Customer Reviews

Ricky Steamboat: The Life Story of the Dragon

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

DISC ONE:

Documentary Chapters:
Growing Up
Training
Traveling
Mid-Atlantic
The Dragon
WrestleMania III
World Champion
Fire Breathing Dragon
Mentoring
Hall of Fame
Legacy

Special Features:
Ricky's First Car

Mike Graham Remembers Richard Blood

Ricky Forgets His Name

Having a Positive Attitude
World Wide Wrestling - February 16, 1982

Tuesday Night Titans - April 5, 1985

Steve Lombardi Remembers Ricky's First Match in the WWE

The Body Shop
All-Star Wrestling - June 22, 1985

Becoming the Dragon... The Three Moments of Truth

Chris Jericho Meets Ricky Steamboat For The First Time

Tuesday Night Titans - September 10, 1986

Update with Gene Okerlund
Superstars - January 31, 1987

Dragon in the Oven
Superstars - April 11, 1987

Return from Japan
World Championship Wrestling - March 18, 1989

William Regal Remembers Watching Ricky Steamboat & Ric Flair

World Television Champion
WCW Saturday Night - September 19, 1992

Ricky Steamboat's Induction into the WWE Hall of Fame - April 4, 2009

DISC TWO:

NWA World Tag Team Championship Match
Jack & Gerry Brisco vs. Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat & Jay Youngblood
Starrcade November 24, 1983

NWA World Heavyweight Championship Match
Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat vs "Nature Boy" Ric Flair
Boogie Jam March 17, 1984
(Commentary by: Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat & Matt Striker)

Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat vs. Cowboy Bob Orton
Capital Centre July 20, 1985

Lumberjack Match
Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat vs. The Magnificent Don Muraco
Maple Leaf Gardens September 22, 1985

Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat vs. Jake "The Snake" Roberts
Boston Garden August 9, 1986

Intercontinental Championship Match
Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat vs. Randy "Macho Man" Savage
WrestleMania III March 29, 1987
(Alternate Commentary by: Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat & Matt Striker)

DISC THREE:

2 out of 3 Falls Match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship
Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat vs. "Nature Boy" Ric Flair
Clash of the Champions VI April 2, 1989

United States Championship Match
Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat vs. Lex Luger
The Great American Bash July 23, 1989

WCW World Tag Team Championship Match
Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat & Dustin Rhodes vs. Arn Anderson & Larry Zbyzsko
Clash of the Champions XVII November 19, 1991

Iron Man Challenge Match
Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat vs. Rick Rude
Beach Blast June 20, 1992

No Disqualification Match for the WCW World Television Championship
Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat vs. Steve Austin
Clash of the Champions XX September 2, 1992
(Alternate Commentary by: Ricky Steamboat & Matt Striker)

Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat vs. Chris Jericho
Backlash April 26, 2009

Pretty much what I expected it too be. Most of the matches you'd expect (Savage, Flair, and his comeback match against Jericho) and a few surprises. Cannot wait for this set to be released.

Finally, one of the most highly requested DVD sets of all time, in regards to a wrestling legend, has finally been released in regards to without a doubt one of the greatest inring performers & a man who never had to work as a heel thoughout his career because of how loved he was by the fans...a rarety in wrestling for as long as he's been in the business. You'll hear from various people throughout the presentation such as the various legends (Ric Flair, Jack & Gerald Brisco, Iron Sheik, Harley Race, Tony Atlas, Steve Kern, Roddy Piper, Bob Orton Jr., Gene Okerland, Jim Cornette, Jim Crockett, Barry Windham, Magnum T.A., Sgt. Slaughter, Dean Malenko, Jake Roberts, James J. Dillion, Arn Anderson, Michael Hayes, Don Muraco, Bret Hart) & current WWE talent (Edge, Chris Jericho, Christian, Kofi Kingston, Evan Bourne, William Regal, Dustin "Goldust" Rhodes) and even a few new faces that we haven't heard from before (NWA referee Tommy Young, NWA booker George Scott, George "The Animal" Steele, and his son Richie Steamboat).

