Ricky Starks compared to forgotten Samoan ex-WWE star amid his AEW controversy (Exclusive)

AEW star Ricky Starks has been the talk of the town due to the rumors about his status in the Jacksonvile-based promotion. However, WWE veteran Vince Russo has made an interesting comparison between Ricky Starks and former WWE star Sonny Siaki. He was signed to WWE from 2005 to 2007.

The Absolute One is one of the most promising stars in AEW. However, he has been off television since last year. There have been rumors about Ricky Starks requesting his release from All Elite Wrestling and they also suggest that he could be moving to WWE if he leaves the Jacksonville-based promotion.

In the recent edition of Sportskeeda's exclusive Writing with Russo podcast, the former WWE head writer compared Ricky Starks to Sonny Siaki. Vince Russo said The Absolute One reminds him of Sonny Siaki seemingly due to the similarities in both characters.

"I know Ricky Starks is very, very good. But God, I think you'll understand this. Every time I see Ricky Starks, I worked with the young Sonny Siaki. And I thought Sonny could have been absolutely great. So like, I always, every time I think of Ricky Starks, I think of Sonny Siaki." [4:20 - 4:44]

EC3 believes AEW star Ricky Starks can be one of the hottest names in professional wrestling

Ricky Starks has proven to be a top quality talent by showing his ability in All Elite Wrestling. He won the 2023 Owen Hart Foundation tournament and it seemed like the company was planning to push him to the top. However, Ricky Starks' last televised appearance in AEW was last year and he has reportedly asked for his release.

In an episode of Sportskeeda's The Wrestling Outlaws podcast, EC3 claimed that Ricky Starks can become one of the hottest acts in the business due to the attention he's getting nowadays.

"If he does this right, he can be one of the hotter names in wrestling, because all of this, all this attention is making him seem very much as a protagonist in this situation. He just wants to work, he just wants to do his thing. All these people are holding him back legitimitely. It's not that fake 'I am being held back in wrestling, I am being buried in wrestling.'" [3:29 onwards]

We will have to wait and see if AEW releases Ricky Starks this year and if it leads to his WWE debut.

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