Ranking Every AEW Championship Reign Of 2023
12. Ricky Starks And Big Bill - AEW World Tag Team Championship
Open challenges are good for giving developing talents a chance to shine in a "you did your best, kid" kind of way. They're showcases that, at their best, elevate everyone involved. In today's wrestling landscape, where plans and booking decisions often find their way online in advance, a genuine surprise can be hard to come by.
All of this to say that nobody expected the rather new pairing of Ricky Starks and Big Bill to take the AEW Tag Team Championships off of FTR on a random episode of Collision.
It's a great rehabilitation for both stars, for different reasons. In the case of Big Bill, it's a show of faith after personal issues that almost derailed his career. For Starks, it's a way to sustain the momentum he had scraped back after getting lost in the shuffle.
This kind of welcome surprise felt like what AEW had once been all about. More of this please!