Ricky ‘The Dragon’ Steamboat spent his entire wrestling career as a babyface, but the WWE Hall of Famer always wanted to embrace his darker side.
One of the very few wrestlers to never turn heel, The Dragon’s connection with the fans led to him becoming a one-time NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion among other accolades.
Speaking on his “ARN” podcast, Arn Anderson said he would often have to convince Steamboat not to turn heel. He said,
“[He wanted to turn] all the time. From him to me, and I said, ‘Ricky, it’s none of my business, but it is my business because you would be making a grave mistake.’ ‘Yeah, but it would be so much fun.’
“I said, ‘Well, it would be to you, but it wouldn’t be fun to the fans, and you know what? The relationship that you have with our audience, young people, grandmothers, and grandfathers, all you would end up doing is just disappointing a bunch of people. You wouldn’t have money-drawing heat. You wouldn’t have that red hot heat where they’re trying to kill you.'”
Last year, Steamboat competed (as a face) for his first match in years, and teamed with FTR to defeat Brock Anderson, Jay Lethal, and Nick Aldis.
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