8 Ups & 4 Downs For AEW Collision (19 August)

Downs...

4. A Slight Downgrade For Ricky Starks

Ricky Starks has undoubtedly been one of the shining stars of AEW Collision so far, perfectly highlighting how an extra two hours of programming has allowed for AEW to give underutilised talents an opportunity to mark themselves out as a major player.

Likewise, Big Bill has become a brilliant asset to AEW as the smirking, lollypop-chomping cocksure powerhouse who can 'go'.

However, pairing Starks and Bill together on Collision just felt like a downgrade for Absolute.

Pretty Ricky has gone from butting heads with CM Punk, challenging for the Real Worlds Championship, and beating the crap out of an all-time legend like Ricky Steamboat, to now managing a midcard big man in a one-minute squash match.

Yes, Starks can and likely will pick things up once again with Punk once the Second City Saint gets done with Samoa Joe at All In, and yes, Big Bill could possibly work as a piece of the puzzle in Ricky's promised "war" on Punk and AEW, but this week's Collision sadly felt like a bit of a backwards step for Starks in terms of wider perception from the audience.

He may well have a significant role to play at All Out - a strap match against CM Punk, maybe? - but it's absolutely baffling that, by all accounts and purposes, Ricky Starks is being benched for All In. For those of us thinking that the Stroke Daddy getting his manager's license could lead to Starks cornering Samoa Joe against Punker at All In, that looks not to be the case.