WWE: Richie Steamboat's Biggest Battle in WWE May Be with Dad's Good-Guy Legacy

If Richie Steamboat…no, make that when Richie Steamboat…makes it to WWE’s main roster, he has a big battle awaiting him.

No, that battle will not be with the Big Show, Tensai or Brodus Clay. It will be with his father, Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat.

Specifically, his father’s legacy.

Every second- or third-generation wrestler comes to the big time with a certain amount of expectation and pre-judgment: How will they compare to their fathers and/or grandfathers?

But with Steamboat, it’s a little more complicated.

His father, a WWE Hall of Famer, is among a small group of wrestlers who never turned heel during their careers. So it is to be expected that Richie will follow in his father’s footsteps and stay a face.

Or is it?

In the wrestling industry, today’s babyface is tomorrow’s heel and vice versa. The average wrestler will change character several times in a career. Even the great Andre the Giant heard the boos at one time, and he is considered one of the most beloved wrestlers in history.

That is what might make Richie Steamboat’s future in WWE a little more difficult to maneuver.

If he stays a face, then he is continuing the plan laid out by his father. If he goes heel, then that could be a slap in his father's face.

You see, the other sons and daughters who followed their dads into the ring did not have that dilemma.

Their fathers were both good and evil in the eyes of the fans. Legends such as Curt Hennig, Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka and Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart were all cheered and jeered during their careers.

They did not stick to one side of the fence.

But Ricky Steamboat never heard the boos in his 18-year career. A heel turn was never considered, nor was it even teased during that time. Steamboat being cheered was as reliable as the sunrise.

That is something Richie Steamboat cannot control but will have to overcome.

The WWE Creative Team is used to writing storylines that turn faces to heels and heels to faces. They do have a little history with a constant-face storyline because John Cena has been a face since 2003.

Richie Steamboat provides them with a challenge.

Right now, he is tearing up NXT as a face character, but will he keep that good-guy persona once he starts appearing regularly on Raw or SmackDown?

I’m sure Ricky Steamboat is the first to say he wants his son to step out of his shadow and be his own person. But it’s going to be difficult, especially for longtime wrestling fans, to hear the name “Steamboat” followed by loud booing.

Better get the coffee pots going, C-Team.

You are going to need them.

Follow Bill Atkinson on Twitter at @BAtkinson1963.