Ricky Starks made another independent booking on Friday night when he worked HOG Watch The Throne, marking his promotional debut. He went to a DQ finish with TNA star Mike Santana.
Despite not being injured, Starks has been absent from AEW programming since March 2024 and has stated he doesn’t know why he isn’t being used. He has since worked for Glory Pro WrestlePocalypse, although pulled from GCW appearances after the Effy controversy.
After the match, Starks addressed the crowd. He said, “Every time I grab [a microphone], I somehow get in trouble. So I’m gonna say it as plainly as this: I cannot thank each and every one of you. I’ve been reading your messages, asking if I’m mentally okay, asking if I’m good, checking on me. You don’t know me, but that’s the thing about this wrestling shit, it don’t matter. We’re all a part of one thing. I have loved wrestling since I was seven. I told my mom I would buy her a house off of this, and damn it, I have done that, and I am close to giving her anything else that she wants. I don’t take anything easy. I take it the hard way. I take things the way that I want to. If the road ain’t paved with cement, guess what? I guess I’m putting on my construction hat, and I’m going to work. If you thought that I was somebody less than a year ago, guess what? You’re sadly mistaken because I have evolved to a man four years from today, and that’s saying something because a lot of y’all have not seen anything yet from me. With the last dying breath in this New Orleans heart, I tell you this: I’m gonna stay Absolute ‘til I d-i-e. You heard? You best believe that I’m gonna make sure I make a quick trip back here to Chicago.”
Starks is set to compete at DEFY Hundredth. The belief is that once his AEW contract is up, he is WWE-bound.
Ricky Starks after his match with Santana tonight, thanks the fans and everyone for all the messages and for checking up on him.
“A lot of y’all have not seen anything yet from me.”
pic.twitter.com/eX7bCJf0BS— 𝐃𝐫𝐚𝐕𝐞𝐧 (@WrestlingCovers) January 18, 2025
