INQUIRER Sports

PRO WRESTLING LEGEND RICKY ?THE Dragon? Steamboat finds the urge to return to the ring too strong to resist, but the 56-year-old isn?t ready for a full-blown comeback just yet.

Still looking trim, Steamboat, whose real name is Richard Henry Blood, said the ?awe-inspiring response? of fans after he appeared in a World Wrestling Entertainment pay-per-view event a few months ago prompted him to fight again after a 15-year hiatus.

?The e-mails that I got from the fans around the world enabled me to continue,? Steamboat, who now works as a road agent in the WWE, said yesterday during a round table discussion with select reporters.

?But I?m only going to do this periodically just as long as my body can handle it,? said Steamboat, known for his high-risk moves like the cross body drop.

Steamboat rose to prominence when he beat ?Macho Man? Randy Savage during Wrestlemania III before 93,000 fans in the Pontiac Silverdome in Detroit in 1987.

Steamboat is part of the WWE entourage staging ?WWE ECW and Smackdown Live in Manila? tonight at the Araneta Coliseum.

?It was the wonder if I could do it again; the challenge if I could pull it off,? said Steamboat, still nursing a cut on his lower lip which he sustained when he was a guest referee for a match recently.

Among the WWE superstars appearing in tonight?s eight matches are Jeff Hardy, Rey Mysterio, Edge, CM Punk, Chris Jericho, Kane, Umaga and diva Michelle McCool.