The documentry stars with Steamboat talking about where he really grew up at & how his father's job caused him to move all around the world. His early amature wrestling days along with his first exposure to professional wrestling is discussed before going into the story of how he ended up going to Verne Gagne's camp. The story behind his name being changed to Steamboat, his travels through various NWA territories, how Ric Flair went to bat for him, and how him not fully dedicating himself to the business stopped him from being a top star. His famous tag team with Jay Youngblood was heavily discussed as far as them being friends in & out of the ring along with their feuds with Sgt. Slaughter & Don Kernodle along with the Briscos leading to their Starrcade match. Various elements of his initial WWE run is discussed such as how he gained the nickname "The Dragon", how he inspired so many current talents with his moves such as the armdrag (and the story of where he got it from), and highlights of his feud with Don Muraco & the infamous Jake Roberts DDT incident from Saturday Night's Main Event. WrestleMania III & the buildup to his match with Randy Savage was heavily talked about such as the throat injury, how both men wanted to steal the show at this event, and what happened afterwards at the WrestleMania party before going into why he lost the championship to Honky Tonk Man. The return to the NWA, his "good vs. evil" feud with Flair along with the trilogy of matches they had was heavily discussed next with the suprise of which match in that series was actually his favorite before getting into how the series ended with a bad taste in his mouth & what led to him leaving shortly afterwards. His short return to the WWE under "The Dragon" was briefly discussed with the big highlight being the story behind how he started breathing fire before going into why he left. Returning to WCW was talked about next starting with the story behind his debut night & how people felt his feud with Steve Austin was the first time Austin really got noticed before going into the details of his back injury & the reasoning behind his retirement. His private life after retirement is discussed next with Steamboat going into details of his outside business with his son before being brought back into wrestling as a "producer/agent", going into the Hall Of Fame, his comeback in 2009 & how most people feel that he still better than most people younger than him, and his son's venture into wrestling close out the documentry.

DVD extras include bonus stories include Ricky Steamboat talking about how he bought his first car & drove it home backwards, Mike Graham talking about his first meeting with Richard Blood, the story behind Steamboat forgetting his new name, Steve Lombardi (Brooklyn Brawler) remember Steamboat's first WWE match, Chris Jericho telling the story of the one question he asked Steamboat the first time he met him, William Regal talking about how him watching a Flair/Steamboat match caused him to not be able to walk for around 2 weeks, and bonus promos & vigenttes including a hidden one with Ricky doing a "Say No To Drugs" PSA.

Bonus Matches Include:
w/Jay Youngblood vs. NWA Tag Team Champions Brisco Brothers - A pure classic old school tag team match between four great workers...nothing else needs to be said.
Starrcade '83
["Starrcade: The Essential Collection" & "Most Powerful Families In Wrestling"]

vs NWA Champion Ric Flair - All I can say after viewing this match is that Ric Flair calls himself the "60 minute man" for a reason & this perfectly showcases why. This was a match where they wrestled a calculated pace that didn't rely on "spots" or anything "hardcore" but just straight wrestling to keep the crowd entertained...a lost classic in the series between Steamboat & Flair.
Steamboat & Matt Striker do commentary during this match and talk about various subjects like Steamboat training in the AWA, his 2009 return, the art of in-ring storytelling, veterans helping out the younger talent back in the day, how Flair capturing the NWA Title convinced him that he could be a World Champion too, and his dream matches.
Boogie Jam '84
(Commentary with Ricky Steamboat & Matt Striker)

vs. Cowboy Bob Orton - This was during the period where Bob Orton was wearing the cask on his "injured" arm so that was Steamboat's focus as he heavily worked it over with various armbars & constant wrenching of it which kept him in control for most of the match to the point where Orton has to resort to throwing soda in Steamboat's eyes to get control but overall, this was a good exibition for Steamboat.
July '85

