Explained: Why Ricky Stark Missed AEW

Ricky Starks, the former AEW World Tag Team Champion, has been AWOL from AEW in recent months. He last competed for the business on the March 30 edition of AEW Collision. On May 31, Starks made his comeback to the ring at the Big Time Wrestling event. This prompted several supporters to wonder why he has been put off by AEW.

According to Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful (via Fightful Select), a Reddit post sparked rumours that Ricky Starks got into legal difficulty in 2023 and was refusing AEW offers. The tweet has been removed, but Sapp has enquired about the accusations.

According to Sapp, AEW sources suggest Ricky Starks' decision to decline on-screen appearances was partially realistic. According to one person with direct knowledge, the one proposal Starks had rejected in recent months was to split up with Big Bill and quarrel with him.

Ricky Starks was a problem with the matches

Sapp also adds that there was fear about a fan reaction when Ricky Starks was not scheduled for AEW All In 2023, so the organisation chose a plot suspension approach. According to the article, Starks was not interested in becoming part of a tag team at the time, nor was he pleased with how his creative handled his strap bout against Bryan Danielson.

However, he also wrote about there is fight for information taking place between Ricky Starks and Tony Khan in recent times. Per Sapp has not heard anything and there are some creative plans which will be changed. Meanwhile, some reports state that there is some ongoing legal trouble taking place but AEW has nothing to say about the hearing. Ricky Starks has expressed that there was no legal trouble in Canada. The report also indicates that there was nothing against the AEW.

At last, he stated that Ricky Starks wants to get into WWE. However, it was not confirmed about his contract with AEW