When Florida Championship Wrestling was dissolved and rebranded into the new NXT, Richie Steamboat was one of its biggest stars. Alongside the likes of Seth Rollins, Bo Dallas and Big E, Steamboat was a firm favourite among the NXT fans and seemed like a future star in the making. As is apparent from his name, Richie Steamboat is the son of the Hall of Famer, Ricky The Dragon Steamboat. He had his fathers natural in-ring ability as well as an overabudance of charm and charisma. It was clear to anyone watching NXT in the early days that Steamboat was being positioned as a breakout babyface. He had a riveting feud with Kassius Ohno, and even teamed with The Usos to defeat Ohno and The Ascension. Unfortunately, tragedy struck when Steamboat suffered a debilitating back injury in early 2013. The injury was apparently so bad that WWE officials were unsure if Steamboat would ever wrestle again. Richie Steamboat underwent surgery later in the year, and hasnt been seen on NXT since. Rumours swirled in late-2013 that he had been released from his contract, but word is he is still working for WWE in some capacity.
