5 Rare Before-They-Were Famous Wrestling TV Appearances

4. Ricky Steamboat Plays Bizarre Role Before Hitting WWF

Definitely one of the best matches in WrestleMania folklore took place during only the third event in the idea's history. At 'Mania III in 1987, Ricky Steamboat defeated 'Macho Man' Randy Savage to win the WWF Intercontinental Title, and the huge crowd inside the cavernous Pontiac Silverdome promptly went absolutely bananas. It seemed like the win would elevate Steamboat to bigger and better things, but he would never really go above the upper mid-card in Vince McMahon's promotion, unlike his tenure in the NWA/WCW. In the early-to-mid-80's, Steamboat was regarded as a solid worker, but he was far from being the star he would become as the 'Dragon'. Much like many pro wrestlers, the man was exploring other opportunities in the world of entertainment, and looked to launch an acting career in the mid-80's. That's where this curious role came in! Steamboat was cast as a pretty strange 29-year old male who thinks he's a child (!?), and accidentally ends up living with a family by mistake when his name gets mixed up with some kid's 9-year old cousin. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpsJIcUW7ak Needless to say, the role wasn't really a success. Ricky Steamboat was never really someone regarded for his promo ability during his career, more being revered for his stunning in-ring capabilities, so nobody should be surprised that the show, 'Sidekicks' wasn't really a hit. Scarily enough, the show had been running for a short while - it only lasted one season - before Steamboat came onto the scene, and there was interest in making the character a regular, even though it was really different from the wrestler's real-life persona. In fairness, Steamboat gave everything he had for the part, but it's a pretty wacky concept. Wrestling fans should thank their lucky stars that Ricky didn't make it in the acting profession, because he was so good in the pro wrestling one, and it would have been a real shame to have missed out on his later matches against the likes of Savage and Ric Flair. Just imagine the classic NWA Title match from 1989's Chi-Town Rumble Pay-Per-View hadn't happened because Steamboat had been able to transition away from wrestling!