Sting And Darby Allin Win AEW World Tag Team Championship On Dynamite

Sting will seemingly retire in All Elite Wrestling a champion, though Matthew and Nicholas Jackson did their best to take out “The Icon” following his win with Darbin Allin on Wednesday’s episode of “AEW Dynamite.”

Sting and Allin, an undefeated team, faced off against Big Bill and Ricky Starks for the titles in the main event. The match was billed as a tornado tag and saw both teams immediately go to the outside, with Sting waiting to hit a drop on their opponents from a set of steps high above the actual ring ropes. Bill and Starks regained control, however, and sent both Sting and Allin out of the ring. 

Sting battled back in the match after Big Bill had the legend wrapped up in the ropes. Starks attempted to hit “The Icon” with his own Scorpion Death Drop, though Sting was able to kick out with the help of Allin. Allin hit a Coffin Drop to Big Bill, and Sting was able to get Starks into a Scorpion Death Lock for the win. Following the match, Matt and Nick (now going by their “government” names of Matthew and Nicholas Jackson) beat down the duo of Sting and Allin, foreshadowing what is widely expected to be their match at AEW Revolution — a match which, presumably, will now be for the tag titles. It will also be the final match of Sting’s career, as he announced back in October.

AEW’s Ricky Starks Offers His Thoughts On Partnership With Big Bill

Ricky Starks and Big Bill have been the AEW World Tag Team Champions since October 2023. Speaking with “Gabby AF,” Starks was asked about adjusting to teaming with the former WWE star following a run as a singles performer.

“Me and Big Bill came together after All In,” Starks said. “Me managing him, and then it turning into a tag team. It’s been fun. It’s been very cool to see how things have escalated. Me personally, though, I always tell people, ‘We aren’t a tag team. Yes, we’re the tag team champions, but we’re singles wrestlers.’ Because I don’t want someone to think, like, you know, ‘Hey, blah blah blah.’ So at the end of the day, he is a great dude to be with. We are just two co-workers just making it by. We’re tag team champions. We’ve really made something out of nothing, and I think that’s something to be said for both of us in terms of our talent and ability.”

Starks and Bill first teamed up on the September 16, 2023, “AEW Collision” against Blackpool Combat Club’s Bryan Danielson and Claudio Castagnoli. Three weeks later, Starks and Bill captured the AEW World Tag Team Championship from FTR (Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood). Since winning the gold, the duo has successfully retained the belts against Castagnoli and Wheeler Yuta of the BCC and Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara. They also emerged victorious in a four-way ladder match at Full Gear 2023.

Why Ricky Starks Says He Doesn’t Want A Match With Newest AEW Star Adam Copeland

Adam Copeland’s name has been on the tip of many AEW wrestler’s tongues as of late, with a plethora of stars making it clear they’d like to share the ring with him. However, the same cannot be said for one-half of the new AEW World Tag Team Champions, Ricky Starks. “The answer is no,” he told “Battleground Podcast” when asked if he’d like to face Copeland. “Adam didn’t mention my name so I’m not going to mention his name.” 

Copeland named the likes of Sting and Samoa Joe as people he wants to face, but Starks does think that Copeland’s signing is a good thing. He likes seeing new faces join the company, particularly when they are willing to help, something that Copeland has made clear he wants to do. “I think that can only benefit everybody, obviously. So, I am excited to see the different matchups that he’s able to have within AEW,” he said. “I just think it’s very exciting, it’s a very exciting time, especially for people who may have fallen out of wrestling. To hear Adam Copeland is back, I think it’s good, I really do.” 

However, Starks made it clear that out of the two of them, it is he who has the better Spear, and there is only one top dog that can use it in the company. “We are going to have to nip that in the bud when we can,” he said. “It’s just minor housekeeping rules when you come in AEW don’t tug on Superman’s cape, don’t piss in the wind, and don’t do the Spear, because that’s my stuff.”

Ricky Starks And Big Bill Upset FTR, Win AEW World Tag Team Championship On Collision

After 185 days, FTR no longer holds the AEW World Tag Team Championship. Tonight’s “AEW Collision” opened with Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler defending the belts against Ricky Starks and Big Bill in a very short match, with the challengers moving fast to take advantage of the banged-up champions.

Much of the bout consisted of Big Bill delivering punishment to Harwood, with Wheeler being taken out early and then slammed through a table mid-match. Despite doing his best to stay in the match, Harwood was hit by a series of chokeslams from Bill Big as well as a spear from Starks to close out the match.

Tonight marked the ninth title defense for FTR after winning the title from Austin and Colten Gunn in April. Over the course of their reign, they’ve defended against the Young Bucks, Aussie Open, MJF and Adam Cole, Bullet Club Gold, and more.

The partnership between Starks and Big Bill began in August when Starks was suspended in a storyline and resorted to becoming a manager. Starks chose Big Bill as a client, and the two have been working together ever since, leading to tonight’s victory.

