"Appreciative of both men" - Wrestling legend's protege recalls first match against Cody Rhodes on 2-year anniversary of his AEW debut
Ricky Starks recently expressed his appreciation for WWE Superstar Cody Rhodes and AEW President Tony Khan while celebrating two years in the company.
The current FTW Champion made his AEW debut against then TNT Champion Cody Rhodes. Starks has since gone on to reign with the FTW Title as part of Team Taz, under the tutelage of the ECW legend. He and stablemate Powerhouse Hobbs have recently upped their tag team game, challenging for the titles at Double or Nothing.
Starks said in his post that he was "appreciative of both men" when speaking of meeting Tony Khan and facing Cody for the first time.
"Today is the 2 year anniversary for my debut with AEW. First time meeting Tony. First match with Cody and essentially my tryout match in front of millions at home. Appreciative of both men. It’s been a wild ride and here’s to more life," Starks wrote on Twitter.
Today is the 2 year anniversary for my debut with @AEW
First time meeting Tony. First match with Cody and essentially my tryout match in front of millions at home. Appreciative of both men. It’s been a wild ride and here’s to more life.
https://t.co/9UkfqQbbuv
Following their unsuccessful challenge for the tag team titles, the pair completed a successful rebound on Rampage, defeating Jordan Cruz and Ju Dizz in less than a minute.
How did fans react to Ricky Starks' AEW anniversary?
Fans chimed in to celebrate the FTW Champion's anniversary with him. Some comments poked fun at the AEW star, especially given the ratings slide this week. However, the majority of the comments flooding in showed support and praise for his development over the past two years.
Another line of comments saw fans express their desire to one day see Starks hold the world title. You can see a handful of Tweets here:
@starkmanjones @AEW Can’t wait til your world champion one day!
@starkmanjones @AEW How is today NOT a holiday tho?
@starkmanjones @AEW The next 2 years will undoubtedly have more gold for your future
While not technically sanctioned by the promotion, Starks does hold the FTW Title, the belt was innovated by his mentor and ECW legend Taz after capturing it from Brian Cage last year.
It remains to be seen whether Starks will be able to capture the world title sometime in the future.