WWE Hall of Famer Ricky Steamboat was present backstage for the recent AEW “Blood and Guts” edition of Dynamite. In an interview with Bill Apter, Steamboat was asked if any specific talent on the card caught his eye.
“You know, I’m sort of a fan of Samoa Joe.” Steamboat praised the veteran for his longevity and his ability to blend wrestling styles. “You know, he’s been around the block so many times, and he seems ageless”. He added, “Yeah, yeah. He’s got a mix of old school new school”.
Steamboat’s praise for Joe’s style came as he was critiquing other matches he saw that night. He noted that he watched the “warm-up matches” before the show went live and felt they lacked ring psychology.
“It looked too choreographed,” Steamboat said. “You know, when you’re out there dancing with your partner, and you have to be in step, because you’re in a dance contest… a lot of what I saw, it just looked too, I wanted to be a little bit of, throw some rawness in it”.
Steamboat elaborated that he wants to see more “struggle,” recalling how the “old timers” taught him to make transitions look difficult rather than perfectly fluent. His praise for Samoa Joe indicates he sees the “old school” psychology present in Joe’s work, blended with the “new school” style.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit Bill Apter’s interview with Ricky Steamboat with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription. You can watch part one of the chat here.
