The Wrestling Newsgroup

Richie Steamboat recently spoke about being a second generation wrestler, using Steamboat as opposed to his real name and more. Check out the highlights:

On being a second generation talent vs. having an amateur background: "I don't think one is better than the other. I think having the amateur background does give you a heads-up, an advantage as opposed to somebody who is not an athlete who comes into this business. It also gives you a little bit more mat skills. Being second generation is a double-edged sword. It has its positives and negatives. There are a lot of people who are going to say, ‘He doesn't deserve to be here. He's only here because of his last name,' and there are other people who say, ‘You've got such big boots to fill. How are you ever going to do that? How are you going to live up to your father's legacy?' My answer is always the same. I'm not going to try and fill my father's boots. I'm just going to fill my own."

On using Steamboat as opposed to his real last name: "That idea was thrown around a little bit. My last name is Blood, which is a pretty cool last name for wrestling, but we decided that the older fans would know the [Steamboat] name, and the newer fans would get to know the name. It's a good thing."

On whether more is expected of him: "I believe so. Being second generation and being the son of a WWE Hall of Famer like Ricky The Dragon Steamboat, there are high expectations from everyone. I'm going to be myself, and I'm going to add my own flavor, my style the way I do things, and I think the fans will embrace it. I hope in 20 years my father can say, ‘I'm very proud the way you were able to carry on the Steamboat name."