A top AEW star commented on his mysterious absence from the Jacksonville-based company. He even disclosed his WrestleMania dream.
Ricky Starks has been one of AEW's standout athletes. His charisma on the mic had helped him become a fan favorite. Starks has also proven to be adaptable in the ring. This was evident when he formed a tag team with Big Bill and won the AEW World Tag Team Championship shortly after.
However, since losing the tag title to Sting and Darby Allin, he has made just a few appearances, with his last one being in a Tag Team title tournament match against Top Flight. Since then, he has not been seen on AEW TV, fuelling speculation of an injury. However, Starks refuted those rumors recently.
During a recent interview with Whatculture Wrestling, Ricky Starks opened up about his current absence from AEW. He also mentioned that it is his dream to compete at WrestleMania someday. He was also disappointed at not being on the card for AEW All In last year and hoped that changes this time around.
“The idea of even being at WrestleMania is so…I don’t even think…I think I had that dream, and then I stopped having that dream for whatever reason. Not to be sad or anything. I don’t know why. But I think everybody dreams about that. But AEW has its own WrestleMania, so to speak, with All In. It did suck last year to not be on it. I don’t want to set myself up for disappointment, and I don’t want to publicly say that I’m gonna be on All In this year, and then I just don’t," said Starks.
He also talked about his absence and admitted he had no idea what was going to happen for him next and said certain things were just out of his control. He also said he was ready to be back on television and hoped it would happen soon.
"So I think what’s next for me is… dude, I have no clue. I don’t know. I have no clue. I would love to be back wrestling and doing something with substance, but that is not in my control. So I don’t know, to be real with you. Hopefully, you see me back on-screen real soon. [Shrugs] Yeah, because I’m ready," he said. [H/T Fightful]
You can check out his comments in the video below:
AEW star Ricky Starks also commented on his WrestleMania appearance
This year's Show of Shows was one of the most highly anticipated WrestleManias in recent history and was headlined by Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns on Night Two.
Cody managed to win the Undisputed WWE Championship from Reigns. Following the match, a clip made rounds on social media showing Starks jumping for joy after Cody defeated Reigns.
During the same interview, Starks also discussed his WrestleMania appearance saying that he was there to support his friends.
"It's no different than seeing Swerve win his title at Dynasty, or me seeing Jade freakin' have a tag match [at WrestleMania]... there's no difference, so I'm gonna continue to support my friends at whatever company, because... who gon' tell me otherwise? Who am I hurting? What village am I pillaging? Like, who cares?" Ricky Starks said. [From 20:57 to 21:24]
It will be interesting to see if Ricky Starks will also leave All Elite Wrestling and join World Wrestling Entertainment in the future.