Photo: AEW Star Ricky Starks Shows Off Aftermath Of Brutal Strap Match
Sunday's AEW All Out pay-per-view featured a brutal Strap match between the returning Bryan Danielson and "Absolute" Ricky Starks. After a 22-minute battle, Danielson was declared the victor as Starks passed out.
Less than 48 hours removed from their bout, Starks took to social media to share what his body looks like in the aftermath of the strap match. As you can see below, Starks is sporting a number of welts and scratches.
— Ricky Starks (@starkmanjones) September 5, 2023
After not being booked for AEW All In London at Wembley Stadium, it appeared Starks was potentially going to miss All Out in Chicago as well. There were reports that Starks was originally slated to face CM Punk in the pay-per-view's main event before Punk's altercation with Jack Perry led to a suspension and ultimately termination. The former FTW Champion appeared on the September 2 episode of "AEW Collision" and challenged Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat to a Strap match, however, Steamboat had other plans in mind and welcomed another fellow "Dragon" in Danielson.
Danielson had been out of action for a little over two months after breaking his arm in the main event of AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door against Kazuchika Okada. Word making rounds prior to All Out was that Danielson may not be cleared until October, but he was able to perform in Chicago anyway. "The American Dragon" noted during the All Out media scrum that Starks carried him through the Strap match and that there were plenty of "smoke and mirrors" involved to protect him while he continues to heal.