Ricky Steamboat: The Life Story of the Dragon

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.

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.

The biography was a little short, and I believe that he had issues with Hulk Hogan & management. I wish that they would have addressed this, it might explain why both WCW & WWF(E) didn't see him as a main-eventer for a longer period of time. OUTSTANDING MATCHES THOUGH!

If asked to pick an all-time favorite pro wrestler, I would without hesitation answer Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat !Combining good looks, physique, scientific skills, martial arts and high-flying manuevers, Ricky could do it all...The 3-disc set features one disc of the Dragon's story from his amateur days, through the Carolina leagues, to the WWE ranks as Intercontinental Champion, and NWA World Heavyweight Champion, to the end of his career and induction into the WWE Hall-Of-Fame...The other two discs feature an assortment of his greatest matches, including Wrestlemania III's legendary battle with Randy Savage in front of 93,000 people, his NWA title rematch with Ric Flair in a grueling 1 hour 2 out of 3 fall match, and many others...Ricky himself tells the story, and lends commentary to a couple of matches.This long overdue tribute to wrestling's ultimate good guy is a great piece of entertainment. 5 stars.

I've been a wrestling fan since I was 10 old. Having grown in the carolina's, Ricky Steamboat will always be remembered as the greatest in ring technician and baby face ever! I wish wwe had put more effort in providing matches from the mid-teritory. The tag team matches with his former partner the late great Jay Youngblood were some of my best memories! Especially the program they had with Sergeant Slaughter and Don kernodle as well as the Brisco Brothers. Go on You Tube and pull these matches and angles and you'll see what i'm talking about! However, i am very pleased that WWE finally got there act together and put this dvd into action. I'm sure they have enough in there film library for anther video.

WWE does a good job at covering wrestler's careers. The documentary is a must-see for fans of "The Dragon". A nice overview of matches although I would have liked to have seen more matches from Steamboat's early days in Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling (Jim Crockett Promotions). Wish they'd have shown the Steamboat/Youngblood vs. Sgt. Slaughter/Kernodle tag match in the cage rather than the match against Jack & Jerry Brisco. Still, a very enjoyable DVD and one that fans of technical wrestling will enjoy.

Wish the whole flair trilogy was on this set

I've been hoping for years that McMahon will finally release a dvd on Steamboat in my opinion back in the 80s he should have been world champion instead of Hogan. The guy was one of the best wrestlers in and out of the ring his matches with Flair was classics as was his match with Savage. I also like that match he had with Austin before he retired. I mean they have released several dvd sets on Hogan and Flair but this is the first time they released something on Steamboat Maybe now Vince might decide to release sets on Snuuka and Ted dibase{ not the kid but the old man}.

One of the most recent 3-disc sets from Silver Vision and WWE Home Video, The Life Story of The Dragon is yet another quality release. A great biography complete with so many great interviews, featuring the man himself and a who's-who of wrestling legends and superstars.So many great segments and matches are included, also, such as the timeless masterpiece with Randy Savage for the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania 3, epic hour-long marathons with Ric Flair, some excellent bouts against Rick Rude, Chris Jericho, and Steve Austin, and some good collisions with Lex Luger, Don Muraco and Jake Roberts.The only criticisms I have is that it all feels a trifle lacking, like the documentary could be longer and that there should be more matches on offer. But for Ricky Steamboat fans, this DVD is a worthy tribute and ultimately feels satisfying.

Perhaps the greatest wrestler of all time.

Wish it had more of his matches, but it was still an enjoyable watch.

I like watching it.

Bought as a childhood memory for my son - great!