"A point of frustration for me" - AEW star was unhappy over what happened backstage before Bryan Danielson match

Before his high-profile match against former WWE Champion Bryan Danielson, rising AEW star Ricky Starks was seemingly frustrated due to backstage circumstances.

The Absolute has been on the rise in AEW over the past few months. Starks had a marquee feud against CM Punk, which elevated him to new heights. He recently captured the World Tag Team Championship alongside Big Bill after the duo bested FTR.

Starks was also involved in a personal feud with Bryan Danielson in September 2023. After CM Punk's shocking departure from the company, The American Dragon was announced as the up-and-coming star's opponent for All Out. The two locked horns in a hard-hitting Strap match, where the former WWE Champion emerged victorious.

On the Black Rasslin' Podcast, Starks detailed the 'chaotic' circumstances leading up to his match against Danielson at the All Out pay-per-view.

"The Strap match [with Bryan Danielson stands out for me this year]. The Strap match, while — here’s the truth about it: The circumstances leading up to the Strap match were very chaotic and a point of frustration for me. If you saw that Collision, I went out and started the show with a very heartfelt message that I wanted to get to people, and it wasn’t me whining and complaining. "

The Absolute added that he had no expectations heading into the contest, but it turned out to be one of his finest bouts this year.

"It was more of a message of look, even somebody like me, even somebody who is dedicated and puts in the work, takes the steps back due to outside sources, right? That match in itself was — I had no expectations for it. Didn’t know what I was getting myself into." [H/T Post Wrestling]

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Ricky Starks on how he felt after the match with Bryan Danielson

Ricky Starks also discussed his mindset before the Strap match against Bryan Danielson at All Out and also how he felt after the barbaric showdown:

"I thought Bryan is a great dude. Didn’t realize his arm was still kind of injured or something, so that was something to keep in mind. Afterwards, the reception of it was so overwhelming for me that on the flight home, I was looking through my text messages, and it’s just a lot of people, a lot of people were just like, ‘Man! That was amazing’ and boom, boom, and it really touched something into me where I kind of found myself again a bit." [H/T Post Wrestling]

Starks is fairly young and still has a long way to go in his pro wrestling career. It remains to be seen what's next for him in All Elite Wrestling.