AEW's fanbase recently came under fire from a former WWE writer during a conversation about the promo segment between MJF and Ricky Starks on Dynamite.
While many critics agree that AEW's quality has been on a downward spiral over the last few months, a few outstanding segments from some talented stars have still managed to keep the Jacksonville-based promotion popular. One of those segments is undoubtedly the recent promo battle between Ricky Stars and MJF.
While the two stars have garnered a lot of praise from the pro-wrestling community for their heated battle of words, the segment has drawn the attention of Vince Russo for a different reason. During the acclaimed segment between Starks and MJF, the audience was heard screaming out chants rather loudly. In a recent episode of Writing With Russo, the veteran explained how this indicated that the AEW fanbase had no respect for the stars.
"You know these Jabroni marks, that's so disrespectful to the talent. Respect the talents. You don't go to freaking rock concerts and start chanting during a 'Stairway to Heaven.' Nobody does this bro, that's disrespect to talent. You, as an audience member, are trying to get yourself over. You're disrespecting the talent bro. Stop that, it's disrespectful." (8:50 - 9:48)
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Another WWE veteran had high praise for the rising AEW star
While fans' behavior in AEW may be a problem, the segment between Ricky Starks and MJF still garnered a lot of praise.
Apart from Vince Russo, former WWE manager Jim Cornette also addressed the promo battle between the Absolute and the Salt of the Earth. In an episode of the Jim Cornette Experience, the veteran compared the segment to WWE Smackdown while surprisingly siding with Tony Khan's Promotion.
"So that 10 minutes, or whatever it was, was the best piece of wrestling television all week... Starks, he can talk, he looks good, he seems serious. We've seen him work fantastic. He had a broken neck earlier, didn't he? I hope that he's physically OK. I have a feeling this will be a great f*****g match between the two of them if everybody is at 100%," Jim Cornette said. (2:27 - 3:55)
While Starks was unable to convert the momentum to a win at Winter is Coming, he has certainly cemented himself as a serious opponent for everyone. However, it remains to be seen what is next for him in the coming weeks.
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