10 Best Ever Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat Matches

8. Vs. Tully Blanchard - NWA Starrcade 1984

Two wrestlers who were absolutely made for each other were Steamboat and Tully Blanchard, and let's thank the professional wrestling Gods that they had this high-profile singles match when both were firing on all cylinders. 

Blanchard had injured Steamboat's ribs going into this NWA Television Title match at Starrcade 1984. However, a rule had been implemented that Tully's title would be forfeited if the referee ruled that he was stalling, since the Horseman had gained a reputation for dragging contests out and holding on for time-limit draws and the like. 

Naturally, both of those factors played into the psychology of the match, which was as spot-on as you would imagine and added intrigue into what would have been a grand match even without the extras. 

Blanchard was the solid heel, working over plucky Dragon's midsection and taunting him before eventually going one step too far and spitting on his challenger, which is never a good idea. 

Steamboat was not best pleased with the saliva spray and came back with high-impact offense, including lots of stiff chops and looked to have the match won, before Tully grabbed a foreign object from his tights and decked him for the tainted victory. 

Based on this, it would have been nice to have gotten even more big matches between this combination, but it was not to be.