By James Caldwell, PWTorch.com assistant editor

Ricky Steamboat says he's 80 percent of what he used to be as Ricky "the Dragon" when he was one of the top wrestlers 15-20 years ago. Steamboat says keeps in shape by working with today's wrestlers to help them grow as performers.

"I know I am not the Dragon that I was 15 years ago," Steamboat told Slam Wrestling in a recent interview. "I am probably about 80 percent of what I was. I can still move pretty good and hit the ropes and come off the top. I feel good about myself."

Steamboat says he won't embarrass himself at WrestleMania 25 when he teams with Roddy Piper and Jimmy Snuka to face Chris Jericho. He's thankful to have Piper and Snuka with him to share the load in what is now a gauntlet match against Jericho.

"I've been asked about being embarrassed but I am very comfortable," Steamboat said. "I don't know long I will be able to go in this match, thank goodness I have help from Snuka and Piper, but personally I feel good about it."

Twenty years ago, Steamboat and Ric Flair had an epic three-match series in WCW that stands the test of time as one of the great wrestling series in the modern era of wrestling. Steamboat says he enjoys passing along his knowledge from that series and another matches to the current WWE wrestlers.

"Some stuff I show young wrestlers, people haven't seen in 15 years. I show it to them and the gratification I get is when I see them do it out there in a match," Steamboat said. "What was old can be brought back new, and I bring that to the table. I bring mannerisms, facials, body language, positioning. Things can be fast paced in the ring but I was very particular in knowing to be in the right time at the right place."

Caldwell's Analysis: What's old is going to have to become new again in the current era of wrestling. Most of today's audience has seen every possible gimmick match, cheap trick to generate a response, or weapon shot that raised the bar too high. A simple punch doesn't mean as much because the audience has seen a sledgehammer. It's good to have veterans involved in the process because they have an abundance of old tricks in their "producer's bag" that newer fans haven't seen before to generate a reaction or a passionate response.

Link: Slam Wrestling interview with Steamboat.

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