AEW News & Rumor Roundup: Major star's career "fell apart" after CM Punk's firing; Massive revelation; Huge update on Samoa Joe
Welcome to the February 19 edition of Sportskeeda Wrestling's AEW News and Rumor Roundup. In today's edition, we'll cover some trending topics like a major star's career going downhill after CM Punk was fired from All Elite Wrestling and a top star making a massive revelation. We also have a huge potential update on Samoa Joe.
#5 CM Punk's firing seemingly harmed Ricky Starks' AEW career
Ricky Starks is now in WWE. He made his debut last week on NXT. This week, he officially signed with the developmental brand and will now be known as Ricky Saints.
Following NXT, The Absolute had an interview on the Busted Open podcast. During the chat, he revealed that CM Punk's All Elite Wrestling firing was one of the reasons behind his exit.
"I can’t tell you exactly what the moment was. You could say it was [CM] Punk leaving and things kinda fell apart. Absolutely, I probably agree with you on that, alright? Or you could say that Ricky didn’t play the politics well enough. Alright, for sure (…) there’s so many things you can say."
Ricky added that he took some time off in March 2024 due to an injury. But he wasn't called back to compete on TV even after he recovered.
#4 Ricky Starks takes shots at AEW veterans
While discussing his AEW exit on the Busted Open podcast, the newest member of the NXT roster also disclosed another reason behind his AEW run falling apart.
The Absolute claimed some veterans started to meddle in his storylines, which he didn't like. He didn't name the veterans, though.
"I will say this, there are some people who stuck their nose in my creative business that shouldn’t have happened. Veterans. And that’s it, I’ll leave it at that. And if they got a problem with me, they got my number. And text me about it. I think what it was is if it didn’t work for their creative, then someone had to get the boot. That’s how I see it."
#3 Samoa Joe has reportedly re-signed with AEW
Samoa Joe signed with AEW in 2022. He's had a great run in the company thus far. The veteran was even the AEW World Champion for some time in early 2024. He's currently a member of The Opps alongside HOOK and Katsuyori Shibata.
A fan on X/Twitter recently expressed his desire to see The Samoan Submission Machine back on AEW TV. Reacting to the tweet, wrestling journalist Ibou reported that Joe had quietly re-signed with All Elite Wrestling.
#2 The Undertaker's career would've been over if he lost to Jake Roberts
Jake Roberts was the special guest on the latest edition of Six Feet Under with Mark Calaway. The Undertaker and Roberts discussed many things during the podcast.
One of the topics was what would have happened to 'Taker's career had he lost his match against Roberts at WrestleMania 8. The Hall of Famer said The Phenom's career would've been dead if he had suffered defeat at The Show of Shows as the 'Mania streak would not have happened.
"If I had covered his a** and beat him one two three, it was over, and not just over for the night, over period. Deadman would've been dead. ['The career doesn't go for thirty years?' Jake was asked.] It doesn't happen, never happens. It would just be a moment that's forgotten in time. Yeah, how foolish would that have been."
Roberts is currently signed to AEW, while The Deadman is part of WWE.
#1 Kevin Nash feels Kenny Omega is better than Logan Paul
Last year, Kenny Omega slammed Logan Paul by criticizing his in-ring talent. He claimed that the WWE star couldn't deliver consecutive top-notch matches in the G1 Climax.
On his Kliq This podcast, Kevin Nash seemingly agreed with Omega's old statement, subtly implying that Logan Paul was not on The Cleaner's level. Big Daddy Cool added that he'd rather face the AEW star than the WWE Superstar.
"That’s the difference, and Kenny knows that. If I had to, tomorrow at 65 years old, if I had to have a match with Logan or Kenny, I’m gonna pick Kenny because I know Kenny can work without a f**ing net, and I don’t know if Logan can. From what I’ve heard from people that worked with him, he can’t.”
The Maverick is fairly new to the pro wrestling industry, whereas The Best Bout Machine has had years of experience in the business. Nevertheless, the former United States champion has time and again proved he's a talented in-ring performer.