10 Wrestling Matches That Were Controversially CANCELLED

8. CM Punk Vs Ricky Starks (AEW All Out 2023)

Roman Reigns Goldberg
AEW

Though a graphic was never produced and an official announcement was never made, CM Punk Vs Ricky Starks was as good as sold shortly before the former's acrimonious exit from the company.

With All In and All Out just seven days apart, several big names had to have multiple stories on the go at once, and Punk's Wembley showdown with Samoa Joe was paired neatly with his ongoing dispute with 'Absolute' over several absorbing weeks on Collision.

Starks brought everything to the boil between the two when - having lost conclusively to "Real World Champion" Punk on television, he whipped guest referee Ricky Steamboat with his belt. A strap match looked sure to be the stipulation coming out of All in, but when the conversation moved to everything that happened behind the camera rather than in front of it, Ricky Starks was short one opponent.

It was negative-to-positive stuff for him in the end. Starks versus last-minute replacement Bryan Danielson at All Out was the best match of his career, but for now at least, the CM Punk saga remains unfinished.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett