Ricky Steamboat was truly great. He did a tremendous amount in relatively short bursts, but his tag team work stands out. Part of the Forgotten Tag Teams series, here I took a look at a part of his career that was vital to getting and keeping him over.
While this series has looked largely at the forgotten teams of times gone past, this edition deals with one of the world’s most underrated tag wrestlers. Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat is better known these days the man who built the Broadway Church with “Sixty Minute Man” “Nature Boy” Ric Flair in their classic series of the late eighties over the NWA title. He is perhaps most widely known as the man who crafted, alongside “Macho Man” Randy Savage the Wrestlemania III Semi Main that will live on as the apex in wrestling quality for the early days of WWF expansion. This article though will look at what got him there, and the things he did after. His rise to prominence in the Mid Atlantic region alongside “Number One” Paul Jones, his mercurial tag team with Native American Jay Youngblood, and the swansong to his tag team career; his involvement in the development of the Hollywood Blondes, his teams with Dustin Rhodes and Shane Douglas.
Steamboat was born Richard Blood Junior, in West Point, New York in 1953. He was a high school amatuer making the New York State championships twice. He learned his wrestling trade in the camps of the AWA. Verne Gagne and The Iron Sheik would be his trainers. Pure wrestling in Minneapolis was seen as a virtue and it was clear that Steamboat would be an eager student. He made his debut as a pro under his real name in 1976. As was the way of things back then, he moved on quickly to Florida where Eddie Graham renamed him Ricky Steamboat, after Hawaiian wrestler Sammy Steamboat who Blood had a resemblance towards. Graham argued that Blood was a great name for a heel, but Ricky was White Meat Babyface all the way. Graham’s astute observations would be echoed by every promoter that Steamboat would work for in his active wrestling career.
Steamboat was a sight to behold for his era; he looked like a pure athlete. Dead serious in promos, but with a wide smile that endeared him to fans, he was a different kind of attraction in the tougher than tough man era. When he moved on to Mid Atlantic Wrestling, run under the auspices of Jim Crockett Promotions, he stood out like a sore thumb. He wasn’t a stand-still-and-take-the-punishment brawler like Wahoo MacDaniels, nor was he kiss-stealing-limousine-riding playboy like Ric Flair, he was a pure and undiluted good guy who over the next twenty years would add facets to that character that were simple and believable; he would become a family man, he would project the virtues of hard work and honesty, most of all he was a hungry competitor. His work rate was unparalleled at the time, and what a better way to showcase his unselfish and giving personality that by showcasing him in tag team competition?
His first long term partner would be Paul Jones. Paul Fredrick, his given name was born in Port Arthur, Texas in 1942. He was trained by the booker of the Houston territory Paul Boesch. Boesch named him “Young” Paul Jones, so as not to be confused by an existing Paul Jones, he would do his mentor the honour of out working and becoming more famous than his name sake. When he became an active wrestler he would split his time between Mid Atlantic working for Crockett and for Boesch in Houston. He would settle in the Mid Atlantic region in the mid seventies and was considered a man with a heavy mat reputation. He seemed to be the ideal partner for the young Steamboat; in the same mould, experienced and with ready made feuds from his years in the territory to bring as backstory. Their initial focus would be the NWA Mid Atlantic Tag Team titles, a title set up by JCP by the NWA in 1968. It had been the lever to tag success for many teams and was seen as a prestigious title. Former Champs included Rip Hawk & Swede Hansen and The Andersons Gene & Ole who would hold the title seven times. Jones himself was already a three time champion with Nelson Royal, Bob Bruggers and Tiger Conway Jr. The champions of the time would be Greg “The Hammer” Valentine, and “Nature Boy” Ric Flair. After a month long reign, Jones and Steamboat would take the titles in Greensboro, North Carolina on August 22nd 1977.
Jones and Steamboat were a classic babyface pairing, the already over Jones coming to the rescue of the younger Steamboat when needed fueled their popularity. Steamboat bringing a whole new range of athletic maneuvers from a martial arts background that played on his mixed heritage.; there was no point in being called The Dragon if he didn’t. Equally Valentine and Flair were the perfect foils for Steamboat and Jones, both young up and coming mat technicians it gave both sides a chance to showcase their ring ability, while Valentine and Flair could hone their heel chops. Valentine described the team as “We just sort of meshed together, Ric was more the faster and the flyer around the ring, and I was slower and a little to the ground and together we were the perfect combination.” The fans of the Carolinas who favoured a pure wrestling aesthetic lapped it up. It would also set up the long term feud with Flair that would be on and off for the next fifteen years. Flair was the lightening rod to wrestling success in JCP. After his Air accident that had left Johnny Valentine paralysed (Johnny was Ric’s first long term partner, Greg was brought in about a year after the accident) and Ric with a broken back in three places, he had set himself the task of getting to the top of the ladder and was willing to work with anyone to get there. There was a genuine emotional investment in the future in those matches which ever players were on the sidelines; Steamboat and Flair were the future.
Over the next two years, Jones and Steamboat would dominate the Mid Atlantic titles. They would hold them for over a year, dropping them to Flair and big John Studd in October of ‘78, and unheard of length of time even then for a secondary title reign. Tracking back slightly, and cashing in on their success, in April of ‘78, Jones and Steamboat would take their first NWA (Mid Atlantic Version) World Tag Team titles in a tournament to decide the new champions as former champs Valentine and Flair had been stripped of the titles for constantly avoiding title loss through defeat. They would hold and defend the title concurrently, which showed some inconsistency because when The Andersons had held both titles some years before, they had been forced to vacate the lesser straps. This time it was a sign that the face champions would defend two titles against all comers. They would lose their world titles to Baron Von Raschke and Greg Valentine in June of ‘78. The would regain the Mid Atlantic titles in November of ‘78 before dropping them to the power team of Studd & Ken Patera. Steamboat would regain them with DIno Bravo in 1979, but the team had run its course and established Steamboat’s tag team credentials. Jones was getting to the end of his run as a wrestler and knew it, a storyline opportunity to set up his post wrestling career was on the horizon.
