Ricky Starks' next match gets confirmed, but not in AEW

Ricky Starks is set to compete in an upcoming match. However, the match will not take place in AEW.

The former Tag Team Champion has not wrestled for AEW since March 2024. Given his talent, this has come as a bit of a surprise to fans who initially speculated that he was injured or leaving the company. However, Ricky has denied those rumors. Despite his absence from AEW TV, he has been making appearances on the indies and competed for HOG, Glory Pro, and BTW.

Now, Turnbuckle Championship Wrestling has announced on social media that the AEW star will step into their ring on February 15th to compete against Aaron Solo.

"It’s hard to believe it’s been almost a year since the kickoff of the TCW Live relaunch and returning to the ring is to mark that anniversary is none other than @starkmanjones who will take on @aaron_solo_ in a match you don’t want to miss!"

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Why did Tony Khan pull Ricky Starks from AEW TV?

Ricky Starks was one of the fastest-rising stars in AEW. He won the FTW Championship, the Owen Hart Cup, and even the Tag Team Championship. Just when it looked like he was about to get pushed, he was removed from AEW TV with no explanation. This has left fans wondering why Tony Khan pulled him from their programming.

The Wrestling Observer Newsletter is reporting that Tony prefers to use talent who agrees with his creative vision. It was further reported that the AEW boss lost interest in the Absolute One due to his plans to leave the promotion.

"Tony Khan more and more if someone doesn’t want to do his creative, unless they are his top tier guys, he just stops using them with the idea there are tons of other people who are cooperative that want TV time. Plus, with Starks, once he was convinced Starks was leaving, he wasn’t going to book him going forward because that’s just how he does things."

It's sad to see someone of the potential of Ricky Starks sitting on the sidelines wasting the best years of his career.