10 Legendary pro wrestlers who were never WWE World champion

#6 Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat

Ricky The Dragon Steamboat with a scaly friend.

Real name: Richard Blood (Wait, hold up, that's a GREAT wrestling name!)

Debut: 1976

Career Accolades: Ricky Steamboat held the NWA World Television Title four times, the NWA United States title five times, and the NWA World Heavyweight Championship one time. He also held the WWE Intercontinental championship one time, winning it from Randy Savage at Wrestlemania III.

Ricky Steamboat was a native Hawaiian and amateur wrestler who turned pro quickly upon graduating school. Early on he went by his real name of Rick Blood, but then promoters decided his name was not good for a babyface wrestler. He was re-christened Ricky the Dragon Steamboat, capitalizing on his resemblance to Bruce Lee. He would use the name for the rest of his wrestling career.

Why he never held the WWE's big belt: Several factors worked against Steamboat in his quest for the big belt. For one, he made certain to keep his family a priority over wrestling, which may have hindered his chances of being world champion.

For another, Steamboat was active during Hogan's lengthy WWE title reign, and last but not least he left the company for the NWA, where he captured the world title from Ric Flair. His return to the WWE afterwards was mostly a swansong because nagging back injuries kept him from a full-time schedule.