Matt Hardy Recalls Facing Ricky Steamboat In Tag Match After WrestleMania 25, Steamboat’s 2009 WWE Run

Matt Hardy got to face off with Ricky Steamboat in WWE after WrestleMania 25, and he recently recalled sharing the ring with the Hall of Famer. Hardy was on the heel side of a 10-man tag team match the day after WrestleMania 25 that included himself, Chris Jericho, Edge, Big Show, and Kane against John Cena, CM Punk, Jeff Hardy, Rey Mysterio and Steamboat. Steamboat had made his return to the ring as part of a legends Handicap Elimination match against Chris Jericho and went on to have a longer feud with Jericho that year.

Hardy looked back at the match and facing off with Steamboat, who he idolized, on the latest Extreme Life of Matt Hardy. You can check out some highlights below:

On Steamboat being part of the 10-man tag match: “I remember all the heels wanted to interact with Ricky Steamboat. And I think everybody wanted to sell for him, they wanted to get chopped or they wanted to take a crossbody. Everybody was super excited to interact with Ricky Steamboat in this match.”

On Steamboat’s WWE run that year: “I mean, it was great. For him to do that appearance [at WrestleMania], I mean he’d been around doing some agenting and producing and stuff at that time anyway. And he’d always worked super-hard to stay in shape. Even when he did his technically-considered ‘last match’ that was at Jordan Arena a while back, I was on that card. I actually wrestled Crowbar on that show. He looked great in that too, it was a six-man tag where he was in there with FTR. But Ricky has always been one that has taken care of himself, and stayed in shape… but he was still great. Being an older guy, he busted his ass and he worked so hard. And he was so excited, he was like a little kid whenever we were wrestling, he had the match with Jericho and that 10 men tag we had, it was so enjoyable. So much fun.”

On being able to share the ring with Steamboat: “It was [special]. I was a huge fan of Ricky Steamboat too. I remember, I loved the series that he had with Ric Flair back in ’89, ’90. You know, the WrestleWar match and and whatnot, when they had that — I think they had three different matches that were all excellent. They were all so great. And then there was obviously the deal that he had with Macho Man at WrestleMania III, which that match I love so much. And then I thought it was cool, even when he came back to the WWE and he had that like over the top dragon gimmick, where they had him wearing the outfit and breathing the fire.

“Always been a huge fan of Ricky Steamboat, and it was so cool to — I’ll tell you this. When I went to school at UNC Charlotte, I learned that Ricky steambo had a gym out there. And I was just so excited and I was like, ‘If I’m gonna go train anywhere, I’m going to Ricky Steamboat’s gym.’ And I went out there, and I got to see him a couple times… and I got to tell him that story of years down the road, that I actually signed up and I decided to train in a gym, which was his gym, just because of my love for him and pro wrestling.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.