WWE Hall Of Famer Reveals AEW Booking Changed Return Match

AEW

WWE Hall of Famer Ricky Steamboat has revealed that his return to the ring was changed due to an AEW booking decision.

Steamboat will come out of retirement for a match at the November 27 Big Time Wrestling event at Dorton Arena in North Carolina.

Steamboat will team with FTR’s Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood in a match-up against  ‘Black Machismo’ Jay Lethal, Brock Anderson, and a mystery partner.

Speaking with Nick Hausman of Wrestling Inc, Ricky Steamboat explained that he was initially set to make his return at an earlier date to face FTR.

FTR’s face turn ultimately stopped this plan from going ahead.

This led to Steamboat being pitched to team with FTR instead.

Ricky Steamboat explained:

“This (match), 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 by 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… 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 guys.

“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?”

Ricky Steamboat recalled working with Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood previously, saying:

“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 in good hands and I’m glad how they’ve grown in the business with AEW.”

With his return match just days away, Steamboat admitted that he didn’t know who the the final member of the opposing team would be.

He said:

“So the adversaries, 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.”

It was recently revealed that Ricky Steamboat will be the topic of an upcoming episode in the third season of A&E’s Biography: WWE Legends.

Steamboat last wrestled in 2010 for FCW, in a tag team match with his son, Richie Steamboat, against The Dudebusters’ Caylen Croft and Trent Barreta.

The Dragon recently explained why he is coming out of retirement, which you can read about right here.

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• Ricky Steamboat
• ftr
• Return
• AEW

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