The long time partners found themselves to be the last two competitors in a twin ring battle royal, Jones turned heel on Steamboat and eliminated him. Not long after he would be the leader of Paul Jones’ army and the most hated man in the Mid Atlantic region filling a role filled by The Grand Wizard in New York; the perennial management thorn in the baby face side of the company. Steamboat would benefit hugely.
As his feuds for singles titles pushed him further up the card another youngster who had a remarkably similar balance in wrestling style also came into a Mid Atlantic. Jay Youngblood was born Steven Nicolas Romero, the son of Ricky Romero, in Amarillo, Texas in 1955. Growing up in the Funk’s territory he would debut as the masked “Silver Streak” and alongside his two wrestling brothers Mark and Chris would make a name for himself in the North Texas company. Moving east he would set up shop as a work horse baby face in Mid Atlantic. Seeing another pairing that could push the white meat baby face heat, booker George Scott paired him with Steamboat and they would set tag team wrestling on fire in the territory.
In the five years the team would be together, from their initial teamwork in 1979 until Steamboat left the NWA in 1983, they would hold the NWA World Tag Team Championships five times. In the history of those belts which lasted from 1975 as JCP until WCW was bought out by the WWE in 2001 (and they were by then the WCW World Tag Team Tiles) only four teams reign above Youngblood and Steamboat; The Minnesota Wrecking Crew, Harlem Heat, The Steiner Brothers and The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express, genuine tag team royalty, in a company and territory that always believed in its tag team division in large part to teams like Jones & Steamboat, Youngblood & Steamboat and The Wrecking Crew.
Steamboat and Youngblood tapped into a market that few others of their time could do; being good looking young men stood them in good stead when it came to the female portion of their audience. Watching TV matches from that era you are struck by the sheer shrill volume of the women in attendance. As Ricky removes his Gi and Jay his head dress making passing nods to their backgrounds, the is an audible feminine pop. An even bigger one when Jay unleashes the first of many open hand chops. The noise would only drop when their opponents were on the offensive, willing their men on it seems the teenage women of The Carolinas were very happy punters indeed. When the hot tag came, it would be deafening. This Universal appeal would ensure they were prominent in George Scott's mind as he booked the territory for the long haul. Victory would come from an aerial finisher; Youngblood would tag in Steamboat and then, using the top rope for momentum, slingshot him onto his prone opponent. Not particularly flashy by today's standards, but at a time when a Flying Crossbody was a match winner it was state of the art.
They began their reign of title dominance in 1979, up ending Steamboat's former partner the now heel Paul Jones and Baron Von Raschke. It was a heated feud as only two former allies can bring to the table. Refusing a title match, Steamboat and Youngblood laid out Jones and Raschke, paiting a yellow streak down their backs. Steamboat's new dance partner would be there for the long haul and that first reign would end five months later to the hands of another tag legend Ray Stevens and Greg "The Hammer" Valentine. Stevens would be a long term foe for the pairing, just as Flair had before. They would get the titles back in May of 1980, having righted the wrong of their dubious title loss. Stevens would bounce back with another partner,
this time “Superfly” Jimmy Snuka. They would take the belts in June of 1980. For two years Youngblood and Steamboat would be out of the title picture, working on other projects. Steamboat had had a heated feud with Flair over the Mid Atlantic TV title. He also moved into a feud with his on screen mentor Wahoo MacDaniels. The feud that would establish them as the greatest tag team of the Mid Atlantic era would come along in 1983. With the first Starrcade on the horizon, Mid Atlantic began lining up every possible drawing card they could, to feature every possible combination that would pull in a crowd. While the headliner, Slick Ric's "Flare for the Gold" cage match with Harley Race for the Ten Pounds of Gold would be the key attraction depth was important to bring every possible set of eyes. This wasn't just to show the wrestling fans of the south how lucky they were. It was to make as much money as possible and it was a political power play within the NWA. To show that Mid Atlantic was now the home base of NWA Champ (Flair) and that Mid Atlantic could carry the weight of being the lead promotion of the NWA. Looking at the line up of that card they had to deliver the best matches they could and had an obligation to their fellow board members to do the best job possible. Abdullah The Butcher and Carlos Colon were shipped in from Puerto Rico, The Great Kabuki defended his NWA World TV Title against Charlie Brown (Jimmy Valiant under a mask). Looking at that card now it is not just loaded from a Mid Atlantic point of view, it had everything. It would also be the blow off to the best tag team feud going in wrestling; Steamboat and Youngblood versus Jack and Jerry Brisco. Jack was a former NWA Champion, arguably the best technical wrestler of his generation, and bearing in mind that generation included Terry and Dory Funk Jr, as well as Harley Race and Verne Gagne and that is saying a lot. Jerry was equally adept in the ring but had perhaps more of a mind for the business as his later day travels as a Stooge and Vince McMahon's guiding hand during the Attitude Era would show. It all began in September of '82 when Steamboat and Youngblood won the titles back from Sargent Slaughter and Don Kernodle in Greensboro.
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