Fans can either blame or thank AEW for altering the course of Ricky Steamboat‘s final match.
Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat will compete in his final match on Sunday when he teams up with FTR to take on Jay Lethal, Brock Anderson, and a mystery partner. During a recent interview with Nick Hausman of Wrestling Inc, Steamboat revealed that Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler were once slated to be on the opposite side of the ring from him before AEW turned them babyface.
“Well, let me tell you this. Like I said, this, for me to make a final, final decision was three or four months in the making. I just didn’t jump on it the first time I was approached from Big Time Wrestling and I have an agent guy, Tony Hunter, who also works with Big Time Wrestling, and when I was first approached, but FTR, when I was first approached were heels.
“They were going to be two guys on the other side of the ring that I was going to be wrestling. AEW turned them babyfaces, turned them good guy. So they said, ‘We can’t have heels working against you, Ricky, you’re a baby face. So what would you think if we had them as your partners?'”
Steamboat noted that he liked the idea because he used to work with the duo as a trainer, and he knows they’re talented competitors. He then stated that he doesn’t know who the mystery partner on the opposing team is.
“I thought it was great too because they were at the school [for] WWE, back in the day when I was a trainer and I’d work with them in the ring and I know they’re good hands and I’m glad how they’ve grown in the business with AEW,” Steamboat said. “So the adversaries, the Jay Lethal and then Old Arn Anderson’s boy, Brock and they still got a mystery partner and I haven’t been privy to the mystery partner. Can you believe this? It’s coming up this week.”
In addition to Steamboat’s return, The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express will take on The Briscoes. It all goes down this Sunday at Big Time Wrestling: Return of The Dragon, which will stream live on FITE at 5 p.m. EST.
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