It’s unlikely that the conflict between FTR and the new champions is over, with this feud having much more to offer. Both Harwood and Wheeler decided to stay with AEW when their contracts were coming up early this year, and both men have indicated they plan to retire from wrestling full-time when their current deals expire. It seems the two men have just a few years left to fully solidify their legacy within wrestling, but for now, they are without tag titles.

Owen Hart Cup Winners Crowned On AEW Collision

With the finals of this year’s Owen Hart Cup taking place on last night’s AEW Collision, it’s Willow Nightingale and Ricky Starks who emerged victorious in their respective finals matches.

In the second match of the night, Nightingale scored the 1-2-3 on Ruby Soho after hitting the Outcasts member with a powerbomb. This win came after Willow overcame Ruby’s shenanigans involving her patented can of spray paint. Post-match, Tony Khan presented Nightingale with the women’s Owen Hart Cup at the top of the Collision stage.

The main event of Collision saw Ricky Starks overcome the odds to hand CM Punk his first lost since the Second City Saint returned to AEW last month. That’s not to say this was an entirely clean victory, mind. For the finish, Absolute grabbed the second rope to gain extra leverage on a roll-up.

Whereas Willow Nightingale was presented with the Owen by Tony Khan, it was a different scenario for Ricky Starks. Collision went off the air before Starks could get his hands on the trophy, but the opening moments of AEW Battle of the Belts VII – a show which immediately followed Collision – had the legendary Jushin ‘Thunder’ Liger come out to present the Stroke Daddy with his prize. Unfortunately for Liger – who famously trained in the Hart Dungeon, worked for Stu Hart’s Stampede Wrestling, and is an iconic rival of Owen Hart’s – Ricky completely blew past him as Starks grabbed the trophy for himself.

Battle of the Belts VII would later see an official ceremony for Willow and Ricky, with Dr. Martha Hart on hand as part of this celebration.

Elsewhere on this week’s AEW Collision, FTR retained the AEW Tag Team Titles against Bullet Club Gold’s Jay White and Juice Robinson in yet another Match of the Year contender; Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler securing a 2-1 victory in this two-out-of-three-falls bout. Given how that match went just shy of an hour, that left just enough time for Malakai Black and Brody King to get a squash victory sandwiched between the two Owen matches.

Ricky Starks Blasts AEW’s Four Pillars: “I Hate The Idea…”

Ricky Starks remains unconvinced of AEW’s ‘Four Pillars’ concept, which identified MJF, Darby Allin, ‘Jungle Boy’ Jack Perry, and Sammy Guevara as integral to the promotion prior to Full Gear 2021.

Speaking on The Corner Podcast, Starks effectively said that earmarking certain wrestlers as ‘Pillars’ undermined others. While he is flattered to be referred to as a “Fifth Pillar,” Starks says he doesn’t need the tag, calling it “a box within itself.”

Said Starks (h/t Fightful):

“I actually hate the idea of pillars. I loathe the idea of a pillar because one, it’s a full gimmick, and it came from one guy who, there’s nothing behind it. To say that these four dudes are the pillars of the company, you know what you’re doing by saying that? F everybody else who did anything. Those people don’t matter. It’s these three guys that we’ve deemed, ‘I have bestowed this sacred title upon thee, and I want you to go forth and do with it.’ No, I don’t believe in that. It’s a very sweet gesture to say Ricky should be considered a fifth pillar. Baby, I don’t need to be a pillar, okay? I can be a foundation. I can be the roof. I can be the person outside maintaining the lawn. I don’t need none of that. To me, that’s a box within itself. Four pillars, you got me, ‘What? Four pillars? Four pillars of what? Name one coliseum that you know that’s famous. I bet you couldn’t even do that.”

AEW’s ‘Pillars’ contested the company’s World Championship at Double Or Nothing 2023 this past weekend, with MJF successfully defending the strap on a four-way bout. Starks, meanwhile, was in the night’s Blackjack Battle Royal, eliminating rivals Juice Robinson and Jay White.

This isn’t the first time Ricky has talked about the ‘Four Pillars’ idea. He commented in February 2022:

“To me, the whole pillar talk is hilarious in a sense, because it’s so self-indulgent. It’s nothing that was bestowed upon them. That was just something that came from them. So I usually don’t think about it in that regard. Like, ‘I’m not included in this.’ Who cares? Because to me I’m gonna be much bigger than whatever the pillar is. I’m gonna be much bigger than wrestling, in a sense.”

Last night’s Dynamite saw Starks challenge Jay White to a one-on-one match on next week’s show.

Ricky Starks Used To Hate His AEW Entrance Music

AEW has paid licensing fees for a variety of entrance songs, including “Tarzan Boy” for Jack Perry and “Carry on Wayward Son” for The Elite, but that hasn’t been the case for Ricky Starks’ old theme, “Touch The Sky” by Kanye West. Starks used the song on the indies and it became a big part of his character, but he was given a new track in AEW, and admitted to the “Swerve City Podcast” that he “actually hated the song” the first time he heard it. Starks’ AEW theme was created by Mikey Rukus, and ended up growing on the “Absolute” AEW star, becoming popular with fans as well. However, the first time he heard it was when the fans did, as Starks wasn’t aware of what it would be beforehand, explaining why he had to grow into appreciating it and adding his own personality to the entrance.