Lumberjack Match vs. Don Muraco - For the rare people who haven't seen a lumberjack match, the rules are that wrestlers surround the ring and their job is to throw a superstar back into the ring whenever they would go outside of it. As expected, Muraco tried to escape various times early in the match only to be tossed back in. Muraco worked over Steamboat's left shoulder with nerve holds & a shoulderbreaker. There was a very funny moment when Muraco tried to escape out of the ring via the ramp only for the group of babyfaces to pick him up & toss him back in. Bob Orton did get involved in the match but it ended up backfiring on Orton leading to Steamboat winning this very entertaining match.
Sept. '85

vs. Jake "The Snake" Roberts - Roberts showed early on that they he had Steamboat scouted so well that he was able to counter & avoid the attacks that were sterotypical of Steamboat before Steamboat was able to finally catch Roberts. At one point, Steamboat missed a chop & ended up hitting the ringpost which hurt his arm & wrist which Roberts then worked on before Steamboat got very angry & took the fight outside by ramming Jake into the barrier & headfirst into the table. In the end, Jake Roberts used the referee to avoid a Steamboat attack before that ended up coming back to cost him the match.
"Boston Garden" Aug. '86

vs. Intercontinental Champion Randy Savage - Let's be honest here, I can try to summerize this match but words wouldn't do it justice & what hasn't been said about this match that hasn't been said for over 20 years. This was the match that stole the show at WrestleMania III, this was the match that was an inspiration to so many wrestlers today like Chris Jericho, and is still known as one of the greatest matches of all time.
We get a special treat with this edition of this match as there is alternative commentary with Steamboat & Striker as they talked about various subjects such as the backstory of this match infront of the camera & behind the scenes along with which current superstars he feels can make it to his level of performance.
WrestleMania III
(Alternative Commentary By Ricky Steamboat & Matt Striker)
["Best Of Intercontinental Championship", "Macho Madness: The Ultimate Randy Savage Collection", "WrestleMania III: Championship Edition"]

NWA Championship/2 Out Of 3 Falls Match vs. Ric Flair - This was the second match of their classic 1989 trilogy of matches and despite the first match being the one where Steamboat wins the World Championship and the third match being the most praised match amongst wrestling fans & critics, this match was Steamboat's personal favorite. Steamboat began working on Flair's head with a side headlock & got a few near falls off that move before both men traded moves back & forth until the first fall was scored around 20 mins. into the match. Flair took the fight right to Steamboat in the second fall by taking it to the outside at one point by throwing Steamboat into the ralling twice & slamming him onto the floor before getting back into the ring & doing a very unique pinning combination that Terry Funk best described as a "Oklahoma Crossbody Ride" before Steamboat was able to recover & apply a variation of the chicken wing to win the second fall in 34 mins. Flair having a heavy focus on the legs in the third fall as the intensity & pace heavily picked up between both men in the third fall before a controversal finish that led the door open for the third & final encounter but this was classic quality.
"Clash Of The Champions" Apr. '89
[Ultimate Ric Flair Collection]

vs. United States Champion Lex Luger - This was suppost to be a No DQ match but Luger demanded that stipulation would be changed which Steamboat agreed. Steamboat used his speed to get an early advantage while Luger used his power & heavily worked over Steamboat's back with various slams. They went back & forth here before Luger brought in a chair & tried to use it only for it to backfire which made Steamboat lose his temper & assault Luger with the chair from the ring all the way up the entrance ramp. Although Luger has a bad reputation for being one of the most overpushed wrestlers in history...this was when Luger was in his prime & could carry his own weight as the match is a step down for the Steamboat/Flair classics that dominated the NWA for the first half of the year but each wrestler held their own & again, the cheap ending didn't take away from the match itself.
Great American Bash '89

w/Dustin Rhodes vs. WCW Tag Team Champions The Enforcers (Arn Anderson & Larry Zbyzsko) - This was originally suppost to be Rhodes & Barry Windham going for the tag team titles but due to Windham's hand being injured, this left the door open for Steamboat to return to WCW as Rhodes mystery partner. The Enforcers were completely caught off guard and just couldn't get it together in the early part of the match leaving Dustin & Ricky to focus on Larry's arm & dominate before The Enforcers were able to get back in the game by doing constant double teaming. The match was very entertaining with the suprise of Steamboat capturing a championship on his first night back.
"Clash Of The Champions" Nov. '91

