Matt Hardy singles out rising star as "building block for AEW"

Former WWE United States Champion Matt Hardy recently shared his take on a rising star in AEW and called him a building block of the Jacksonville-based company. The star in question is Ricky Starks.

Starks has recently been on the best run of his career. The Absolute won the Owen Hart Foundation tournament by defeating CM Punk and got embroiled in a rivalry with the Straight Edge Superstar. After the feud was cut short due to Punk's termination, Ricky found himself at odds with Bryan Danielson and delivered each time he was with one of the best professional wrestlers.

Last week on AEW Collision, Ricky Starks captured the AEW World Tag Team Champions alongside his partner Big Bill by defeating Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler of FTR. On the latest edition of The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy, the veteran talked about Ricky Starks' potential and said the 33-year-old would be an important building block for the company.

"I like Ricky. I think Ricky has a ton of potential," Hardy said. "I like seeing him utilized in a nice spot like this, highlighted as a champion, and getting that win over FTR. So I dig it, and I think Ricky is going to be a very important building block for AEW going forward in the future." [H/T Wrestling Inc]

Vince McMahon may have been happy to let The Rock leave WWE, says AEW star Matt Hardy

Dwayne Johnson (The Rock) started his career as a professional wrestler in 1996, but his popularity transcended the boundaries of the sport, and he became one of the biggest names in Hollywood.

Speaking on The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy, the veteran explained that Vince McMahon might have been glad to let The Rock leave WWE to pursue his acting career as The Great One's name was becoming bigger than the company.

"I think Vince didn't want to consciously try and allow anyone to become bigger than the WWE. He wanted to make the biggest thing about WWE the brand itself. But, man, The Rock really was special. One of my all-time favorite moments in professional wrestling was WrestleMania X8 when he and [Hollywood] Hogan were in the ring, the crowd was going nuts, [and] it was so amazing to see Hogan being given that moment. The crowd was eating out of their hands — it was unreal," said Hardy. [H/T: WrestlingInc]

The Rock recently returned to WWE on an episode of SmackDown and had an in-ring segment with Pat McAfee and Austin Theory.