboat https://t.co/m347WNPdIH
Ricky Steamboat explained that false finishes were the norm back in his day and revealed to Bill Apter that the iconic WrestleMania 3 match against Randy Savage had a whopping 21 false finishes. He called the small package (which he won the match with) the most "prostituted" false finish in the wrestling business:
"Back then, a typical match would have 8-9 false finishes. That was the blueprint - 8, 9, 10 false finishes. We had 21. And then in the end, he says, 'Do you think you're going to dive off the top for the 1, 2, 3?'. I said I'd like to do a finish to which the fans didn't see it coming. And that's when he picked me up to go for the slam and I went for the small package - one of the most 'prostituted' false finish moves in the business." (4:18-4:54)
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