"I'm the senior citizen of the whole group" - Ricky Steamboat comments on his chat with former WWE tag team ahead of comeback match (Exclusive)
WWE legend Ricky Steamboat recently recalled the discussions he had with former AEW Tag Team Champions FTR ahead of his comeback match last month.
Steamboat's first match in 12 years saw him team up with Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler to defeat Brock Anderson, Nick Aldis, and Jay Lethal. The six-man tag team match went down at Big Time Wrestling's Return of the Dragon event on November 27, 2022. The Hall of Famer got fans roaring for him, with the match ending with him and FTR locking in the Figure Four on their opponents for the win.
Speaking with Sportskeeda Wrestling's Bill Apter, Ricky Steamboat revealed that FTR wanted him to get the hot tag and mount a comeback for their side. However, the WWE Hall of Famer insisted that Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler stage the comeback since he was the only "senior citizen" in the match.
"I wanted them to get the heat on me; I said it only makes sense, and my two partners said - no, Ricky get the heat on me. And I said if you want, and then let's get a two-staged heat, and they get a short heat on you, and I could come back and do a Steamboat comeback, and then I get stopped, and then we get some big heat. I said it only makes sense because I'm the senior citizen of the whole group, so it makes sense to let's beat up on the old guy," said Ricky Steamboat.
Steamboat added that he came up with the finish of the bout while FTR pitched the idea of the three locking in the Figure Four lock on Aldis, Lethal, and Anderson.
"I came up with the hot tag and the finish. Actually, they threw the part about all three of us getting the Figure Four on the three heels and doing the Ric Flair thing. It went just shy of twenty minutes, and I know fans enjoyed it because I could hear the crowd. They were just going bonkers," added Steamboat. (5:15 - 6:16)
Check out the full video below:
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WWE legend Ricky Steamboat on FTR's involvement in the match convincing him to return to the ring
Elsewhere in the interview, Ricky Steamboat also spoke about how he was first pitched a potential singles match for his return, but he declined it. The former WWE Intercontinental Champion added that it was the involvement of FTR that had convinced him about returning to the ring since he trusted the two.
"It started out as a conversation about being a singles match, and I said, I'm definitely not doing a singles match; I'm just not. And then it got to a tag, and then it got to a six-man tag team match. And then my two partners, FTR, two boys I know. I trained them in the WWE school about 8-9 years ago. And they are good kids and great hands, so I said yes, I got a pair of really good guys," noted Ricky Steamboat.
Honestly this Ricky Steamboat & FTR show looks really fun... #ReturnOfTheDragon https://t.co/gXX7DBDqrY
It now remains to be seen if Steamboat's in-ring return was a one-off thing or could result in him wrestling more often in the future.
What did you make of WWE legend Ricky Steamboat's match at Return of the Dragon? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
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