Rising AEW star gives his honest thoughts about CM Punk

CM Punk has become the face of Saturday Nights on AEW Collision, despite the reported backstage issues lingering from the fallout of last year's All Out Pay-Per-View. However, one of his rivals recently broke character to praise the former world champion. The star in question is "Absolute" Ricky Starks.

Punk and Starks have been duking it out on Collision lately, with the 33-year-old getting the better of the Second City Saint more than once. They are set to clash tonight for Punk's self-proclaimed "real" AEW World Championship, with WWE legend Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat as the special guest referee.

Ahead of their highly-anticipated bout, Ricky Starks spoke to DAZN Wrestling about his current run, his victory in the Owen Hart Memorial Tournament, and CM Punk. Starks praised his rival, calling him one of the last true superstars in pro wrestling.

"Punk is a future Hall of Famer. He is the last of a true superstar that we have in wrestling… Personal reasons aside, his career is pretty decorated in that regard. I don’t look at it as anything other than I’m going in there, and I’m going to give the best version of myself that I know possible," said Starks. [H/T DAZN Wrestling]

Check out the full interview below:

Former TNT Champion claims he can "easily" beat CM Punk

CM Punk has no shortage of enemies in AEW, but one former opponent believes that beating the Straight Edge star would be a walk in the park.

Punk and Wardlow met in the ring in January 2022 while the War Dog was still under MJF's thumb. The Second City Saint had to go through the big man to get his shot at Friedman, and while he ultimately won the match, he took a huge beating from the 266lb monster.

Speaking at Terrificon 2023, Wardlow called being in the ring with the WWE legend one of the greatest nights of his life:

"So, being in there with CM Punk still to this day is like one of the greatest nights of my life. I have the gear that I wore in that match in a frame. That was so special. Wrestling CM Punk after he’s been out of the game for so many years, I’m coming into it thinking that’s one of those never gonna happen situations and so for him to come back and have that opportunity is truly, truly, truly special," said Wardlow.

However, the former TNT Champion made it clear that he could still "easily" beat both Punk and MJF if he stepped into the ring with either of them again:

"Now, with that said, I do find it very interesting that we have a champion in MJF and then we have a supposed champion that never lost in CM Punk. I beat the sh*t out of both of those guys [he laughed]. CM Punk won, but he didn’t. I won and I demolished MJF and I’m very confident I could beat both of them again easily."

Who do you think will win tonight's match for the "real" AEW World Championship? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!