Ricky Steamboat requested the post-match segment where Ricky Starks attacked him on AEW Collision.
On the August 5 episode of AEW Collision, Ricky Starks challenged CM Punk for the "real" AEW World Championship. WWE Hall of Famer Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat was the special outside official, and he shoved Starks' feet off the ropes at the end of the bout. He then counted the winning pin for Punk. After the bell, Starks snapped and attacked Steamboat. He went so far as to whip the legend with his own belt.
Speaking with Nick Hausman for Haus of Wrestling, Cameron “Ceehawk” Hawkins of The Ringer provided some insight into the match and the angle after the bell. (H/t Haus of Wrestling for the transcription.)
“A bit of a Collision note. So, in the original finish, like after the match, Ricky Steamboat was gonna chop Starks, and that was going to be it. Ricky Steamboat pulls Rick and Punk into a room and tells them the finish that we saw. It brought Rick to tears because he appreciated it so much. So, salute to Ricky Steamboat for making a good thing, a great thing," Hawkins said.
Hawkins then clarified that he talked to Starks after the match, which is how he learned about Steamboat's request. He went on to recall the conversation he had with Starks, who detailed how Steamboat came up with the idea.
“Well, I mean, you know, that’s my man (Ricky Starks). So we talked about how things go and, you know, especially after the match, I was like, ‘You killed it.’ He was like, ‘Cam, this is what happened,’ and I was like, ‘Oh, that’s so cool.’ Yeah, man, salute to Steamboat. That’s dope. Because think about how cool and how physical and how visceral that was; Ricky Steamboat’s idea, and his whole thing was, ‘Look, man, this is supposed to make you look good. Not me,'" Hawkins said.
Haus of Wrestling noted that they were able to independently confirm Hawkins' story.
Ricky Starks recently stated that he's made for acting. Click here to see what he had to say.
Check out Starks' comments about working with Punk here.
CM Punk recently shared his thoughts on the growth of AEW Collision. Click here to see what he had to say.
