Ricky Starks has grabbed the headlines today, and we now have more information on some of the rumours doing the rounds.
Earlier today, a Reddit post surfaced claiming that Ricky Starks had run into legal trouble in Calgary last year following a bar fight and had constantly rejected pitches within AEW
Despite the post being deleted, social media has been ablaze with speculation, and thus Fightful Select have now learned more about the claims made regarding Starks, first touching on allegations of him rejecting pitches, including a nixed plan for him to feud with his former AEW World Tag Team Championship partner Big Bill.
“Fightful Select did reach out to sources within AEW and the roster, who claim that Ricky Starks turning down pitches to be on screen are accurate to some degree. Another source with direct knowledge of the situation claimed that breaking up with Big Bill and feuding was the only pitch in the last several months he rejected. We can’t speak to the claim that he wasn’t even listening to pitches, as that wasn’t broached or answered by any source we spoke with. Those that criticized Starks within the company claimed that he didn’t want to do business, despite those involved in the storyline hoping that it would launch Bill as a huge heel and Ricky Starks as a big babyface. It was said that Starks didn’t think that Big Bill losing a feud to him would end up being beneficial to Bill, and wanted them to have an amicable split if anything. The original Reddit post did cite that pitch.”
-Fightful Select
The report goes on to reveal that his suspension storyline last year was in response to fears of fan backlash regarding him not being booked for All In. As for his split with Big Bill, it was noted that Starks wasn’t a fan of being in a tag team at the time, but took particular issue with his lack of follow up to his highly-praised match with Bryan Danielson, with CM Punk’s departure cited as something that slowed his momentum.
As for his current status, Fightful adds that Starks is said to be medically cleared, however despite conflicting information, they’re yet to hear of any imminent creative plans, though this could change at any point.
On the topic of the alleged incident in Calgary, Fightful noted that AEW didn’t officially comment when they reached out, whilst Starks claimed he was never in legal trouble in Calgary. Additionally, everyone Fightful Select spoke to are said to have denied that the incident occurred, although until local authorities clarify the situation, things remain uncertain.
“Regarding the rumors of an incident in Calgary, numerous AEW sources in the company deny ever having heard it, and AEW didn’t comment in an official capacity. Ricky Starks claims he was never in legal trouble in Canada. Everyone we’ve spoken to that was named in relation to the alleged incident claim that it didn’t occur whatsoever. Regardless of what did or didn’t happen, we’re told that nothing ended up being filed, and there were no issues with him entering Canada, as he competed there since. We have reached out to local authorities, but did not get any information, and weren’t told if they could disclose such at this moment. If it did occur, which isn’t out of the realm of possibility, everyone alleged of involvement denied it directly to us.”
-Fightful Select
Amidst these rumours, Starks is also widely believed to be wanting to make the jump from AEW to WWE, with many fans pointing towards his connection to Cody Rhodes. The report reveals that whilst there are certainly those within AEW that share this belief, Starks’ contract information is yet to be confirmed.
As always, we’ll aim to provide any further updates on rumours of Ricky Starks’ alleged incident in Calgary and turning down AEW’s pitches as soon as we hear more.
