12 Ups & 0 Downs From AEW Dynamite (23 Nov - Review)

6. Ricky Starks Topples Ethan Page, Advances To MJF

Matches like this demonstrate Ricky Starks' value as a week-to-week television wrestler.

It's not that 'Absolute's' battle with Ethan Page was one of the best of the year, but that it was extremely effective. This was a neat, tidy story wrapped in a 13-minute runtime, playing on recent events to establish the victor as a hotter title challenger than when he walked in.

Starks was feeling the impact of facing Lance Archer and Brian Cage in quick succession. Beaten down by Archer before their match then put through the meat grinder, he walked out with half his torso taped up. The psychology, therefore, was Page, the bully, going after the clear weakness, dominating for long periods, and Starks making fiery comebacks. Ricky sold like a pro for his part, entering a superb defensive performance before sparking back up, reduced primarily to hope spots for long, long periods.

It took three Spears to eventually put 'All Ego' down. Going to these lengths sold Ethan as a credible pillar for Ricky to topple, meaning Page lost nothing in defeat - particularly as manager Stokely Hathaway was ejected halfway through.

Starks now emerges a stronger babyface for having fought such adversity. He is well-positioned to face MJF at Winter Is Coming, though it's hard to tell how audiences will receive