It was on the first-ever episode of Throwing Down with Renee & Miesha (Tate), that AEW star and FTW Champion, Ricky Starks spoke his mind on a plethora of subjects, specifically the arrival of CM Punk to AEW and his thoughts on WWE and how their treatment of the fans disturbs him, and how AEW doesn’t treat the fans at all in the same way.
On CM Punk
Not one to break kayfabe, Starks stayed in character when the topic of CM Punk was first brought up during the interview, he stated:
“…I really have no clue what’s going on with Punk…I know that Hobbs is gonna handle some stuff for me in terms of Punk, but the guy, he called me out. I appreciate the spotlight there, but I’m kind of tied up with Brian Cage…I have to get through that obstacle before I move on to Punk and see what he’s about. But hey, if it keeps drawing me attention, I say, Punk, keep my name in your mouth. Keep it going. I welcome it…”
But when asked about Punk’s being there in AEW, he switched gears a tad:
“…It’s been great. I know that he is a very hard worker…Backstage, he’s very mindful of everyone and their matches, and making sure he talks to them and critiques them afterwards, and he’s very approachable too. So I think having Punk back there is a big morale boost…”
via Throwing Down /Wrestling Inc (Transcription)
On WWE’s treatment of wrestling fans overall
It was on the same episode of Throwing Down with Renee & Miesha, that Ricky talked about WWE and the product that they’ve been putting forth as of late and how that directly results in a sort of mistreatment of the audience…the WWE getting away scot-free. He said:
“…Well, everyone says AEW is the alternative but I really think it’s the first choice now…AEW is great in the fact that, one, I think WWE has such a fan base that they can insult the audience and kind of get away with it. If you watched a TV show, let’s say Lost. I feel like Lost insulted my intelligence halfway through, and I kind of fell out of love with it. AEW’s the opposite of that. You stay attached, and you’re rewarded for watching long…Even for people who haven’t followed wrestling, there (are) people on the show that you can connect to because they’re authentic personalities. And I think watching it, there’s something for everybody. And so, having new viewers like Miesha or someone who’s falling back into wrestling, AEW provides that sweet spot where watch it, you’ll have fun. You won’t feel stupid for watching…”
via Throwing Down /Wrestling Inc (Transcription)
In recent months, WWE has been dishing out a product on Raw that is lackluster to say the least, only changing things around for the better with the latest episode, where Big E ended up as WWE champion defeating Bobby Lashley for the WWE Championship—this resulting in some positive feedback, but for the longest time, WWE has ended most of its produced shows with very disappointing results.
As a member of Team Taz, Starks will be supporting his buddy, Powerhouse Hobbs in his battle coming up on Rampage where he will face CM Punk, as stated by him earlier in this piece, and he has an ongoing feud with Brian Cage that fans are dying to see culminate in quite a battle.
