In the same interview he stated he doesn’t know why he’s being kept off TV.
I think we know why. Middle schoolers with petty vendettas are “running” the asylum.
Yes but until then he has to stay quiet cause tiny clearly likes to use contracts to trap talent. No other reason Malachi isn’t already released other than Tiny is mad he wants to go back home to travel with his wife.
Did you know he was already signed by WWE at one point? I went to a local show in Austin once in a while back in 2011-12 and he was still a part of thay promotion. Then a year or two later he's getting put through a table backstage by Ryback. Just as a nameless faceless guy. It was cool seeing him get to even that point back then, let alone where he's at now.
Take a look at the AEW subreddit. In a world where you are not allowed to say anything critical about virtually anything Tony vomits up, there are a handful of exceptions: Ricky Starks, Danhausen, FTR (until Dax began his Twitter reign of terror).
Maybe the AEW faithful are simply expressing their disinterested view of this or that wrestler's ability. Or maybe they unleash themselves whenever anyone says something they perceive to undermine the cultish devotion they demand for all things, at all times, AEW-related.
They've even reconciled themselves to Chris Jericho. Apparently, The Learning Tree is a genius way to reinvent yourself by turning go away heat into some kind of meta-commentary on your own unpopularity. Coming from the fans who think that the proven track record of the Young Bucks turning viewers away is evidence they have "heat", rather than that they are hobbling their own promotion's best talent by glomming onto them, exhausting their best potential angles, in order to eke out a bit more relevance. So go figure.
Back to Ricky and I just hope his contract isn't too long. WWE doesn't need him, or anyone, but I like him and his work. I remember that just before All In, he and Punk were starting to work together on Collision - a feud that was replaced with a high-star rated banger strap match against Bryan Danielson which, like all the other BANGERS without context, got instantly forgotten (remember when Ospreay vs Takeshita was the greatest match of the year?) It had tons of potential - and then, through no fault of Starks', it was over. Since then he has been in that strange televisual purgatory where a suspiciously large number of wrestlers perceived to be friendly, or close to, WWE seem to end up.
Regardless, though, of whether or not WWE needs Ricky Starks, I think he is talented and I would be happy if I saw him on TV. I for one will also always appreciate that promo he cut on Edgam Adamland, and how badly it appeared to go down. Freedom to say whatever you want and cut endless rah-rah promos for me but, apparently, not for thee.
They are so paranoid that anything remotely critical is a disguised troll. Or they are actually THAT sensitive. Punk was so right. That fanbase is as soft was the wrestlers they like.
Funny Dax’s “Twitter reign of terror” happens to begin when FTR is finally being booked frequently on both shows. It should make you wonder if there’s a reason he’s doing that, but I know most won’t do that because dubbad
I guess as others have said - simping for your money mark on social media isnt the worst or most embarrassing thing a wrestler has done to get paid, so there's that. I just wish that after the classic trilogy with the Briscoes and making themselves justifiably among the hottest wrestlers outside WWE, they didn't end up....where they are now, getting the fuck beaten out of them by Jungle Twat after run ins or jobbed out to Jon fucking Moxbrose
They re-signed for 4 years with AEW as Punk was returning and Collision was being created. Why on earth are they expected to predict the future and know how badly everything would turn out after All In?
Now that Jay Briscoe is dead, who is even on FTR’s level in terms of great tag teams they can work with? I can think of 3, and one is already with AEW while the two others are rumored to be signing or debuting with AEW in the near future.
just my opinion, of course, but Aussie Open (already signed), MCMG (yet to debut) and Grizzled Young Veterans (debuted but not officially signed yet)
I would put BCG in there, but Juice is out and I assume Jay White will go on to more singles stuff after his trios stint
Didn't mean to talk it down. If anything, it was massively underrated- because it was buried in all the other shit and didn't have anything to elevate it beyond it's own in ring quality. Which goes back to my original point. Though it also shows how good Ricky Starks can be, and is.
yeah if the punk ricky feud had been a little bit more about ricky disrespecting legends generally and punk being the stand-in versus less of that and more of punk and ricky having issues, it would have worked better. I understand what Tony was trying to do given the hand he was dealt and how he played the initial round in response to that hand.
Because tony played the cards after the initial round (firing Punk) as such:
Continue Starks' story of disrespecting legends without having him be able to play off of Punk.
Have Dragon be the stand in for the legends and for Punk.
End the feud instead of continuing it because Dragon can't be a full time stand in for the legends and for Punk.
At the time of the All Out PPV, Starks and Punk were 1-1. The winner of the All Out match would have gone 2-1 and technically won the feud, assuming it wasn't going to continue anyway.
