If you remember the Paul McCartney's classic cover recording of song "Baby Face" (Baby Face, you've got the cutest baby face) from "Band on the Run," you may think that he was referring to Richard Henry Blood, better known by his ring name Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, one of the most well-known professional wrestlers of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Blood debuted in 1976 as a babyface in the American Wrestling Association (AWA).
In wrestling jargon, "babyface” is the term used to describe the fan favorite in a wrestling match and organization, the wrestler the crowd generally cheers for and wants to win.Traditional babyfaces are classic good guy characters who do not break the rules, follow instructions of those in authority such as the referee, are polite and well-mannered towards the fans, and often overcome the rule-breaking actions of their heel opponents to cleanly win matches. Ricky was one of the few wrestlers who stayed a babyface throughout his lengthy career.
Ricky remains is one of the most legendary performers in the history of sports entertainment. The popular superstar made his name in the Carolina territory and went on to become a fan favorite in WCW and WWE. His legendary three wrestling matches with Rick Flair for the NWA Championshipand are widely considered to be the three greatest professional wrestling matches of the 20th century.
Ricky was given the name "Ricky Steamboat" by wrestling promoter Eddie Graham due to his strong resemblance to wrestling legend Sam Steamboat (Sam Mokahai). Sam even endorsed the name change and allowed them to bill the "Ricky Steamboat" character as his son. He retired from the ring in September 2003 due to injuries and works for WWE as a road agent.
So to celebrate Ricky's birthday, we
suggest making a
Red Dragon Pie and renting
out the DVD, "Ricky Steamboat The Life Story of the
Dragon" while gobbling up this tasty vegetation version of a shepherd
pie made with Chinese aduki beans. The Chinese name adukis means "red
dragon" from where this dish gets the name. Aduki beans are small, dried,
reddish brown meaty-tasting beans, with a white ridge along one side.
They are grown in Thailand, China, Japan, and the upper Midwestern United
States. If your local grocer doesn't stock them (for shame), you can order
them from Nut Online(http://www.nutsonline.com)