Lex Luger Recalls WWE Hall Of Famer Teaching Him How To Call A Match

Learning how to call a match inside the ring is an important part of a wrestler's development, as it's how wrestlers dictate what is going to happen bell-to-bell, and Lex Luger praised Ricky Steamboat for being the man who taught him. "I always was led by guys like Ric and everything, held my hand and called the whole match in the ring," Luger told "Under The Ring." "It takes experience and a more experienced guy always called a match, so I never learned how to call a match. Ricky Steamboat, I call him the teacher." 

The two men were able to have a seven-month program together over the United States Championship, and it was throughout that period that Steamboat guided the "Total Package" in the art of calling an encounter inside the ring. The "Dragon" did it step-by-step, initially spending a month teaching Luger to call the opening of the match, then the middle, and then the finish until letting Luger do it all on pay-per-view.

"He goes, 'I want you to call the whole thing.' Man, I was on cloud nine, I took a slam off the top, things I'd never done in the ring before because I wanted to have such a great match for Ricky and him allowing me to call the whole match, I was so excited I was like a little kid in a candy store." AEW attempted to hire Steamboat as a producer and coach in the past, proving how well-respected he is in terms of his ability to teach people things, which Luger got to experience hands-on. "That's why I call him the teacher. To this day I'm still very thankful," he said. "Ricky is an incredible guy, he really is. It's hard to have a bad match with Ricky 'The Dragon' Steamboat.'"

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Under The Ring" with a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.