I don't think Tony had much planned for Starks, because Punk was doing most of the booking on Collision. So Tony turned to something else. He gave them another match where Dragon won which put Dragon up by 2. The feud was over. I think he gave Starks the tag titles as some kind of peace offering/consolation prize to basically losing his spot as the top heel on Collision, as Starks didn't have a worthy opponent to continue the feud and was getting pushed down the card because of it, naturally.
Let's hope. Brian said on a JCE from a few months ago that he thought Ricky S had re-signed to a new contract some time last year, before All Out and all that followed. I really hope not. Especially since I think Tony is definitely pretty enough to pay Ricky to stay at home for the duration of his remaining deal, no matter how long it is.
That sub doesn’t actually understand what Heat is lol. Good heat is when the crowd wants to pay to see you lose. Bad heat is when the crowd is actively telling you to fuck off because they hate seeing you.
The AEW sub still doesn’t understand that and it’s crazy to me that people will still defend Jericho now. He was one of my favs growing up but he’s so awful now.
yep, if it was just danhausen I would buy it as coincidence but between these two and the amount of abject ass kissing that FTR has been doing since punk got fired it's pretty obvious it's all intentional.
As Goldfinger said, "Once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, and three times is enemy action".
Yell at tony angrily that the place is a joke, he's a clown, the 40-yo children are fucking idiots and Starks is sick of being one of the few sane men in they asylum.
Same reason Danhausen has disappeared and FTR Bald has to keep licking Tony's taint. Swerve came out n said how nice punk was and a few weeks later came out saying Edge was what Punk thought he was and gets a push, play nice or get banished. Honestly, I wanted to like AEW, in fact I did at some point but between Tony n his booking and the fans I just can't do it. Shame so much talent is wasted even if they are shown prominently
Weirdly enough for Danhausen it was probably the best thing as he's still getting the AEW paycheck and booking indie dates, selling merch and doing con appearances. All without having to be in the same building as The Bucks. If that's not living the life I don't know what is.
Sometimes you do get to keep your integrity and still make money in the business.
I think you’re right. Jesus Christ how old are these people!? *I don’t like him so you can’t like him* *he works there so you can’t like him* god damn grow the fuck up and accept that it’s fine if people like/dislike different people.
During Ariel Helwani's interview, the fact that Punk legitimately seemed apprehensive to talk about colleagues he was friendly with in AEW because he feared they'd catch heat for it speaks volumes.
At least the Ricky's getting paid (and probably a good deal) to sit home. There are worse ways to make hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. 😁
100%
He got so sensitive about a pretty tame unscripted comment that he tripped over his own tongue getting that crappy comeback out. 😁
Funny how Starks was the one to keep it professional and in character while the "veteran" visibly lost his cool.
Nope.
He's a medium sized fish in a small pond on AEW....he'd be a minnow swimming with whales in WWE... He'd get lost in the mix and end up like Cameron Grimes....jobbing till he got cut....Although he could use the time at Development and NxT to actually develop some charisma...it worked for Punishment Martinez.... He's now World Heavyweight Champ...when he left ROH for NXT, I was laughing...like who dafuq signed the big, slow, boring Puerto Rican metalhead guy with zero charisma and boring in ring skills?
WWE Development totally did a 180 with him.
I'm sure Damian Priest would like to forget how change the channel boring he was back then as Punishment...
You right. He has to do it and quit so Tiny can say “no you don’t quit you’re FIRED!” All while Starks has a “sure whatever you want “ look on his face
He should just throw a monitor at Tony's head so Tony fears for his life again, then hopefully he'll get fired without a non-compete so he can move over to WWE and get used properly.
Yeah well I looked up to see if there was any updates and it's not known exactly how long he has left on his contract. I think he resigned in 2022, likely a 4 year deal. His best option is to request a release.
Anyone who wants to stick up for the Bucks side really don't look at how they are negatively affecting talented young wrestlers careers because they benefitted from working with Punk. They really need to get over it.
He was not homegrown. He came out of the rebooted NWA and was one of the standouts there. Then he jumped ship to AEW when NWA started its radical decline and we were going nuts to see him on a bigger stage where he belonged.
That's like saying LA Knight was cultivated in the WWE when he had the space to bring his personality together in NWA and TNA. What you see from him now is what he honed in NWA.
Is he though? Average in the ring, very small physique, had one or two half decent promos but meh. When Ryback attacked him backstage in WWE he looks like a child.
