Ricky Starks appeared on today’s episode of Insight With Chris Van Vliet to discuss his status with AEW.
Starks was backstage at AEW’s latest pay-per-view event, Full Gear, on Saturday night. This was hours after Starks surprised fans by showing up at Saturday’s GCW event at The American Dream Mall in East Rutherford, New Jersey, where he interrupted CW regular Jimmy Lloyd, who was referencing AEW Full Gear happening nearby.
Starks laid him out with a DDT after being insulted. Starks stated that “Passion runs through my blood, and I will be damned if I sit at home and I get frozen out. I’ll be damned if I sit at home and let my career dwindle. I am 34 years old. I’m healthy. I am goddamn good-looking, and most importantly, I am a generational superstar.”
AEW hasn’t used him in months, with Starks continuously stating that he was not injured and ready to wrestle. Here are the highlights:
On not appearing for AEW in months: “I’ve been home. I’ve been healthy. Never was injured. I did have a stinger. I got a stinger in that match against Top Flight in March. I got immediately checked out, and everything was fine, but I was just concerned at the time. So that happened, and then I was just home. That’s kind of where it’s been at. I’ve just been home. It’s kind of a mindf*ck because I’m in my prime, and it sucks when you’re on such a momentum, riding the wave, doing work and doing stuff, and then to just be at home for so long, you’re kind of like, ‘Whoa.’ It kind of throws it off. No [wanting to be at home]. I am not meant to be at home. I’m not meant to be a homebody in this current phase in my life. I’m not meant to be just chilling at home and not doing the thing that I’ve been busting my ass to do for the past 13 years.”
On whether he is still under contract to AEW: “Yeah.”
On why AEW hasn’t used him: “Beats me. Beats me. I could have a thousand theories about what’s really going on. The fact of the matter is….if I don’t have a definitive answer, I can’t just make up an answer for people and just assume. Would I love to know the exact reason? For sure. Do I have speculations about why? Absolutely, but that does nothing to speak on things that I speculate, does nothing for the situation. So I think it’s just a matter of, ‘It sucks.’ You know, it’s been a very cold day here in Austin. It’s been a very cold day. It may have been cold for the past nine months, not sure. But thankfully, I have a sweater, and I’m always ready to keep the warmth going.”
On whether he is being punished: “I don’t think that. I don’t think that’s ever crossed my mind of like, ‘You’re being punished’ because that wouldn’t serve me at all to think like that. I would be depressed and angry. That wouldn’t serve me.”
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article, please credit Insight With Chris Van Vliet with an h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
