AEW Collision (Aug. 5, 2023) emanated from Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, SC. The show featured Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat helping CM Punk prevail over Ricky Starks, FTR cementing their legacy in tag team greatness, Samoa Joe calling his shot for All In, and more.
Get caught up on all the Collision details with top-notch play-by-play from Sean Rueter.
Saturday night is alright for fighting. Four title fights were on tap with focus on CM Punk versus Ricky Starks and FTR versus Brian Cage & Big Bill Morrissey
CM Punk defends the ‘real world championship’
CM Punk versus Ricky Starks received the main event spotlight. Punk’s so-called ‘real world championship’ was up for grabs.
The return of Jim Ross on commentary gave this a big match feel. To prevent any cheating, Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat was on hand as the special outside official.
The match rumbled in the 20-minute range. Dueling fan chants showed support for both Punk and Starks from the raucous crowd. Punk out-wrestled Starks early then mocked the Absolute pose. Starks struck back with hip tosses sending Punk out of the ring. He showed Punk how the signature pose was done.
Gamesmanship turned to intensity when Starks took umbrage at Punk raking his forearm across the eyes on a corner break. Shoves led to slaps, and the bad blood boiled from there.
Steamboat’s job was to help the referee enforce the rules. He was impartial, as evidenced by pulling Punk off Starks when ignoring the ref’s warning. Punk was annoyed, but he respected Steamboat for keeping it clean.
The match was competitive throughout with counters to escape signature moves. Heading into the climax, Punk wiggled out of Roshambo to send Starks running the ropes. Punk dropped low, and Starks collided into the referee. Ref down!
When Punk charged forth, Starks bopped a roll-up with his feet on the ropes. Steamboat shoved Starks off the ropes to make sure the contest was fair. As Starks argued with Steamboat, Punk took advantage for a roll-up. The Dragon entered the ring to make the three-count. Punk was victorious.
After defeat, Starks violently attacked Steamboat. Starks ripped the legend’s belt from around his waist to whip him. Punk chased Starks away with a chair.
That match was shaping up nicely to be special, then the finish dropped a steamer on the situation. The logic of that sequence stunk. It didn’t make sense why Starks would do the cheating roll-up at that specific moment. He ran into the referee himself, so it was clear sight that the ref was down. Steamboat’s sole purpose was to keep the fight fair, and Starks cheated right in front of him. Also, Starks did it without the primary ref conscious to count the pin. What did he expect was going to happen? To top it off, Punk scored a cheap roll-up when Starks was distracted. That didn’t feel satisfying at all as a viewer. Based on the post-match scene, this seems like a way to set up the rubber match with a whipping stipulation.
On the plus side,