Ricky Starks has had a breakout year in 2023. The 33-year-old star has been with AEW since Summer 2020 when he answered then-AEW TNT Champion Cody Rhodes’s open challenge and subsequently earned himself a contract with the company. Since then, Starks has taken the ball and ran with every opportunity that he has been presented with, whether it be as a supporting player in a faction or holding an unsanctioned championship. Starks got his biggest victory to date this past summer when he defeated CM Punk in the finals of the Owen Hart Cup Tournament, a win that was supposed to lead to a bigger program.
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All signs pointed to Starks challenging Punk for the “real world championship” in the main event of AEW All Out this past September, but then Punk got fired. As a result, Starks was pivoted to a feud with Bryan Danielson.
Ricky Starks Reflects on AEW All Out Frustrations
In an alternate timeline, Ricky Starks has already main-evented a pay-per-view.
Speaking to the Black Rasslin’ Podcast, Starks reflected on the frustrations he felt after his internally scheduled headlining AEW All Out match against CM Punk was scrapped.
“Here’s the truth about it. The circumstances leading up to the strap match was very chaotic and a point of frustration for me. If you saw that Collision, I went out and started the show with a very heartfelt message that I wanted to get to people,” Starks said. “It wasn’t me whining and complaining. It was more of a message of, ‘Look, even somebody like me, even somebody who is dedicated and puts in the work, takes the steps back due to outside sources.’”
Starks instead wrestled Bryan Danielson on that show in a bout that fell in the middle of the card. Fans and critics alike raved about the story these two told, which helped Starks pick himself back up again.
“Afterwards, the reception of it was so overwhelming for me that, on the flight home, I was looking through my text messages. It’s just a lot of people were like, ‘Man, that was amazing.’ It really touched something into me where it kind of, I kind of found myself again a bit,” Starks continued. “Not saying that I lost myself, but something that was dormant woke back up. I felt so inspired, and I was just moved by it because I didn’t have any expectations about it and I went out there, and I gave it one thousand percent.”
Starks competes on AEW Collision every Saturday at 8 PM ET on TNT.