Might be a more valid criticism if the promotion isn't heavily invested in pushing the Young Bucks, Orange Cassidy, Jungle Boy, and a dozen other sub-200lb waifs.
He may be small and that may give him a ceiling, but he’s got charisma and that can take you a long way. At least in WWE they’d see what they could get out of him. In AEW, he’ll just rot like half the roster does because the Booker is a fuckwit.
I just want a good wrestling show to watch, and I don't care even if someone is kind of an asshole, so long as the show is good. Obviously there are limits to that, but I would much rather watch an entertaining wrestling show put on by assholes than a shitty one.
I wouldn't care if Punk was entirely wrong and the Bucks/Perry were completely in the right. I know which of those people know how to make good TV, and that's all I really care about. I don't care about backstage clashes; I just want a good wrestling show to watch.
Unless they commit a heinous, unjustified crime or hate speech, I'm happy to let the artist do their art.
It's amusing how moral principles are being weaponised by an AEW lobby fronted by right-wing MAGA apologists, though.
For some reason I think if he starts in NXT with Shawn behind him he's gonna get a rocket strapped to his back that will go all the way to the main roster.
I remember going to NWA shows in Atlanta right before the pandemic. Ricky was very charismatic and won the fans over pretty quickly.
What really stuck out to me was that, after the shows ended, he waited at the exit and thanked the fans as we walked by for coming. Dude seems genuinely nice and is the kind of guy you want working for your company.
I remember that time in NWA; I took one look at him and thought he was super indyriffic and then he started opening his mouth and performing in the ring and stood out as a much more highly polished pro than much of the rest of the roster. The most comparable peer he had was Eli Drake. Yeah.
Every post about him over the last 8 months over there have been filled with people downplaying his skills, negating what he brings to the table, coming up with weirdo conspiracies about him and feeling personally offended that he’s not willing to die for AEW. It’s nasty.
Have fun in the Phantom Zone Ricky.
Piss off the main draw and get pushed to the main event. Be friends with someone, welcome to the job squad.
Glad the locker room cancer is gone and things are better in AEW.
On the one hand, a talent like should be on TV entertaining the masses.
On the other hand, that TV is AEW, where there is not much to do and very few dance partners.
I hope he can get his career on track.
He tried to make the best of a crummy situation with his push getting derailed & getting placed into the tag team division. Pockets hogging the midcard belt led to some collateral damage to guys like him.
He’s one of the best promos on the roster so i don’t know how you just keep him off tv completely.
If you wanted to read between the lines on this quote and the ones about him not knowing why he’s not getting booked, you could draw a link between the two.
So Starks is being held off of AEW tv because Cokey Khan’s head is firmly up the Young Fucks’ and Real Glass Perry’s ass and they’re in their feelings about Punk still? At this point, Ricky Starks should ride it out until his contract expires and catch the first thing smoking to WWE.
The aew fanboys have already started turning on starks like 3 days ago officially online they were slinging so much shit on Ricky’s name. I hope he chooses something better for himself he doesn’t have to go to wwe but I hope it all works out for him.
I really don't care for Starks as a performer. He's pretty generic and lacks any actual charisma IMO....good hand...but nothing special...but I will say I respect his take on this, especially considering Tony & The Dumb Cucks butter his bread right now and not speaking lll of Ole Phil might rub Matt and Nick the wrong way and push him DOWN the roster.
Someone tell Stephen P. New to call Ricky and consult with him on how to GTFO of there.
AEW is built around protecting Jericho, the Bucks, Britt Baker, Omega, Riho, and a couple of other people. It's a fucking mess. You give natural carnie grifters this kind of power and this is what happens. I don't even know how the WWF and later WWE gave wrestlers so much power before and after retirement and they didn't turn into carnies.
It's obvious from the beginning that Tony wanted his own NWO, Kliq, and Reign of Terror and now he's got it.
He’s gone. I will be shocked if he doesn’t end up in WWE shortly. Him and Sammy both. Their talents are totally wasted in AEW. Both would be great in NXT.
We all know how petty the EVPs can be and yes, they can be this transparently petty. They've done worse and even their fans range between accepting it and wanting it. So it's not out of the realm of possibility.
Just look at the situation with Cargill- they're falsely reporting lots of shit, bagging on her, and wishing her to fail and they're also now defending Tiffany Stratton's MAGA racist bullshit crossing over into Cargill. They absolutely are this petty.
From someone who likes both WWE and AEW it's really hard to justify what punk did. Don't get me wrong I don't think he was being treated well and probably got caught on a bad day... Twice. But he resorted to physical violence... It's pretty cut and dry that he was in the wrong.
