AEW Tried To Recruit Ricky Steamboat, But He Didn't Want To Be On The Road

Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat appeared on "AEW Dynamite" last August, serving as the guest timekeeper for the 2 out of 3 falls match between Bryan Danielson and Daniel Garcia, as well as appearing in a backstage segment where he chopped Angelo Parker. Though Steamboat has stayed involved in wrestling, even wrestling his first match since a 2010 brain hemorrhage at a Big Time Wrestling show in November, he's largely been out of the day to day grind since that head injury. On Sunday, though, Steamboat revealed during a virtual signing with Captain's Corner that it wasn't for lack of job offers, as AEW had pursued him for a role as a road agent/producer/coach.

"Believe it or not, I was already asked to come aboard in a capacity of [a road agent]," he explained. "No reflection on them, great company and everything, and don't get me wrong, the pay would have been great. But I'm at a point in time in my life where I'm trying to get off the road. [I already had] 40-something years of being on the road."

Steamboat's run on the road with WWE as a producer came to a sudden end in June 2010, when he suffered a legitimate brain hemorrhage after an onscreen attack by The Nexus. After recovering, he moved to being a coach for then-WWE developmental promotion Florida Championship Wrestling, where his son, Richie, was working at the time, only to leave that role when Richie was released from his contract. In the last decade, he's mainly appeared at independent events for autograph signings, with his match last November being a notable exception.