cuervo72
10-31-2007, 11:38 AM
From the Potpourri Bracket, it's the first round matchup of the wrestlers (Part 1)!
Ricky Steamboat
Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, (born Richard Blood on February 28, 1953 in West Point, New York) is a former professional wrestler who went on to become a wrestling road agent. He was well-known among wrestling fans as being one of the few wrestlers who stayed a face throughout the expanse of a long career. Ricky debuted in 1976 in the American Wrestling Association and became one of the greatest professional wrestlers of the 1980s and early 90s. He went from the AWA to Championship Wrestling from Florida, then to Georgia Championship Wrestling. In 1977, he entered the National Wrestling Alliance-sanctioned Jim Crockett Promotions where he would remain for the next eight years of his career. Fans in the Mid-Atlantic territory to this day talk about classic Steamboat moments: The day Flair dragged his face around the television studio, causing facial scarring, and Steamboat retaliating the following week by ripping Flair's expensive suit to shreds; when longtime tag team partner Paul Jones turned heel on Steamboat at the end of a two-ring battle royal; Steamboat and Youngblood painting yellow streaks down the backs of Paul Jones and Baron Von Raschke in order to embarrass them into defending the World tag team title against the two; Steamboat and Youngblood's amazing (and top drawing) feud with Sgt. Slaughter and Don Kernodle; Steamboat and Youngblood being turned on by their friends Jack & Jerry Brisco; Steamboat in a shocking (and surprisingly emotional) feud against former mentor Wahoo McDaniel; and his last great series in the territory, feuding with Tully Blanchard over the NWA TV title.
After having creative differences with JCP booker Dusty Rhodes, Steamboat, who had been the face of the Crockett-owned promotion along with Ric Flair for nearly a decade, accepted an offer from Vince McMahon and jumped to the World Wrestling Federation in 1985. Shortly after his debut in 1985, the WWF repackaged Steamboat with the nickname "The Dragon", also replacing Steamboat's jacket-and-trunks attire by having him wear a keikogi and long tights. His father was white, and Steamboat's mother is Japanese American, hence his Asian features which were crucial for his "Dragon" gimmick. Steamboat kept the nickname and gimmick for the remainder of his career.
VS
Ric Flair
Richard Morgan Fliehr (born on February 25, 1949 in Minneapolis, Minnesota) better known by his ring name Ric Flair, is an American professional wrestler of iconic staus signed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) on its SmackDown! brand. Also known as "The Nature Boy," Flair is considered by some to be the greatest all-around pro wrestler of all time, as he combined superlative ring skills with unparalleled showmanship while crafting the model for the ideal champion in the modern era. Flair is recognized by WWE as a 16-time world champion, although his actual tally of world championship reigns varies by source. According to WWE, Flair is an eight-time National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) Champion, six-time WCW Champion and two-time WWE Champion. He was also the winner of the 1992 Royal Rumble.
In late 1988, booker Dusty Rhodes proposed that Flair lose the NWA World Heavyweight Championship to Rick Steiner in a short match at StarrCade '88 when no agreement could be met regarding the finish to the scheduled main event between him and Lex Luger. Feeling that Rhodes had always conspired to make him look weak as champion, Flair refused, and threatened to leave WCW if Rhodes was not removed as booker. Rhodes was fired for various issues within the company, and former JCP booker George Scott was given his role as booker.
Scott immediately negotiated to bring in Ricky Steamboat for a series of matches. On February 20, 1989 in Chicago, Steamboat pinned Flair to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. This prompted a series of rematches, where Steamboat was presented as a "family man" (often accompanied by his wife and young son), while Flair opposed him as an immoral, fast-living "ladies man." Following a best-of-three falls match with Steamboat that lasted just short of the sixty-minute time limit (and ended with a disputed finish where Steamboat retained the title) at Clash of the Champions VI: Ragin' Cajun on April 2, 1989, Flair regained the title from Steamboat on May 7 at WrestleWar '89. This match has been cited by many as one of the greatest wrestling matches in history and was voted 1989's "Match of the Year" by Pro Wrestling Illustrated.
