On the latest episode of DDP and Jake Roberts’ DDP Snake Pit podcast, the pair would talk about their legendary finishing moves. This would result in Roberts recalling the DDT he gave Ricky Steamboat on the concrete floor during WWE’s May 3rd, 1986 Saturday Night’s Main Event and how he begged not to do it. This was because he felt it couldn’t be done safely on a hard surface, which he was ultimately proved right over as Steamboat was legitimately knocked out. Sadly the WWE Hall of Famer would also disclose that Steamboat is currently dealing with health issues and worries that the incident could be responsible.
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.”Jake Roberts
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.
Jake RobertsSteamboat would go on to wrestle for eight more years following the scary bump, with his initial retirement being due to a back injury sustained in WCW. However, he would return to the ring 15 years later at WrestleMania 25 as part of a trios team alongside Jimmy Snuka and Roddy Piper against Chris Jericho. He’d then go on to complete 13 more times, with his official final match being a tag match with his son Richie against Caylen Croft & Trent Barreta in FCW on June 18th, 2010.
While it does seem a stretch to think head trauma from 1986 could be the cause of Steamboat’s health issues 36 years later, it is known old head injuries can linger for decades. Hopefully, though, Steamboat’s don’t seriously affect his standard of living, as at 69 years old, he should still have several years remaining to enjoy his retirement.
