Longtime fans of of sports-entertainment remember Ricky Steamboat as the fire-breathing “Dragon” of the ring, who competed in epic battles against Charlotte Flair’s dad, Randy Orton’s dad, and various other famous dads of the squared circle. 

But despite his incredible in-ring performances — such as his WrestleMania 3 showdown against Lanny Poffo’s brother — Steamboat will almost certainly NEVER earn the sport’s highest honor: induction into the WWE Hall of Fame. 

“Steamboat in the Hall of Fame? It’ll never happen,” said veteran wrestling journalist Dan Mutzler on a recent episode of the Wrestling Voyeur Podcast. 

Mutzler explained that a little-known rule within the WWE Hall of Fame Induction Procedure Charter states that wrestlers are only eligible for induction if “they have performed as both a babyface and a heel,” adding that Steamboat “never got a boo in his whole career.”

The Induction Charter states that: “A sports-entertainer who has sports-entertained either solely beloved or solely despised by sports-entertainees is not eligible for induction, so sayeth Saint Vincent.”

Steamboat, for his part, has released a public statement on the matter: “Actually, everyone, I’m already in the WWE Hall of Fame. So I’m kind of confused about all this.” 

But we checked the Hall of Fame induction records of practically every year — 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, and so on — and saw no evidence to support Steamboat’s claims.