When Ricky Steamboat was brought into the WWE in 1986 it was felt that he needed something more than just being one of the best wrestler's in the world. He needed a more colorful gimmick to fit in with the WWE pomp. Enter: The Dragon. Now dubbed Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, he would run to the ring in headdresses and colourful outfits, blow fire, and do what he could to play off his new moniker. Naturally this was a window to introduce another WWE animal sidekick, and Steamboat would soon adopt the komodo dragon as his mascot, which would come in handy at least once, most notably in his feud with Jake "The Snake" Roberts. During the culmination of their feud, as Roberts characteristically went to attack Steamboat with his snake after their match, Steamboat unleashed his real komodo dragon (which for a while was a baby alligator, but nobody seemed to care too much) to scare Roberts off and end the feud. Though many have decried the "Dragon" gimmick Steamboat was given, it's clear that the name, and animal sidekick, are nearly as memorable as many of his classic matches - and the creature was immortalised as part of Mattel's wrestling figures range (in alligator form, and complete with mouth binding).
