Ricky Starks cuts a rebellious promo about his future after return outside AEW: "I’m gonna say it as plainly as this"

AEW star Ricky Starks is heavily rumored to leave the company. He joined the promotion in 2020 and gradually became a massive star.

Starks only wrestled a handful of times for AEW in 2024. His last match occurred in March of that year, where Top Flight (Dante Martin and Darius Martin) beat him and Big Bill in the AEW World Tag Team Title Tournament Quarter Final. Interestingly, occasionally he has been getting booked to perform on independent wrestling shows.

The Absolute recently debuted in an indie promotion called House of Glory. At the HOG Watch The Throne event, he locked horns with former AEW star Mike Santana. This match ended in a disqualification. However, soon after, the 34-year-old delivered a passionate promo where he thanked fans in the arena and around the globe for their support during a complicated time in his career.

"Every time I grab [a microphone], I somehow get in trouble. So I’m gonna say it as plainly as this, I cannot thank each and every one of you. I’ve been reading your messages, asking if I’m mentally okay, asking if I’m good, checking on me. You don’t know me, but that’s the thing about this wrestling shit, it don’t matter. We’re all a part of one thing," said Ricky Starks. [H/T: Fightful]

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Due to wrestling, Ricky Starks could buy his mother a house

In the same promo mentioned above, The Absolute revealed that he had been a wrestling fan since he was seven years old. Furthermore, he stated that the art form helped him fulfill his dream of buying his mother a house.

"I have loved wrestling since I was seven. I told my mom I would buy her a house off of this, and damn it, I have done that, and I am close to giving her anything else that she wants. I don’t take anything easy," he said. [H/T: Fightful]

Ricky Starks is a former AEW World Tag Team Champion with Big Bill and an FTW Champion.