Alton Brown's Buffalo Wings
I don't see how refrigerating the wings before steaming them could possibly make a difference. They were initially refrigerated as he toyed with the idea of frying them or baking them directly, but then he was inspired to steam them to remove some of the fat before baking. It's artistic licence to tell a better and slightly longer story, nothing more.

If you go to the official recipe, you'll see that it skips this step: