10 Most Explosive Wrestlers Of All Time

6. Ricky Steamboat

AEW PAC
WWE.com

Like the greatest workers, Ricky Steamboat concealed his greatest strength, and only unleashed it when it truly mattered - when the crowd truly wanted him to unleash it after orchestrating that reaction from them.

Steamboat, famously, was a career-long babyface because he was so perfect in a role his disposition lent itself to. A seminal seller, Steamboat's sweat-drenched sympathy and palpable, authentic agony cast a spell over his fans, who got behind his comebacks because he was so worthy of the support. And those comebacks were incredible fusions of psychology and physicality: Steamboat, when all hope seemed lost, roared back into life by chopping the flesh off chests with his fiery chops and using the crowd's power to lunge into arm drags from dire, remote distances.

Steamboat exploded into action when the crowd lit the fuse, using his charged energy to launch into one of pro wrestling's greatest ever dropkicks, the impact of which were registered with a shaking, wild-eyed energy.

The adrenaline that coursed through him compelled his fans to believe such well-earned victory was in sight.

In this post: 
Kenny Omega
 
Posted On: 
Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!