WWE legend Ricky ‘The Dragon' Steamboat once lost his pet iguana in the Spectrum

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Did any of you happen to see a 6-foot long iguana around the Spectrum or roaming the streets of South Philadelphia sometime back in the '80s? If you did, WWE Hall of Famer Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat would probably like to speak with you. Fellow WWE Hall of Famer “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan (HOOOOOOOOOOO!) was interviewed by Brian Haddad on WIP last night and shared yet another tale of Spectrum lore, this one about the time Steamboat lost his pet iguana somewhere in the arena and never saw it again. The building was a stronghold of the then-WWF during pro wrestling’s territory era of the 1970s and 80s and the organization would hold shows multiple times a year there during that time period. During last night’s interview, Duggan told Haddad that Steamboat let the iguana loose during one of the WWF’s stops at the Spectrum back in the day and never saw the lizard ever again. “Ricky ‘The Dragon’ Steamboat lost his iguana,” Duggan said. “He had a big, giant iguana that he used to carry and it got loose in the Spectrum and disappeared. So the big rumor in the old Philly Spectrum was that the thing grew to six feet long eating grass in the Spectrum.” Grass, spiders, rats, ticket stubs, decades-old stale popcorn – you name it and that runaway iguana probably ate it in the Spectrum. Despite the fact they each no longer exist, old-school WWF and the Spectrum are gifts that just keep on giving.

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