"God bless him, he took care of me" - 69-year-old legend recalls his final televised WWE match against Chris Jericho (Exclusive)
Former WWE Superstar Chris Jericho has made a habit of reinventing himself as he's still going strong in AEW at the age of 52. The veteran has been one of the most dependable in-ring workers for years, and his former rival, Ricky Steamboat, recently opened up about their match from 2009.
After being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2009, The Dragon kicked off a feud with Y2J, culminating in a dream match between them at Backlash.
The Premium Live Event match was Steamboat's last televised WWE bout, as he worked on a few house shows before taking up other roles in the company until his release in 2014.
Ricky Steamboat recently reminisced about the clash with Chris Jericho and was grateful to the former AEW World Champion for taking good care of him inside the squared circle. The legendary star looked phenomenal, despite being 57 at the time. Shockingly enough, it was also his first singles match since 1994.
During a recent chat with Sportskeeda Wrestling's Bill Apter, Ricky Steamboat briefly looked back at the memorable clash with Jericho, as you can view below:
"You know, I had a really good showing nine or ten years ago, or maybe, no, that was 12 years ago, with Jericho. I had a good showing, and god bless him; he took care of me, too. That was the really last Steamboat (match) that, you know, that people saw. I felt at the time; I was about 70% of the young guy. I can carry my water, carry my weight. That's the way I want it." [1:11 - 1:48]
Check out the video below:
I used to be critical of myself: WWE Hall of Famer Ricky Steamboat
There weren't many wrestlers back in the day who could match Ricky Steamboat's technical superiority. His timeless classics with Ric Flair still outshine modern-day matches as The Dragon established himself as an in-ring genius during the peak of his career.
However, Steamboat was initially very critical of his work as he was still getting used to the business when he was a part of the Jim Crockett Promotions in the late 70s.
It took some time, but the WWE legend seemingly mastered the art of wrestling and never looked back as he put on banger after banger with all kinds of opponents. Steamboat noted that working with exceptionally gifted heels made his job easier.
"I used to. I used to be critical of myself, especially in the early days at Mid-Atlantic, 77, 78, you know, those years. But once I got comfortable, I stopped being critical of myself because I truly felt I knew what I was doing at the time. Also, understand that I was probably in the ring with some of the best heels in the business. They were all five-star heels." [3:26 - 4:11]
Where are the Ricky Steamboat fans at?! https://t.co/tpyTfa3Ozl
Which is your favorite Ricky Steamboat match? Let us know in the comments section below.
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