Ironman Match vs. Rick Rude - For those who don't know what an Ironman match is, this was a 30 minute match with the man who scores the most decisions (pin/submission/countout/DQ) in that time limit wins the match and it should also be noted during this time that WCW had a rule that you would be disqualified if you came off the top rope onto your opposition. Steamboat went right after Rude's ribs right off the bat with various kicks & chops along with various moves such as a gutbuster, a modified abdominal stretch with his knees into Rude's ribs, and a Boston Crab. Steamboat's stragegy worked as Rude's ribs were heavily injured for the rest of the match which showed when he did the Rude Awakening but had the move hurt himself in the process which led to Rude being desprate by at one point doing a top rope move which caused him to lose a fall by DQ just to hurt Steamboat more only to get a fall right back in his favor. Steamboat defined the phrase "fighting until the every end" towards the final seconds in the match as the last 30 seconds was one of the most intense moments during that period of WCW as the whole match IMO was simply a lost classic.
Beach Blast '92

No Disqualification Match vs. WCW Television Champion Steve Austin - This was a spinoff of the previous feud with Rick Rude as Steamboat went against a fellow member & the other single's champion of the Dangerous Alliance stable in a young Steve Austin. Going into this match, Steamboat had ribs that were injured in a tag match against "Dr. Death" Steve Williams, this was had a No DQ stipulation, and Paul E. Dangerously (Paul Heyman) was locked in a small cage & raised above the ring so he couldn't get invovled. Steamboat worked over Austin's head early with a headlock while taunting Dangerously before Austin targeted his ribs with slams & an abdominal stretch later on. They traded momentum throughout the match including a series of reversing the tombstone piledriver before Steamboat was able to take advantage of the No DQ rule by coming off the top rope to finally gain the WCW Television Championship in what would be the first in a long term series of matches against Austin for the rest of his WCW career over the Tag Teams & United States championships. It should be noted though that there was a small edit during this match as there was a moment where the announcers were heavily focused on advertising a poll they were doing on the WCW Hotline during the broadcast including putting the number on the screen for around a minute so that part is edited out of the match.
Steamboat & Striker did alternative commentary on this match as well discussing various subjects such as how Austin had "it", how he came up with the "skin the cat" move, and describing his flying crossbody block.
"Clash Of The Champions" Sept. '92
(Alternative Commentry With Ricky Steamboat & Matt Striker)

vs. Chris Jericho - After Steamboat's performance against Jericho being one of the top highlights of WrestleMania, he get an official singles match here between the two Chris Jericho. Just like WrestleMania, Steamboat looks like he didn't miss a step for being retired for 15 years. Solid match from beginning to end with both men playing off each other well. A great performance for any past fan of Steamboat & a great treat for those who are too young to see Steamboat in action during his time.
Backlash '09

In the end, I had to say that I was a bit disappointed with the documentry as it was only a little over an hour and did miss various points of his career such as his WCW feud against Rick Rude (which only got one line) while others like his feud with Roberts were focused on the DDT on the concrete but didn't really mention anything else about the feud such as involving their own set of animals such as Steamboat's lizard but overall they did a good job of covering his personal life along with the biggest feuds of his career against Randy Savage & Ric Flair. Outside of wanting to see a tag match match with Shane Douglas (gaining the titles against Windham & Rhodes or losing them to the Hollywood Blondes), the matches I can't really complain about because each one was quality in it's own right along with the fact that most of these matches haven't been previously released as I'm very pleased that a match from his feud against Rick Rude & against Austin for the TV title have finally made their way to DVD so this is definately a set that wasn't perfect but worth the wait & I recommend.

