10 Times WWE Seriously Disrespected Hall Of Famers
4. Ricky Steamboat Becomes 'The Dragon'
Ricky Steamboat is one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time. A wrestler's wrestler, many other all-time-greats had their best matches against the supremely talented Steamboat. A career babyface, Steamboat was also well-liked in the back as well. Indeed, nobody seemingly has a bad word to say about him. Steamboat's initial run in the WWF was a fruitful one and he became a notable Intercontinental Champion (back when that belt actually meant something).
In the cartoon era of the WWF, you could always count on Steamboat to have a great match. His match against Randy Savage at WrestleMania III is frequently hailed as one of the best in history, a turning point in the evolution of professional wrestling. It was a great match (one which was completely scripted, move for move) and a career hight for Steamboat.
Soaking in the adulation in front of 93,000 fans at the Pontiac Silverdome, he must have felt on top of the world. But that feeling wouldn't last for long. A few weeks after WrestleMania III, Steamboat asked Vince McMahon for some time off to tend to his wife Bonnie, who was expecting the birth of their son. This did not sit well with Vince or other members of WWF management, who felt Steamboat was being ungrateful.
They stripped him of the title and he floundered for the rest of his time there. After having a bunch of five star matches with Ric Flair in WCW and briefly touring Japan, Steamboat went back to the WWF in 1991 where he was repackaged as the fire-breathing, scale-wearing 'The Dragon'. He was booked mainly to win meaningless squash matches on Superstars and made only one pay-per-view appearance (at SummerSlam).
Steamboat handed in his notice and quite the WWF after being told he was going to be jobbed out to The Undertaker. Steamboat had a right to be unhappy, having had one of the best years of his career in WCW, he was forced to become a cartoon character, competing in nothing matches to little fanfare. It was a disrespectful move on the WWF's part, who were clearly still harbouring a grudge agains Steamboat for having the gall to request time off four years prior.