Voting will be open for two days.
Ricky Steamboat
Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, (born Richard Blood on February 28, 1953 in West Point, New York) is a former professional wrestler who went on to become a wrestling road agent. He was well-known among wrestling fans as being one of the few wrestlers who stayed a face throughout the expanse of a long career. Ricky debuted in 1976 in the American Wrestling Association and became one of the greatest professional wrestlers of the 1980s and early 90s. He went from the AWA to Championship Wrestling from Florida, then to Georgia Championship Wrestling. In 1977, he entered the National Wrestling Alliance-sanctioned Jim Crockett Promotions where he would remain for the next eight years of his career. Fans in the Mid-Atlantic territory to this day talk about classic Steamboat moments: The day Flair dragged his face around the television studio, causing facial scarring, and Steamboat retaliating the following week by ripping Flair's expensive suit to shreds; when longtime tag team partner Paul Jones turned heel on Steamboat at the end of a two-ring battle royal; Steamboat and Youngblood painting yellow streaks down the backs of Paul Jones and Baron Von Raschke in order to embarrass them into defending the World tag team title against the two; Steamboat and Youngblood's amazing (and top drawing) feud with Sgt. Slaughter and Don Kernodle; Steamboat and Youngblood being turned on by their friends Jack & Jerry Brisco; Steamboat in a shocking (and surprisingly emotional) feud against former mentor Wahoo McDaniel; and his last great series in the territory, feuding with Tully Blanchard over the NWA TV title.
After having creative differences with JCP booker Dusty Rhodes, Steamboat, who had been the face of the Crockett-owned promotion along with Ric Flair for nearly a decade, accepted an offer from Vince McMahon and jumped to the World Wrestling Federation in 1985. Shortly after his debut in 1985, the WWF repackaged Steamboat with the nickname "The Dragon", also replacing Steamboat's jacket-and-trunks attire by having him wear a keikogi and long tights. His father was white, and Steamboat's mother is Japanese American, hence his Asian features which were crucial for his "Dragon" gimmick. Steamboat kept the nickname and gimmick for the remainder of his career.
VS
Ric Flair
Richard Morgan Fliehr (born on February 25, 1949 in Minneapolis, Minnesota) better known by his ring name Ric Flair, is an American professional wrestler of iconic staus signed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) on its SmackDown! brand. Also known as "The Nature Boy," Flair is considered by some to be the greatest all-around pro wrestler of all time, as he combined superlative ring skills with unparalleled showmanship while crafting the model for the ideal champion in the modern era. Flair is recognized by WWE as a 16-time world champion, although his actual tally of world championship reigns varies by source. According to WWE, Flair is an eight-time National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) Champion, six-time WCW Champion and two-time WWE Champion. He was also the winner of the 1992 Royal Rumble.
In late 1988, booker Dusty Rhodes proposed that Flair lose the NWA World Heavyweight Championship to Rick Steiner in a short match at StarrCade '88 when no agreement could be met regarding the finish to the scheduled main event between him and Lex Luger. Feeling that Rhodes had always conspired to make him look weak as champion, Flair refused, and threatened to leave WCW if Rhodes was not removed as booker. Rhodes was fired for various issues within the company, and former JCP booker George Scott was given his role as booker.
Scott immediately negotiated to bring in Ricky Steamboat for a series of matches. On February 20, 1989 in Chicago, Steamboat pinned Flair to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. This prompted a series of rematches, where Steamboat was presented as a "family man" (often accompanied by his wife and young son), while Flair opposed him as an immoral, fast-living "ladies man." Following a best-of-three falls match with Steamboat that lasted just short of the sixty-minute time limit (and ended with a disputed finish where Steamboat retained the title) at Clash of the Champions VI: Ragin' Cajun on April 2, 1989, Flair regained the title from Steamboat on May 7 at WrestleWar '89. This match has been cited by many as one of the greatest wrestling matches in history and was voted 1989's "Match of the Year" by Pro Wrestling Illustrated.
Voting will be open for two days.