Ricky Starks breaks silence on unexplained AEW absence; gives major update

Ricky Starks' AEW status has been up in the air for a few months now. The rising star has finally opened up on his absence, contract status and rumors about his health.

The self-proclaimed Stroke Daddy has been absent from AEW TV as of late and has not wrestled since March 30, when he and Big Bill were defeated by Top Flight. The 34-year-old, who raised some eyebrows when he attended WrestleMania XL to support his longtime friend Cody Rhodes, recently confirmed that he is not injured.

In a new interview with WhatCulture, Starks was asked about missing the recent Dynasty Pay-Per-View and if there's a chance we will see him at Double Or Nothing later this month. The former FTW Champion said that he hopes he will be booked, but things are out of his control right now.

"I don’t know. I would hope so. But I really don’t know. Things are... every time I always predict something to go some way, it doesn’t go that way, and it kind of just leaves me being like, well, we’ll just figure out and see. I really have no clue. It’s just a very interesting time, I feel like. I wish that I was on Dynamite, or I wish I was on Dynasty. I wish I was on these things, but I think at a certain point, just for my own sanity, I can’t go too crazy about it because the proof is in my work and my effort that I’ve constantly given. I’ve constantly given 1000% effort. So at a certain point, it’s not in my control. I think that’s the biggest lesson I have. Things are just not in my control, but the things that are, I try the hardest," Ricky Starks said.

When asked about his contract status, he said:

"[Laughs] No. Because some things should just be kept to the heart, and I see all the time, reports of this person and this person. It’s like, when am I gonna just have something for myself? When can I have something just for me to know and go from there?" [H/T: Fightful]

When asked about reports on his recent trip to Jacksonville, the former FTW Champion dismissed rumors about him being injured. Ricky expressed frustration over the continued speculation on his health and was adamant that he was perfectly fine.

Ricky Starks' last AEW match was tag team action

Ricky Starks has not wrestled since the March 30 edition of AEW Collision from London, Ontario, Canada.

Collision that night saw Starks and Big Bill lose a near-10-minute match to Top Flight. This came almost two months after Starks and Bill dropped the World Tag Team Championship to Sting and Darby Allin.

Starks remains listed on the official AEW roster. There's no word yet on when he will be brought back into the mix.