Ricky Starks is a modern wrestler, but certainly a talent with an old school flair. AEW Dynamite will hail from New Orleans on 4/13 this week and that happens to be the original hometown of the “Absolute.” The current FTW Champion spoke with Alex Rawls of NOLA.com to talk about where, who and how he adapted that classic wrestler mindset. Starks mentioned how he was a major fan of Undertaker growing up, but he revealed that he was influenced in the ring by two other legends.
“Ricky Steamboat is a guy I used to watch for his body movement,” Starks says. “And young Steve Austin from WCW days. I don’t purposefully try to imitate these people, but to see how fluid their body was, how free they were, it gave me more confidence in what my body was capable of doing.”
Starks also brought up the alternative intrigue of AEW and what the promotion brings to wrestling fans.
“I think all of us know what scrambled eggs are like,” Starks said. “Everyone can make scrambled eggs, but when you watch a video with Gordon Ramsey, he shows you how to make them with cream of tartar and they’re not rubbery.
“They’re moist, and you’re like, ‘Whoa! I’ve been used to this for so long, and now my head is on its side.’ It’s different, it’s authentic. I’m being presented with something I haven’t seen before, or if I have, it’s been a very long time.”
Starks will be competing in a tag team match with Powerhouse Hobbs as they face up against some recent rivals in Swerve Strickland and Keith Lee. The match was made official on AEW Rampage when Starks stepped off of commentary to call out Swerve.