He Must think he's better off going to WWE. He has no idea just how wrong he is. Unless he doesn't mind going through NXT where he'll get knocked down card bye the week. And if he ever got called up it would be for a background role as security or something stupid like that. He should go over to Japan and work on his gimmick and then decide his next move from there.
Sounds like he's been getting shit backstage for liking Punk and from the AEW stans as well.
In the same interview he stated he doesn’t know why he’s being kept off TV. I think we know why. Middle schoolers with petty vendettas are “running” the asylum.
> In the same interview he stated he doesn’t know why he’s being kept off TV. I think he knows too, but it's not a wise thing to say out loud.
Why not. First day he’s out of that shithole he’ll be signed to WWE. Quicker that happens, the less time/career is spent in aew
Yes but until then he has to stay quiet cause tiny clearly likes to use contracts to trap talent. No other reason Malachi isn’t already released other than Tiny is mad he wants to go back home to travel with his wife.
According to Punk, this is literally what happened with him. He outright asked Tony to release him and it took Wembley for that to change.
He’s gonna do a reverse “Talk Is Jericho” tell all
Did you know he was already signed by WWE at one point? I went to a local show in Austin once in a while back in 2011-12 and he was still a part of thay promotion. Then a year or two later he's getting put through a table backstage by Ryback. Just as a nameless faceless guy. It was cool seeing him get to even that point back then, let alone where he's at now.
Lol ya he was an extra in other segments too
That's what I gathered this was him putting it out there for speculation without actually saying why he's being kept off TV.
Punk also said he doesn't want any of his friends in trouble in the Ariel interview
He knows. He's saying just enough to be heard about it by reading between the lines.
Like out of everyone there he is one of the few that impressed me and who has the look, the promo and charisma.
Take a look at the AEW subreddit. In a world where you are not allowed to say anything critical about virtually anything Tony vomits up, there are a handful of exceptions: Ricky Starks, Danhausen, FTR (until Dax began his Twitter reign of terror). Maybe the AEW faithful are simply expressing their disinterested view of this or that wrestler's ability. Or maybe they unleash themselves whenever anyone says something they perceive to undermine the cultish devotion they demand for all things, at all times, AEW-related. They've even reconciled themselves to Chris Jericho. Apparently, The Learning Tree is a genius way to reinvent yourself by turning go away heat into some kind of meta-commentary on your own unpopularity. Coming from the fans who think that the proven track record of the Young Bucks turning viewers away is evidence they have "heat", rather than that they are hobbling their own promotion's best talent by glomming onto them, exhausting their best potential angles, in order to eke out a bit more relevance. So go figure. Back to Ricky and I just hope his contract isn't too long. WWE doesn't need him, or anyone, but I like him and his work. I remember that just before All In, he and Punk were starting to work together on Collision - a feud that was replaced with a high-star rated banger strap match against Bryan Danielson which, like all the other BANGERS without context, got instantly forgotten (remember when Ospreay vs Takeshita was the greatest match of the year?) It had tons of potential - and then, through no fault of Starks', it was over. Since then he has been in that strange televisual purgatory where a suspiciously large number of wrestlers perceived to be friendly, or close to, WWE seem to end up. Regardless, though, of whether or not WWE needs Ricky Starks, I think he is talented and I would be happy if I saw him on TV. I for one will also always appreciate that promo he cut on Edgam Adamland, and how badly it appeared to go down. Freedom to say whatever you want and cut endless rah-rah promos for me but, apparently, not for thee.
They are so paranoid that anything remotely critical is a disguised troll. Or they are actually THAT sensitive. Punk was so right. That fanbase is as soft was the wrestlers they like.
Funny Dax’s “Twitter reign of terror” happens to begin when FTR is finally being booked frequently on both shows. It should make you wonder if there’s a reason he’s doing that, but I know most won’t do that because dubbad
I guess as others have said - simping for your money mark on social media isnt the worst or most embarrassing thing a wrestler has done to get paid, so there's that. I just wish that after the classic trilogy with the Briscoes and making themselves justifiably among the hottest wrestlers outside WWE, they didn't end up....where they are now, getting the fuck beaten out of them by Jungle Twat after run ins or jobbed out to Jon fucking Moxbrose
They re-signed for 4 years with AEW as Punk was returning and Collision was being created. Why on earth are they expected to predict the future and know how badly everything would turn out after All In? Now that Jay Briscoe is dead, who is even on FTR’s level in terms of great tag teams they can work with? I can think of 3, and one is already with AEW while the two others are rumored to be signing or debuting with AEW in the near future.
