20 WCW Easter Eggs, References And In-Jokes You Never Noticed

8. Ricky Steamboat Jumps To WCW

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVuIgJ9AHMQ When playing trivia with friends, ask the question of who the first WWF wrestler to jump ship to WCW was, and someone is certain to mention Hulk Hogan. However, take your friends back to January 1989, and a match on WTBS where Four Horsemen members Ric Flair and Barry Windham had challenged "Hot Stuff" Eddie Gilbert to a match in which Gilbert had a "mystery partner" for the NWA-affiliated WCW's flagship program. The pop when the mystery partner is revealed as Steamboat is pretty amazing, as, given that there was no internet in 1989, nobody truly knew that Steamboat had left the WWF at the end of 1988. Steamboat's WCW run lasted only one year, but in said year he of course challenged for the Heavyweight Championship in an epic series of matches with Ric Flair that arguably re-defined the entire industry. Thus, while not a run that continued like his three-year run with the WWF, it was still quite epic and set the standard followed by so many more.