10 Things You Didn't Know About Ricky Steamboat
7. The Infamous DDT Angle Went Wrong
In the mid '80s, Steamboat jumped to WWE, and by 1987 he was embroiled in a feud with hated heel Jake "The Snake" Roberts. On the May 3 episode of Saturday Night's Main Event, one of the most memorable angles of the era took place, as Roberts planted Steamboat on the concrete floor outside the ring with a sickening DDT.
It turns out that this time, fact and fiction were in sync. Vince McMahon and WWE Booker George Scott were both adamant that Roberts deliver the DDT on the floor. Roberts, knowing that there would be no mats to protect Steamboat, refused, telling them that doing the move that way would leave the babyface vulnerable to severe injury. Nevertheless, McMahon and Scott insisted it be done, and when Steamboat promised he could protect himself, Roberts acquiesced to their demands.
Unfortunately, Steamboat wasn't able to prevent his head from colliding with the concrete floor, and he was legitimately knocked unconscious and concussed. He was stretchered out as part of the angle, but that medical assistance was sorely needed in reality.