The AEW recently saw the retirement of one of the biggest pro wrestling legends of all time, Sting. The crowbar-wielding superstar retired as one-half of the AEW World Tag Team Champions along with Darby Allin. However, Tony Khan needed new title holders for the now vacant belts, which saw a mishap happen before everyone.
AEW Superstars Ricky Starks and Big Bill entered the contest to reclaim their titles after losing them to Darby Allin and Sting. However, an accident during the AEW World Tag Team Championship Tournament resulted in Ricky Starks appearing to sustain severe injuries. Neither Tony Khan nor AEW fans were able to anticipate this. In fact, seeing him visibly struggle in the ring made several fans worried about his health.
When widespread fan concern made Ricky Starks break his silence
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According to a tweet on X by CEO AO, “Ricky Starks appeared to get legitimately hurt tonight in his match against Top Flight. Didn’t kick out of a pin earlier in the match. And then they scrambled to do an improvised finish where he lost anyway. Wishing him the best. #AEW #AEWCollision.” The tweet also carried an image of a referee checking up on Tony Khan’s top wrestler.
Ricky Starks appeared to get legitimately hurt tonight in his match against Top Flight. Didn’t kick out of a pin earlier in the match and then they scrambled to do an improvised finish where he lost anyway.
Wishing him the best. #AEW #AEWCollision pic.twitter.com/Ejhq4LfQHM
— CEO AO💰 (@KXNGAO) March 31, 2024
The conclusion of the match was supposed to be reached after a few pinfall attempts. The result of the quarter-final match was a big upset for the audience of Tony Khan. However, fans were more worried about the health of Ricky Starks than the result of the match.
Relieving their anxieties, Starks added a story on Instagram and wrote, “I’m all good, everything checked out fine. Was being precautious.” Notably, this was the first match he and Big Bill participated in since losing their titles in February.
A medical team checked on Starks to ensure that he didn’t suffer any serious injuries. Interestingly, Top Flight wasn’t supposed to win the tag team match against Starks and Bill.
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When one of Tony Khan’s biggest stars had to settle for a loss
According to Fightful.com, Big Bill and Ricky Starks were supposed to advance to the semi-final round of the AEW Tag Team Championship. However, the occurrence of the accident in real time saw the title favorites having to drop out of the contest.
This naturally disappointed several fans of Tony Khan’s AEW, since the duo was the favorite for recapturing the top gold. The health update posted by Ricky Starks, however, will definitely give the AEW fans a new hope.
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The upcoming tournament may see Top Flight securing the titles and Starks and Bill entering a feud with them. Moreover, they can do the same with another tag team pair who become the new champions. What are your thoughts on this? Let them flow in the comments.