Ricky Starks is reportedly on the outs with AEW, but the company won’t release him.
Starks has not appeared on AEW programming since March 2024, and he has confirmed that he has not been injured. AEW reportedly picked up an option year on his contract, extending it into 2025. Starks, a former AEW World Tag Team Champion, has started taking some bookings on the independent scene in recent months.
Ibou of WrestlePurists reports that Ricky Starks asked for his release, as there was a “falling out”, but Tony Khan won’t give it to him. As a result, it seems like Starks will have to wait out the rest of his deal and work some independent dates in the meantime.
“At the end of the day, things happened to where he’s on the outs with AEW right now. It is what it is. There’s a lot of things, most of it will never be reported. But ultimately there’s a falling out there and it is what it is. He’s asked for a release, Tony won’t give it to him, and he’s just going to wait the rest of his deal. He’s going to stay relevant by working indy dates and good for him. That’s just gonna be the situation in the meantime.” (H/t Cultaholic)
Update: Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful (via Fightful Select) then reported that Starks has not turned down creative, and as things stand, his contract is set to expire in the spring.
Ricky Starks On His AEW Absence
In an interview that was released in November, Ricky Starks was asked about his absence from AEW television.
“Beats me. I could have 1,000 theories about what’s really going on,” Starks told Chris Van Vliet on Insight. “The fact of the matter is that if I don’t have a definitive answer, I can’t just make up an answer for people and just assume. Would I love to know the exact reason? For sure. Do I have speculations about why? Absolutely. But that does nothing to speak on things that I speculate, does nothing for the situation. So I think it’s just a matter of, it sucks, it’s been a very cold day here in Austin. It’s been a very cold day. May have been cold for the past nine months, not sure. But thankfully, I have a sweater, and I’m always ready to keep the warmth going.”
“March was my last match. I’ve been home, I’ve been healthy. Never was injured. I did have a stinger,” Ricky Starks continued. “[It happened] in that match against Top Flight in March. I got immediately checked out and everything was fine, but I was just concerned at the time. So that happened and then I was just home. That’s kind of where it’s been at. I’ve just been home.
“It’s kind of a mindf*ck because I’m in my prime and it sucks when you’re on such a momentum, riding the wave, doing work and doing stuff, and then to just be at home for so long, you’re kind of like, whoa. It kind of throws it off. I am not meant to be at home. I’m not meant to be a homebody in this current phase in my life. I’m not meant to be just chilling at home and doing not the thing that I’ve been busting my ass to do for the past 13 years.”
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