RICKY STEAMBOAT: THE LIFE STORY OF "THE DRAGON" is one of WWE's best DVD sets to date. The documentary was excellent, with Steamboat humbly recalling his ascent to the top of professional wrestling. There was some great stuff from his peers and today's stars as well as from his son, Ritchie, as well. My only gripe about the documentary was that it was too short. It's difficult to capture a lifetime in only one hour, but it was done about as well it could've been in that time.

There are hundreds of different matches that could have gone on this DVD set, but those which were included were excellent.

In a business full of tragic stories, Ricky Steamboat's story is one with a happy ending. He rose to the top of his game, stepped away on his own terms, and now helps build young WWE talent while watching his own son work his way through their developmental system.

If you're a wrestling fan, this is a must-have.

I really enjoyed the main doc. The only thing that bugs me about this set is the matches have a border on each side of the screen, others that own a hd "widescreen" tv might feel the same way as I do, there not in "Full Screen" as all the other wwe dvds are. I hope they don't make this a habit.

I bought this tape yesterday and overall I am pleased with it, though i was a little disappointed by the total lack of matches from Mid-Atlantic, save the tag match with Steamboat and Younblood and a World Title match with Flair from '84.
I have to wonder if the matches from this era are in bad shape or something because they really should have been inlcuded here!
Steamboat is truly an all-time legend and this DVD comes close to doing him justice, but not quite. But I still give it a 4*.
Overall, I highly recommend this set!

SHOOT....
I can't imagine not giving Ricky "the Dragon" Steamboat 5 stars and I do enjoy this DVD set very much... his series of matches with Flair, Jake the Snake and Savage are the stuff of legend, and full of "story". So many other reviewers have documented the contents and its been out for some time... I'll just weigh in for what its worth with my biggest gripe or regret. Ricky and the host do audio commentary for a few matches and most notably the Wrestlemania III classic with Randy "Macho Man" Savage. However, they treat it Kayfabe ...and what this means to non-wrestling fans is they go over the match like its a real event instead of a pre worked out performance which of course it was. Ricky has talked about this on other "shoot" DVDs and in print and I was really looking forward to his discussing how Savage wanted everything planned to the most small detail and discussing the behind the scenes on the story and moves but instead the commentator took him down the road to "pretend" and so the audio commentary isn't only boring its ridiculous and insulting. For those who want to pretend they could easily just watch the match with the normal announcer commentary but its odd to have a "behind the scenes" audio commentary that continues that myth. Although Ricky has talked about that match on other places I was so looking forward to him discussing it while he (and we as viewers) watched it and I consider this a huge opportunity lost.

Good service. I grew up watching Ricky The Dragon Steamboat. What a wrestler! What a Hall of Famer! Long live The Dragon!

One of the original high flyers, a great athlete and one of the true good guys in the wrestling business. He's Ricky Steamboat and this is his story in and out of the ring.

-We hear from Ricky about his growing up and being from a military family that he moved around a lot in his childhood. He also got into amateur wrestling and did very well but decided to try and go make it big in wrestling so he signed up for and trained at the infamous Verne Gagne training camp. He was trained by the Iron Sheik and from how Ricky made it sound the training was brutal so its no wonder few made it through the whole camp.

-After he made it through the training he began to work through Florida which is where he got the name Steamboat and many of the NWA territories and of course how Ric Flair brought him to the Carolina's, which was a good natural rivalry to say the least. The friendship he had with Jay Youngblood was talked about, especially how they were inseperable ever outside of the ring. Also how they had runs as the tag teams champions, including a story of how he and Jay had a month stretch of cage matches every night for a month. Of course the famous Starrcade '83 match they had with the Briscos is discussed, which was a good one.

