8 WWE Veterans That Turned Back The Clock
1. Ricky Steamboat - WrestleMania XXV
The original plan for Chris Jericho at WrestleMania XXV was for him to work a singles match opposite Mickey Rourke, who had been nominated for an oscar for his portrayal of Randy 'The Ram' Robinson in The Wrestler. Unfortunately, Rourke's management team got cold feet and the A-lister pulled out, leaving Jericho without an opponent.
Jericho ended up getting three, a trio of past-their-prime legends that Y2J ragged on for being just like Rourke's character in Darren Aronofsky's superb tale. He'd tangle with Jimmy 'Superfly' Snuka, 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper and Ricky 'The Dragon' Steamboat in a gauntlet match on the show of shows.
The Best in the World at What He Does easily disposed of Piper and a barely-mobile Snuka, leaving him to go one-on-one with the Steamer. The Dragon - who had been inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame the night before - hadn't wrestled in fifteen years after suffering a career-ending back injury in WCW.
Would a man who was once considered one of the greatest in-ring performers in the world be able to make a good account of himself? You're damn right he could, and how! Steamboat positively rolled back the years, busting out his trademark armdrags, a top rope crossbody, a topé and even at one point skinning the cat!
It was, to quote Michael Cole, vintage Steamboat. He even had the fans fooled on a great nearfall, rolling up his foe with a small package for a long two count (a nod to the finish of the Steamboat/Savage classic from WrestleMania III). The legend succumbed to a Codebreaker in the end but, for a brief moment, it was 1987 all over again.