Report: Ricky Steamboat Asked To Be Beaten Down By Ricky Starks On AEW Collision

Ricky Steamboat made a guest appearance on last Saturday's episode of AEW Collision, acting as the special enforcer for the main event match between CM Punk and Ricky Starks. 

The Straight-Edge Superstar was victorious and, after the bout, Starks took out his frustrations by delivering a beatdown on The Dragon. 

According to The Ringer's Cameron Hawkins, the decision to get physically involved was made by the WWE Hall of Famer himself. 

Speaking on the Haus of Wrestling podcast, Hawkins said: 

"A bit of a Collision note. So, in the original finish, like after the match, Ricky Steamboat was gonna chop Starks, and that was going to be it. Ricky Steamboat pulls Rick and Punk into a room and tells them the finish that we saw. And, hey, you know when to bring me on; It brought Rick to tears because he appreciated it so much. So, salute to Ricky Steamboat for making a good thing, a great thing". 

When pressed about how he knew this information, Hawkins added: 

"Well, I mean, you know, that's my man (Ricky Starks). And so we talked about how things go and, you know, especially after the match, I was like, 'You killed it'. He was like, 'Cam, like, this is what happened', and I was like, 'Oh, that's so cool'. Yeah, man, salute to Steamboat. That's dope. Because think about how cool and how physical and how visceral that was; Ricky Steamboat's idea, and his whole thing was, 'Look, man, this is supposed to make you look good. Not me'".

Haus of Wrestling was able to verify the story independently. 

Steamboat came out of retirement in December, teaming with FTR to defeat Brock Anderson, Jay Lethal and Nick Aldis at a show in Raleigh, North Carolina. He had previously declined the opportunity to be involved in Ric Flair's last match. 

H/T Haus of Wrestling

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