WWE Hall of Famer Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat is Dealing With Health Issues, According to Jake Roberts

Jake “The Snake” Roberts revealed on the latest DDP Snakepit that fellow WWE Hall of Famer Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat is dealing with some health issues. After recapping the infamous spot where Roberts nailed Steamboat with a DDT onto concrete, Roberts said, “To be quite honest with you, I know Steamboat’s having issues right now. I hope to hell it wasn’t what I did. I really do man, because that haunts me. That’s beginning to haunt me a lot. Ricky, if you’re listening, you know I never meant to do that. I didn’t want to do that. I begged you not to do that. I just pray for you man. He’s a good dude man.”

Regarding the spot itself, Roberts noted (h/t Wrestling Inc.), “Doing Steamboat, I argued in the back ‘no, it cannot be done.’ And Steamboat had the affiliation with George Scott, who had been the booker in Mid Atlantic and gave Steamboat his big break. And George went to Steamboat with that idea, of me dropping him on the concrete. And Steamboat argued me ‘please man, do it for me. I can block it, I can get my hands down in time.’ ‘No you won’t, it won’t work.’ And it didn’t work. When I dropped Steamboat, I thought he was dead, I really did. Picking up, it was like ‘holy s–t.’ I herniated myself getting him into the ring. If you watch that film, you’ll see me pointing at Steamboat and point at George Scott, because George Scott had come down and gotten in the ring.

“I was like ‘there George, I hope your freakin happy because he’s dead.’ I was surprised he wasn’t, because where his head hit, it was a god-awful sound. It was like a watermelon being thrown on concrete. It popped like something broke. It took two weeks for his eyes to turn black. It swelled up four inches,” he added. 

Steamboat, a former NWA World Heavyweight Champion, had his final match in June 2010 for Florida Championship Wrestling when he teamed with his son, Richie Steamboat, in a match against The Dudebusters. In the early 2010s he worked as both an NXT trainer and as a member of talent relations before eventually pivoting to an ambassador role. The 69-year-old has yet to comment on Roberts’ statement, so stay tuned for future updates.