Ricky Starks is in the rumor mill after being absent from AEW TV for quite some time.
A Reddit post conjured up discussion, and memes, speculating that Starks had ran into legal trouble in Calgary last year, and had constantly rejected pitches within AEW. The now-deleted but widely circulated post led to Fightful asking about a number of those points raised.
Fightful Select did reach out to sources within AEW and the roster, who claim that Ricky Starks turning down pitches to be on screen are accurate to some degree. Another source with direct knowledge of the situation claimed that breaking up with Big Bill and feuding was the only pitch int he last several months he rejected. We can't speak to the claim that he wasn't even listening to pitches, as that wasn't broached or answered by any source we spoke with.
Those that criticized Starks within the company claimed that he didn't want to do business, despite those involved in the storyline hoping that it would launch Bill as a huge heel and Ricky Starks as a big babyface. It was said that Starks didn't think that Big Bill losing a feud to him would end up being beneficial to Bill, and wanted them to have an amicable split if anything. The original Reddit post did cite that pitch.
We're told that last year, when Starks wasn't booked for All In, there was a concern of fan reaction, so they ran with a suspension storyline. Starks wasn't in favor of being in a tag team at that point, but particularly didn't like the lack of follow up to his match with Bryan. Those that Starks had talked to said he felt like the end of last summer was a big turning point in how he was booked, and that CM Punk's departure from the company slowed his momentum.
Starks is said to be medically clear. There has been conflicting information internally regarding Ricky Starks and Tony Khan being in contact fairly recently. Internally regarding nearly everything Starks related, there seems to be conflicting information based on who you speak with. We've not heard that there are imminent creative plans, which could obviously change at any point.
Regarding the rumors of an incident in Calgary, numerous AEW sources in the company deny ever having heard it, and AEW didn't comment in an official capacity. Ricky Starks claims he was never in legal trouble in Canada. Everyone we've spoken to that was named in relation to the alleged incident claim that it didn't occur whatsoever. Regardless of what did or didn't happen, we're told that nothing ended up being filed, and there were no issues with him entering Canada, as he competed there since. We have reached out to local authorities, but did not get any information, and weren't told if they could disclose such at this moment. If it did occur, which isn't out of the realm of possibility, everyone alleged of involvement denied it directly to us.
In regards to the widely speculated rumor that he wants to go to WWE, there are certainly people in AEW who believe that. However, there is no firm info on Starks' contract.
Fightful reached out to AEW and Ricky Starks regarding all elements of this story. It's worth noting this is one of the more conflicting stories we've covered in regards to information and each source's personal stance.
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