“I think Rukus did a great job with it,” Starks said. “But, I grew into liking it a lot and now it’s pretty much a signature for me. Of course with the horns and the ‘Revolution will be televised’ I think it still adds to me as a person, onscreen, offscreen, it all ties in.”

Starks’ character has evolved from what he was doing on the independent scene, which he admitted was “stroke daddy inspired” with the baseball jersey, chain, and bandana. However, fashion still remains a big part of what he does, as evidenced by his various eye-catching looks during Starks’ recent rise up the card in AEW.

Ricky Starks Discusses Leaving NWA And AEW Debut

AEW star Ricky Starks made his debut for the company in June of 2020, answering an open challenge from Cody Rhodes for the TNT Championship. Prior to that, Starks was contracted with Billy Corgan’s NWA, and even served as that company’s Television Champion. During a recent appearance on “Casual Conversations With The Classic,” Starks spoke about the process of moving on from the NWA and debuting for the company that would soon become his new home.

“I left NWA. There was an option to renew the contract … and I said, ‘Nah, I’m good,'” Starks said. “The reason I did that is because I’m the type of person that, if I think I’ve got the most out of something, and there’s a ceiling that I’m about to hit, I just will take a gamble on myself, and I’ll just bounce.” Starks revealed that he was not under contract anywhere, and was just making money off of his merch, when he received the message from AEW to come in for the open challenge against Rhodes.

“The wild thing is I had visions of this,” Starks continued. The AEW star shared that he envisioned Rhodes laying out the challenge, followed by a promo package featuring himself, and then finally he would then come out and have a match against the TNT Champion. That’s exactly how things went down upon his debut, even though Starks wasn’t initially slated to have a promo package.

Throughout his time in AEW, Starks has feuded against the likes of Darby Allin, former Team Taz partners Brian Cage and Will Hobbs, and most recently AEW World Champion Maxwell Jacob Friedman. Following last week’s “AEW Dynamite,” the 11-year veteran is now set to face off against Chris Jericho on the January 4 edition of “Dynamite” in Seattle, Washington.

Ricky Starks Shoots On Why He Hates Backstage ‘Drama Stuff’ That Piques Interest

Over the past few weeks, stories have emerged regarding backstage turmoil in AEW, from heat to near backstage fights to heat on Thunder Rosa. How much of that is a snapshot into the AEW backstage environment and how much is overblown remains to be seen, but one thing is for sure: “Absolute” Ricky Starks is not a fan of drama in the slightest.

In an appearance on the “Battleground Podcast,” the AEW star discussed the changes in the AEW locker room and why he hates backstage drama, while also attempting to downplay just how serious the issues actually are.

“The locker room has definitely changed,” Starks said. “Where we were once really, really close, we’ve expanded that. And we’re still close, but we just have more people in the family now, more people that sit at the table. I definitely think that the drama of the backstage stuff, while it does pique the interest of people online and whatnot, I fucking hate it. And the reason I hate it is because it kind of overshadows the stuff that happens on TV. And for that, I’d rather not be involved with it. But we have people backstage that have loose lips, and that’s what happens. And now we have created this scenario where we have all the rumors and speculation. Because that’s all it is. I promise you, what you read is not necessarily true.”

Onscreen, Starks is currently embroiled in a feud with former tag team partner Powerhouse Hobbs, who betrayed Starks in late July. The two will go one on one this Sunday at AEW All Out.

Shocking Title Change On AEW Dynamite!

Ricky Starks defended his FTW Championship against Danhausen Wednesday night as advertised, but he didn’t lose his title to his very nice, very evil challenger.

Absolute dispatched with Danhausen pretty quickly after a spear, then grabbed the mic like he did last week and issued an open challenge, pledging that this time was for real. (Last week, Danhausen answered the call, but Starks pushed it off to this episode of Dynamite.)

However, someone decided to send Hook. The cold-hearted handsome devil answered the challenge and bested Starks, despite eating a spear. He managed to reverse a Roshambo into a REDRUM for the tap-out and his first wrestling title. Just like that, Hook is now holding the same rogue title that his father, Taz, introduced in ECW more than 24 years ago, before Hook was even born.

#AndNEW!!! #FTW Champion is now none other than the Cold-hearted Handsome Devil, #HOOK @730Hook! #AEWDynamite #FightForTheFallen is LIVE on @TBSNetwork! pic.twitter.com/2YRk809qDg

— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) July 28, 2022

Afterwards, Hook and Starks shared a fist bump as Team Taz partners before Powerhouse Hobbs shockingly turned on Ricky in a post-match angle, breaking their union.

Hook has amassed an 11-0 record to start his professional wrestling career, and also managed to amass a pretty big following. He recently has been palling around with Danhausen and seemingly had gotten sidetracked – he had only wrestled once since a tag match at the Double or Nothing buy-in – but this title win could set him up nicely.