Unexpected heel turn would have worked in WWE's Attitude Era, Vince Russo says (Exclusive)

Vince Russo was WWE's head writer in the late 1990s when RAW regularly drew high television ratings. He recently gave his take on how Ricky Steamboat might have fared had he been part of the Attitude Era roster.

Steamboat is widely viewed as one of the greatest babyfaces in wrestling history. WWE creative team member Bruce Prichard praised the Hall of Famer's in-ring skills in a recent Something to Wrestle podcast episode. However, he also questioned whether Steamboat would have succeeded in the Attitude Era.

Russo appeared on Sportskeeda's The Wrestling Outlaws with host Dr. Chris Featherstone and former WWE star EC3. He said Steamboat could have made it work if he turned heel and performed as a bad guy:

"He just comes across as a really, really good guy," Russo stated. "Maybe that's where you start. Maybe he's the good guy in this Attitude Era who's getting scr*wed and scr*wed over and over and over and bypassed over and over and over, so the light bulb kinda goes off. I would have loved to see a Ricky 'No More Mr. Nice Guy' Steamboat. Would have loved to see that. And you know what? I bet you he could have pulled it off." [1:34 – 2:08]

Watch the video above to hear EC3 explain how he would have booked Steamboat in the Attitude Era.

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What did Bruce Prichard say about WWE legend Ricky Steamboat?

In 1994, Ricky Steamboat retired from full-time in-ring competition after almost two decades in the wrestling industry. One of his most memorable matches occurred in 1987 when he defeated Randy Savage for the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania 3.

While Bruce Prichard thinks Steamboat would have done "great" as a technical wrestler in the Attitude Era, he believes the legendary performer lacked charisma.

He added that The Dragon did not have a strong enough personality to succeed in an era that revolved around weekly in-ring promos.

Do you think Ricky Steamboat would have succeeded in the Attitude Era? Hit the discuss button and let us know.

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