-When he came to the WWE he was giving the gimmick/nickname of "the dragon", which did lead into a very good rivalry with Jake "The Snake" Roberts, including the moment where Steamboat gets DDT'd on the floor. His feud with Randy Savage is talked about, from the goofy moment where he was hit throat first against the guardrail and had to pretend to learn how to speak again, to the fantastic match at Wrestlemania III which holds up to this day as great stuff. I did enjoy the story and reasoning behind Steamboat having such a short I.C. title reign, which I thought was a very honest move by Ricky.

-When he returned to the NWA the famous trilogy of matches Flair & Steamboat had was talked about, especially his title win at the Ch-Town Rumble, but his favorite was another match they had later. He returned to WWE and started breathing fire before he started his matches, loved his comments on how difficult it was. The best part was when he talked about returning to WCW and the famous feuds he had with Rick Rude and Stunning Steve Austin, the later he had his last WCW match against as he suffered a back injury and retired.

-More details about his life out of the ring is discussed including his running a gym, helping his son get into drag racing, his divorce from his wife which was again good and honest talking from Ricky. Of course he was lured back to the business as a backstage agent and some of the superstars talk about what an honor it is to have one of their idols giving them advice and trying to help them.

-The famous comeback at Wrestlemania 25 was shown and talked about, where many including Flair say it seems like Ricky didn't miss a step and also the next night on Raw where he was part of a 10 man tag match where the crowd cheered big for him. Ricky's thoughts on his career and how he wants his son to do in wrestling finish up this great but short take on the life of Ricky Steamboat.

Matches

-Starrcade '83, NWA World Tag Team Championship Match, w/Jay Youngblood vs. The Brisco Brothers (Champions): Good match, with good chain wrestling by all four men. Both Briscoes were great technical wrestlers with well known amateur backgrounds, while Steamboat and Youngblood were the quicker team. Steamboat was always a great worker in the ring as was Youngblood, its a shame he died as young as he did. The crowd really pops loudly for the finish which saw Steamboat lift Yougnblood up for a splash on Gerry Brisco for the win in 12 mins. Winners and new NWA World Tag Team Champions, Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat & Jay Youngblood. 7/10.

-Boogie Jam '84, NWA Championship Match, vs. Ric Flair (Champion): What a great near 60 minute match that has tons of counters, great mat based wrestling and the usual arm drags and leg locks from both men. Great action throughout that saw Flair pick up the win but Ricky had a great showing here. 10/10. Side Note: Love the alternate commentary by Matt Striker and Ricky Steamboat, very informative.

-WWE July '85, vs. Bob Orton: The cast on Orton's arm might as well have been a target as Ricky hit arm drags and worked it over, making Bob resort to dirty tactics to gain an advantage but it didn't last long as Ricky took this one to win. 7/10.

-WWE Sept. '85, Lumberjack Match, vs. Don Muraco: Good match here that saw Muraco even try to escape up the ramp but gets tossed back in. Bob Orton tries to interfere but it costs Muraco as Steamboat takes this one for the win. 7/10.

-WWE August '86, vs. Jake "The Snake" Roberts: There was early evasion on the part of Jake before Ricky hit the ring post and Roberts worked on his arm. Steamboat got angrier and fought with more agression than normal even slamming Jake into a table. After the ref was used as a shield by Jake, Ricky got the win. 8/10.

-Wrestlemania III, Intercontinental Championship Match, vs. Randy Savage (Champion): Hogan/Andre may have brought the fans into the arena but this match was the best on the card. Both men just went all out and had the crowd on the edge of their seats the whole time. Tons of near falls, high impact moves and a good ending as Steamboat rolls up Savage for the 3 count to win the I.C. title. 10/10.

-Clash of the Champions Apr. '89, 2 out of 3 Falls Match for the NWA Championship, vs. Ric Flair: Ricky's personal favorite from their trilogy in '89 and its a great one as they always are between these two. Steamboat works on Flair's head and neck and after trading momentum, Flair picked up the first fall and went right to work on wearing Ricky down, even nailing him into the ring post. Steamboat applied a unique version of the chicken wing and pinned Flair and we're down to the third and deciding fall. The pace picked up a lot, with great action in the final few minutes and the deciding fall was shall we say controversial, thus leading to a needed third match to end this feud. 10/10.

