WWE legend returning to AEW next week

WWE Hall of Famer Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat is set to return to AEW on next week's Collision. He was announced as the special guest referee for CM Punk's upcoming match against Ricky Starks.

The blockbuster announcement came during an enthralling segment involving Punk, Starks, and Tony Schiavone. After a war of words between the rivaling parties, a match was set up between the two with CM Punk's "Real World Title" on the line.

As if this was not exciting enough, The Second City Saint had requested that a special guest referee officiate their bout. This was then revealed to be Ricky Steamboat, who has a history with Punk from their shared time in Ring of Honor back in 2004.

Nearly two decades on, it will be interesting to see how the former WWE stars interact and whether this will give Punk an advantage over Starks. Additionally, the fact that the latest Owen Hart Cup winner owns two victories over The Voice of the Voiceless gives an extra element of intrigue to this bout.

---

Ricky Starks references WWE on tonight's Collision

Aside from the huge announcement of Ricky Steamboat's return to AEW, another talking point to gather from this fiery segment is the fact that Ricky Starks abruptly mentioned WWE in his promo.

This came during a part of the segment when Starks was berating CM Punk for not having any allies in the AEW locker room. He said that Punk could have to turn to an old friend from Stamford to find a special guest referee and Starks would still come out victorious.

This notable reference was not lost on the AEW faithful, which erupted when these words were spoken. However, even then it was still unlikely that anyone thought Ricky Steamboat would be revealed for the role.

With next week's Collision going head-to-head with WWE SummerSlam, it seems as though Tony Khan is doing everything in his power to shift the tides in his favor.