The men's tournament is capped off by a bout between babyfaces Ricky Starks and CM Punk. Starks realizes that a victory over Punk may be monumental for his career.
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This Saturday night (July 15) on AEW Collision, the men’s and women’s Owen Hart tournaments will come to a close.
The men’s tournament is capped off by a bout between babyfaces Ricky Starks and CM Punk. Starks realizes that a victory over Punk may be monumental for his career.
Ricky described CM as the biggest star in pro wrestling today during an appearance on Sportsnet’s “The Big Show” with Patrick Dumas.
“I’m pretty stoked, honestly. I’m no stranger to having these types of big opportunities, especially in AEW, and I feel like every time I’ve gotten each opportunity, I’ve knocked it out the park. So I don’t think this will be any different. And of course, it’s CM Punk, the biggest name in professional wrestling right now. And what better way to show what I have against that guy, you know?”
If Ricky hasn’t heard of a particular Tribal Chief, he might not realize that CM Punk isn’t even the biggest name on the AEW roster.
Regardless, Ricky is definitely on to something by hyping up Punk in this way; if he wins the tournament, he can double down on this claim and boast about defeating the best wrestler in the world. Starks admits Punk’s talent but insists he won’t elevate him:
“To me, I am shoulder-to-shoulder with CM Punk in my head. We are equals. One thing that I do want to get across to Punk and everyone else is that, regardless of what has been done in someone’s career, and what has been done in AEW, the fact will remain is that I am a person that can stand on my own. I can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with anyone. I can go toe-to-toe with any single person [on the] microphone, in the ring. And I feel like I’ve proven that with MJF and I’ve proven that with Chris Jericho. So I don’t see this being any different with CM Punk.”
Nearly two years ago, when CM Punk first joined AEW, he made a big deal out of mentoring the promotion’s up-and-coming talents. One way to do this would be to beat Starks in the Owen tournament.
Punk, however, appears to be carrying about a bag that has his former AEW world title, calling into question MJF’s legitimacy as the rightful owner of that title. Punk may not be able to lose a singles bout as long as he is promoted as the true world champion.
For more news and information about AEW
Read: “CM Punk is one of the greatest wrestlers of all time” – Matt Hardy
Read: “MJF will not have a lot of freedom in WWE” – Chris Jericho
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