-Great American Bash '89, United States Championship Match, vs. Lex Luger (Champion): Right before the match happened Lex forced the NQ rule to be changed. Luger worked on Steamboat's back, Ricky used his quickness and after Luger tried to use a chair, things actually got pretty aggressive with Ricky taking the fight up the ramp. The ending was cheap but it wasn't a bad match. 7/10.

-Clash of the Champions Nov. '91, WCW Tag Team Championship Match, w/Dustin Rhodes vs. The Enforcers (Arn Anderson & Larry Zbyszko): Its Ricky's return to WCW and boy did the crowd give him a big ovation when he was revealed as the mystery partner. Despite some good double teaming by Arn and Larry it was a pretty good performance by Ricky & Dustin that saw new tag champions crowned, 8/10.

-Beach Blast '92, Ironman Match, vs. Rick Rude: Great, great match that sadly took place during the dq for coming off the top rope rule. Both men just brutalized each other and there was Ricky targeting Rude's ribs but Rick did hold his own despite the injury. This was very well done, the action was kept at a great pace throughout. Steamboat ends up taking this one and boy did he earn it. 10/10.

-Clash of the Champions Sept. '92, No DQ Match for the WCW Television Championship, vs. Stunning Steve Austin (Champion): After his feud with Rick Rude ended, Ricky went after the other member of the "Dangerous Alliance" in Steve Austin in a great match here. Ricky did well against a younger wrestler and Austin held his own as well. Ricky used the No DQ rule to his advantage, hitting his trademark crossbody onto Austin to win the TV title. 9/10.

-Backlash '09, vs. Chris Jericho: After his great performance at Wrestlemania 25, we get a one on one match with one legend and one future legend. They meshed well and countered each others moves and Ricky really didn't seem out of place despite having only wrestled a little bit prior to this match. Jericho wins after locking on the Walls of Jericho and Steamboat taps out. 8/10,

Its certainly not the best DVD set they could've done on a legend like Ricky Steamboat, at least as far as the documentary is concerned. Its just over an hour and should've been much much longer. The match selection is good and boy is it great they selected some of his better NWA/WCW matches. It is worth buying.

The wrestling matches themselves are great - 5 stars easily.

My problem with this dvd set is that all the old matches weren't shot in widescreen format, but they're presented in widescreen format on disc 3 (Flair vs Steamboat from the clash, Steamboat vs Luger, Steamboat/Rhodes vs Anderson/Larry Z, Steamboat vs Rude in a 30 minute iron man match).

What this means for HDTV owners is that you get the gray bars on the sides. What this means for SDTV owners is that you get the gray bars on the side, and, unless you want the picture vertically stretched, you also get black bars on the top and bottom, basically shrinking the size of your screen.

Ricky Steamboat was my childhood hero, and his matches are all great, but due to WWE's horrible formatting choice, I can't give it more than 2 stars.

If you must see this (and if you're a wrestling fan, you MUST), don't waste your money on buying it - rent it from netflix and enjoy the great wrestling.

btw - there's one Flair/Steamboat broadway from 1984 that I hadn't seen before this dvd set - definitely a must-see.

Short Review: Overall Life of the Dragon is a well made documentary about Ricky Steamboat and its just great to see of these amazing moments from the career of one of my favourites as a child. There are so many legends and top superstars talking about how great Ricky was and how he influenced their careers, but it's the amount of interview clips given from the man himself that make this documentary more interesting since your hearing about the stories directly from him with add ons by other superstars. Though only just over an hour long, it does move along at a quick pace with plenty of highlight clips from his career thrown in, to get that WWE documentary feel that they do so well. I enjoyed watching this video and while Ricky Steamboat may not have been the biggest superstar he might have been, he is still a legend. This is certainly worthwhile checking out, especially if you're a fan of his or simply are intrigued into learning more about the Dragon.