"The dude is limitless" - WWE Hall of Famer says top AEW babyface reminds him of Shawn Michaels
AEW's "Absolute" Ricky Starks has often been compared to WWE Legends like The Rock, but recently a Hall of Famer proclaimed that the star reminded him of The Heartbreak Kid, Shawn Michaels.
Ricky Starks has been a fan-favorite for quite some time, and even during his heel run earlier this year, fans often praised him online. While his career isn't too similar to Shawn Michaels', could the star be on his way to becoming something akin to AEW's Mr. WrestleMania?
Speaking during the recent Busted Open Radio, WWE Hall of Famer Mark Henry shared glowing praise for Ricky Stark's recent run in AEW.
"Think about the last two matches Ricky Starks has had. Ricky Starks is shining, man. He looked like Shawn Michaels last week. [Starks] had an injury that he was healing from and Ethan Page did exactly what I would have done, he took advantage of the weakened parts of [Starks]," Henry said. (14:21 onward).
Ricky Starks wins the AEW World Title Eliminator Tournament and will face MJF at Winter is Coming
#AEWDynamite
https://t.co/eRPIIvv2R4
Henry continued, further comparing the star's comeback to a Rocky Balboa movie.
"In doing so, it was like watching a Rocky movie. Like you couldn’t hurt him, you couldn’t kill him, he kept coming back! Like a bad dream! And I just feel like emotionally, everybody is invested now. They see who Ricky Starks is. As long as he can have that ability to fight back, man, the dude is limitless." (14:56 onward).
Ricky Stark's recent promo against MJF was apparently completely off-script from what the star originally intended to do.
Missed out on AEW Dynamite? Catch up on the show's results here.
Mark Henry also compared Ricky Starks to another WWE Legend after his recent AEW segment
Ricky Starks might just be the promotion's biggest rising star at the moment, with fans having even higher praise for him after AEW Dynamite. With his upcoming World Championship shot, could he be on a path akin to WWE legend John Cena?
Ricky Starks just out-promo’d MJF tonight.
An absolutely incredible segment.
#AEWDynamite https://t.co/bdsBsLsnEH
During the same episode of Busted Open Radio, Mark Henry also compared Ricky Starks' promo against MJF to John Cena's 2000 WWE debut.
"For example, Kurt Angle’s in the ring and John Cena comes out and he slaps Kurt Angle? He Ruthless-Aggressioned that whole deal. That one moment turned John Cena into somebody people gave a s**t about. I felt like last night the same identical thing happened with Ricky Starks! Ricky Starks was able to go in the ring and become a major player in one night." (10:16 onward).
Fans have been very critical of Ricky Starks' booking in AEW over the past few years, but could his upcoming match against MJF completely change the shift in his perception?
If you use the transcriptions above, please credit Busted Open Radio and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.