Ricky Starks finally breaks silence on being spotted during WWE WrestleMania 40

AEW star Ricky Starks has finally broken his silence on being seen attending WWE WrestleMania 40. The 34-year-old AEW star has several former colleagues working in the Stamford-based promotion at present.

Cody Rhodes fulfilled his goal of winning the Undisputed WWE Championship at WrestleMania XL earlier this year. Starks, although contracted with AEW, was spotted in attendance at the PLE, celebrating The American Nightmare's victory. The stars were formerly together in All Elite Wrestling when Rhodes was a part of the promotion.

During an interview with Whatculture Wrestling, the Louisiana native addressed attending The Show of Shows by elaborating on his relationship with Rhodes, alluding to the support he has received from the former All Elite Wrestling EVP outside of the wrestling sphere.

"Cody has done more for me behind closed doors and for my family than anyone will ever know. I don’t have to explain myself or justify any type of relationship I have with someone. But I will just end it to that and say, beyond this wrestling s***, he’s done more for me than I could have ever asked someone to do."

Starks avowed his respect for Rhodes and emphasized the significance of watching the latter's crowning moment at WrestleMania XL:

"So in return, he will always have my loyalty and respect because that is how, me as a person, that’s how I operate. So to see that, to see that live, to know the things that he went through the year prior, that was really cool to see because as a friend, you should always want to see somebody succeed."

AEW's Ricky Starks will support his friends regardless of which company they work for

Rivalries between wrestling promotions are a commonplace feature of the industry, as is evident from the competition between WWE and AEW with respect to programming and signing talent. However, wrestlers from both promotions are generally supportive of each other regarding their work and their success.

During the same interview, Ricky Starks brushed off criticism and speculations set off by his presence at WrestleMania 40. He claimed that his showing up at The Showcase of The Immortals to cheer on Cody Rhodes and Jade Cargill was no different than witnessing Swerve Strickland's AEW World Title win at Dynasty 2024.

In light of his recent comments about his absence from television, it remains to be seen when Ricky Starks will return to AEW programming.