"Iron sharpens iron"- Current Champion opens up about the benefit of having CM Punk and Bryan Danielson in AEW
Ricky Starks recently stated that the arrivals of CM Punk and Bryan Danielson have been beneficial as AEW requires more experienced guys now to thrive in the wrestling business.
While speaking with Denise Salcedo on the Instinct Culture podcast, the current FTW Champion acknowledged the star power that Bryan, Punk, and Cole bring to the table.
Starks added that if it weren't for AEW's higher-ups creating a desirable working environment, fans would have never seen The Straight Edge Superstar returning to pro wrestling or The American Dragon leaving WWE:
"But I think that's also in part due to the help that we had from the signings of CM Punk and signings of Bryan Danielson and Adam Cole, things like that. And from that point, I do wanna say, we were building a base before these guys came in. We built a platform at home for them to see, hey that's a place that we want to go. So don't get it twisted, the people that were here originally they built all of this to bring in people like Bryan and people like Punk," said Starks.
Quick reminder that Tony Khan debuted CM Punk, Adam Cole and Bryan Danielson in the space of 2 weeks. What a lad https://t.co/iaOA2tBYQF
Starks explained that as 'iron sharpens iron', they need to be competing with well-established wrestlers, and without having competition, it would be very challenging for the rising stars to improve their game:
"Just like any type of building piece, I think we had that, then we had them come in, and then we have the young guys that are actually moving up now. The stars they were built up for, it's just so many cool parts. I think it's cool though to have someone like Punk and Bryan and Adam Cole because iron sharpens iron, and we cannot get better if we just wrestle the same 50 guys that we did the past ten years. We need more experiences," Ricky Starks added.
CM Punk is the perfect example of someone who's invested in AEW's homegrown stars and competing with them to bring them into the limelight. The Straight Edge Superstar has fought against rising stars such as Daniel Garcia, Darby Allin, and Powerhouse Hobbs in his short tenure with the company already.
CM Punk will face Matt Sydal on this week's AEW Rampage
.@CMPunk is 3-0 since his return to pro wrestling, but has yet to face anyone as experienced as @MattSydal, who has won titles around the world & built an impressive 21-9 record (70% win rate) in #AEW. It’s a MUST SEE match on a HUGE #AEWRampage LIVE this Friday at 10/9c on TNT! https://t.co/Sv07g0zCug
CM Punk will be in action this week as he faces Matt Sydal in a singles match on AEW Rampage. The former WWE champion will be looking to extend his winning streak, which currently stands at 3-0.
Sydal's high-flying ability will be a big test for Punk, who has shown signs of ring rust since his return.
What do you make of Ricky Starks' comments about the need for more experienced wrestlers in AEW? What have you made of CM Punk's 'comeback tour'? Sound off in the comments section below!