10 Longest Gaps Between WWE Superstars' WrestleMania Matches
2. Ricky Steamboat (21 Years)
Ricky 'The Dragon' Steamboat's victory over 'Macho Man' Randy Savage at WrestleMania III is one of the great 'Mania matches. The huge ovation that greeted his win was bettered in volume only by Hulk Hogan's slamming of Andre the Giant in the main event. Instead of moving on to the next level, however, Steamboat asked for time off to be with his newly-born son, and by WrestleMania IV he was losing to Greg Valentine in the first round of the WWF Championship Tournament. 'The Dragon' spent most of the next six years in WCW, before a back injury forced him to retire in 1994.
Steamboat returned to WWE behind the scenes in 2005, and became the third member of the legends team to face Chris Jericho at WrestleMania 25. Steamboat was 56 at the time, and aside from it being twenty-one years since his last 'Mania appearance, he hadn't wrestled at all for nearly fifteen years. Yet unlike his partners, Steamboat could still go. His performance was so impressive that WWE extended his run until the Backlash pay-per-view the next month, where he faced Jericho in a hugely enjoyable one-on-one match, capping a miraculous comeback twenty-one years in the making.