8 Best Masked Wrestling Returns
2. Ricky Steamboat
Ahead of WCW Clash of the Champions XVII, Barry Windham was (kayfabe) injured by Arn Anderson and Larry Zbyszko, so Dustin Rhodes needed a new partner to battle The Enforcers.
A man in a lizard head mask emerged, surprising the audience and The Enforcers alike. Dustin Rhodes joined The Lizard Man onstage, watching raptly as The Lizard Man was revealed to be Ricky Steamboat, fresh off a run in the WWF.
Steamboat's shocking return to WCW was only made moreso by his unexpected attire. It turned out that Rhodes had chosen wisely, as he and Steamboat defeated The Enforcers and became the new Tag Team Champions of the world. One can't help put wonder if "The Lizard Man" was a dig at the WWF for unnecessarily repackaging Ricky as The Dragon, and ignoring most of his previous work in the company.
Either way, it was an interesting way to put Steamboat back in the limelight.