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As AEW enters into its fifth year of operation, one of the big questions surrounding the promotion regards the absence of one of its biggest “homegrown” stars: Ricky Starks.
That's right, Starks, the former FTW Champion and one-half of the former AEW World Tag Team Champions, has been MIA from television since March when he suffered an injury in a tournament match with Top Flight that resulted in a changed finish and the Martin Brothers advancing to the second round of the showcase. Is Starks still injured? Or maybe that in-ring audible rubbed someone in AEW the wrong way?
Discussing the former NWA talent's place in the AEW Universe, Tony Khan noted that he really likes what Starks brings to the table and hopes to see him back in AEW at some point in the future, too.
“I really, really like Ricky Starks a lot. The last time we saw him here was in the World Tag Team Championship Tournament. He and Big Bill formed a great team, and they were the World Tag Team Champions. They had a great run, and it culminated in the last televised match of the legendary career of ‘The Icon' Sting. I think it was a huge thing that Ricky and Bill, that their run culminated in such an important match, defending the World Tag Team Championship against one of Ricky's greatest rivals ever in AEW, Darby Allin, and somebody else, Sting, when you think back, Ricky was part of Sting's first match back in pro wrestling, and that began a journey that went from Revolution '21 to Revolution '24, three-year journey,” Tony Khan told CBS Sports via Fightful.
“We talk about five years of AEW, and maybe to me, the most special part might have been that three-year run of Sting, what we were able to do to give him, I thought, the greatest sendoff ever in wrestling, and Ricky's a huge part of that. Sting's first match and his last televised match, and Sting's last-ever title win, these are all huge milestones, and Ricky's a huge part of them. That's only scratching the surface of all the great things Ricky's done, and all the great matches he's had with so many opponents up and down the card since he arrived here, and I think Ricky Starks is tremendous. I'd love to get him involved and back in AEW any time. He's been a huge part of what we've done here for about four out of the five years.”
Alright, so if TK would love to bring back Starks, why doesn't he… just bring back Ricky Starks? I mean, he's still under contract, still has connections within the WWE Universe, and could easily slot into a number of different storylines, the easiest of which would have to be The Learning Tree with Chris Jericho, as his former tag team partner is now a part of the faction. A curious question indeed, especially since Starks has also suggested that he would like to be part of something meaningful in AEW, too.
Ricky Starks wants to do something meaningful in AEW, too.
Speaking of Ricky Starks' desire to return to AEW at some point in the future, “Absolute” told WhatCutlure Wrestling last month that he would love to be back in AEW but doesn't just want to just show up as a 50-50 member of the midcard. No, he wants to be part of something special and hopes the promotion feels that way too.
“The idea of even being at WrestleMania is so…I don't even think…I think I had that dream, and then I stopped having that dream for whatever reason. Not to be sad or anything. I don't know why. But I think everybody dreams about that. But AEW has its own WrestleMania, so to speak, with All In. It did suck last year to not be on it. I don't want to set myself up for disappointment, and I don't want to publicly say that I'm gonna be on All In this year, and then I just don't. I'm kind of superstitious like that, in a way. I am, but I'm not,” Ricky Starks told WhatCulture Wrestling via Fightful.
“Would it be nice? For sure. Do I know that I will? I don't know. Do I hope? Yeah. But if not, I also get it, too. What I mean by that is, I also get like, hey, some s**t just don't work out for you. If we've known by now in my career, some things just, it ain't gonna happen. It ain't gonna happen for me, and that's okay. I don't want to harp on that or focus on that part because I'll just be stuck in a sh**ty space. So I think what's next for me is… dude, I have no clue. I don't know. I have no clue. I would love to be back wrestling and doing something with substance, but that is not in my control. So I don't know, to be real with you. Hopefully, you see me back on-screen real soon. [Shrugs] Yeah, because I'm ready.”
When you look at Starks' comments, especially within the context of what TK had to say, it really is questionable why he isn't on AEW right now, especially after watching Adam Copeland lose his TNT Championship and multiple months of his career moving forward after a tibia-shattering spot at Double or Nothing. Unless Starks' contract is about to expire and Khan is worried about pushing him only for him to leave a few weeks later, it feels like this storyline should have an easy resolution if both sides want it.
