Update on the rumored "heat" on a top AEW star for visiting recent WWE event - Reports

There have been rumors that a top AEW star has backstage "heat" due to him visiting a recent WWE event. New details have now come to light regarding these rumors.

Ever since his AEW debut, Ricky Starks has shown a lot of potential and growth. He has been consistent on the mic as well as in the ring, and this has helped him become a top star in the company. Starks' debut match in AEW came against Cody Rhodes when he challenged for the latter's TNT Championship. Over the years, Starks has built a strong friendship with The American Nightmare.

In fact, when Cody Rhodes won the Undisputed WWE Championship at WrestleMania XL to kick off the Paul ''Triple H" Levesque era, Ricky was there to lend his support to his friends. He was also spotted backstage with Rhodes at the Royal Rumble last year. But as Starks' presence on television diminished in the weeks after the PLE, there were rumors circulating that this could be due to backstage heat.

During a recent Fightful Q&A podcast, Sean Ross Sapp stated that he heard nothing of Starks having backstage "heat" in Tony Khan's promotion.

“Ricky Starks wants to be on T.V., or at least so he says. I’ve heard no issues of him having heat as a result of being at the Royal Rumble or wherever the hell he was at. Some people were speculating. You’re allowed to visit your friends.” [H/T: Ringside News]

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Jim Cornette believes that Ricky Starks' friendship with Cody Rhodes hurt his AEW push

Not too long ago, Ricky Starks won the AEW World Tag Team Championship with Big Bill. However, since losing the title, he hasn't made a lot of appearances on TV. While fans believed he was injured, Ricky squashed those rumors. This has led many to believe that he is being punished.

On his Drive Thru podcast, Jim Cornette stated that Starks is being punished for his friendship with Cody Rhodes.

"He's [Ricky Starks] being put in a deep freeze possibly because he's, you know, obviously close to Cody [Rhodes] because he was a Cody guy that Cody helped and he's friends with him. Perhaps that doesn't sit well with some members of the office staff over there at the friends company," Cornette said.

Check out the full video below:

It remains to be seen when Ricky Starks will make his return to All Elite Wrestling television again.