The opening match at AEW Revolution 2023 saw Ricky Starks vs Chris Jericho battling it out in a grudge.
The pair fought previously on Dynamite, with Starks beating Le Champion clean in a huge upset. This looked to be the start of a huge push for the young star, but as always, Jericho persevered.
The former AEW Champion continued to attack Starks, while also denying him a rematch. Not that Ricky Starks would want to wrestle Chris Jericho again, given that he’d already beaten him.
Then, Jericho lost in a shock defeat to jobber Action Andretti. This helped launch the young man’s AEW career, and he soon aligned himself with Starks on TV.
The Starks/Jericho feud soon began to make little sense. Starks was forced to run through a gauntlet of Jericho Appreciation Society members in order to earn a rematch against Jericho – again, why?
Starks lost that match, but still managed to convince Jericho into giving him a match at AEW Revolution 2023, by pretending he didn’t want to wrestle him.
It’s been a silly feud that, like most things involving Jericho in recent years, has simply gone on too long. However, Chris Jericho did the right thing at AEW Revolution in a decent match against the future of AEW – Absolute Ricky Starks.
Ricky Starks vs Chris Jericho
Ricky Starks took on Chris Jericho in the first match at AEW Revolution 2023. The crowd were hot for both men, singing along to Judas for Jericho and popping huge for Starks entrance.
The match was better than expected and improved on their first in every measure. Jericho dominated most of the match, helping to build up Starks as the underdog babyface in the match.
The crowd started off cheering for both men, with duelling “Let’s Go Ricky/Y2J” chants filling the arena. However, as the match went on, they began to boo Jericho and cheer for Absolute Ricky Starks.
The spot of the match saw the pair running the ropes, but dodging each other at ever turn. This eventually ended in Starks going for a spear, but being countered into a Codebreaker for a near fall for Jericho.
Jericho thought he had the match won later on, when he reversed a top-rope moonsault into a Walls of Jericho. However, Starks rolled through and locked in his own single-leg Boston crab.
The JAS tried to interfere, but Action Andretti was at hand to stop them attacking Starks. This gave Jericho the chance to hit Starks with his baseball bat, Floyd, and set him up for the brutal Judas Effect Elbow.
However, Ricky Starks had Chris Jericho scouted. He blocked the eblow as if he were an anime character, turning it into a Roshambo and pinning the former WWE Champion for the biggest win of Starks career.
This looks to be the end of the Ricky Starks vs Chris Jericho feud. Starks is 2-0 against the legend and has no reason to face off with the Canadian star again.
Not that it stopped him last time, but maybe now Jericho will move onto something else. Hopefully not his annual Blood & Guts match. Let somebody else play in the giant cage, Chris.