10 New Directions For AEW After Forbidden Door 2023
5. Ricky Starks Winning Men’s Owen Hart Cup
This might be a tad controversial.
CM Punk breezed past Satoshi Kojima at Forbidden Door, and he'll wrestle either Samoa Joe or Roderick Strong in the semis. Let's face it, he's working Joe there. Dustin Rhodes vs. Powerhouse Hobbs and Ricky Starks vs Juice Robinson are the other quarter-finals on the men's side of the Owen Hart Cup.
Ideally, Punk either beats Joe then loses in the final, or members of The Elite screw him out of that semi vs. Joe. Elsewhere, Starks is really the standout candidate to take the trophy. He should, because slick Rick is begging for something more from Tony Khan at the moment.
Ricky needs to win this more than Punk or anyone else involved does. That's especially true if management eventually tacks on some sort of number one contendership gimmick to give the Owen Hart stuff some extra oomph every year it happens.
Time to push some new stars properly.