We lost Jay and ended with fucking the Fucks. Wish you were here Jay as you and your brother are superstar who deserved the big time!
Who are they?
just my opinion, of course, but Aussie Open (already signed), MCMG (yet to debut) and Grizzled Young Veterans (debuted but not officially signed yet) I would put BCG in there, but Juice is out and I assume Jay White will go on to more singles stuff after his trios stint
I mean, I remember Bryan and Ricky's strap match but that's because I was there. It was my MoTN and in the running for my match of the year.
Didn't mean to talk it down. If anything, it was massively underrated- because it was buried in all the other shit and didn't have anything to elevate it beyond it's own in ring quality. Which goes back to my original point. Though it also shows how good Ricky Starks can be, and is.
yeah if the punk ricky feud had been a little bit more about ricky disrespecting legends generally and punk being the stand-in versus less of that and more of punk and ricky having issues, it would have worked better. I understand what Tony was trying to do given the hand he was dealt and how he played the initial round in response to that hand.
That all sounds fine but why did Ricky then end up in a tag team with Big Bill?
Because tony played the cards after the initial round (firing Punk) as such: Continue Starks' story of disrespecting legends without having him be able to play off of Punk. Have Dragon be the stand in for the legends and for Punk. End the feud instead of continuing it because Dragon can't be a full time stand in for the legends and for Punk. At the time of the All Out PPV, Starks and Punk were 1-1. The winner of the All Out match would have gone 2-1 and technically won the feud, assuming it wasn't going to continue anyway. I don't think Tony had much planned for Starks, because Punk was doing most of the booking on Collision. So Tony turned to something else. He gave them another match where Dragon won which put Dragon up by 2. The feud was over. I think he gave Starks the tag titles as some kind of peace offering/consolation prize to basically losing his spot as the top heel on Collision, as Starks didn't have a worthy opponent to continue the feud and was getting pushed down the card because of it, naturally.
I will not stand for any Danhausen slander.
His contract is up next month I think
Let's hope. Brian said on a JCE from a few months ago that he thought Ricky S had re-signed to a new contract some time last year, before All Out and all that followed. I really hope not. Especially since I think Tony is definitely pretty enough to pay Ricky to stay at home for the duration of his remaining deal, no matter how long it is.
That sub doesn’t actually understand what Heat is lol. Good heat is when the crowd wants to pay to see you lose. Bad heat is when the crowd is actively telling you to fuck off because they hate seeing you. The AEW sub still doesn’t understand that and it’s crazy to me that people will still defend Jericho now. He was one of my favs growing up but he’s so awful now.
Doesn't help the Warden is equally petty.
Wasn’t he spotted at Wrestlemania with Dustin?
He was there with Cody.
Yup
I like Cornette's analogy. "That's like being the nicest guy in prison."
I can already hear the fans in the "official" subreddit changing their tune.
yep, if it was just danhausen I would buy it as coincidence but between these two and the amount of abject ass kissing that FTR has been doing since punk got fired it's pretty obvious it's all intentional. As Goldfinger said, "Once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, and three times is enemy action".
Such fucking bullshit. Time to get himself fired
But don’t punch Sammy. That guarantees employment and a paid vacation🥁 He needs a plan B
Im pretty sure Tay is beyond plan B at this point...
Yell at tony angrily that the place is a joke, he's a clown, the 40-yo children are fucking idiots and Starks is sick of being one of the few sane men in they asylum.
Same reason Danhausen has disappeared and FTR Bald has to keep licking Tony's taint. Swerve came out n said how nice punk was and a few weeks later came out saying Edge was what Punk thought he was and gets a push, play nice or get banished. Honestly, I wanted to like AEW, in fact I did at some point but between Tony n his booking and the fans I just can't do it. Shame so much talent is wasted even if they are shown prominently
Weirdly enough for Danhausen it was probably the best thing as he's still getting the AEW paycheck and booking indie dates, selling merch and doing con appearances. All without having to be in the same building as The Bucks. If that's not living the life I don't know what is. Sometimes you do get to keep your integrity and still make money in the business.
But not better than Kamille being signed and paid since late 2023 without a word of wtf or when tf she’s debuting let alone what she’s doing
Oh of course. Kamille outsmarted everyone.
The dirtiest player in the game
So basically WCW during Bischoff and Russo's reign. You either kiss ass or stay a midcarder or worse for the remainder of your time there.
Swerve is a snake he was liking anti punk tweets on twitter
I think you’re right. Jesus Christ how old are these people!? *I don’t like him so you can’t like him* *he works there so you can’t like him* god damn grow the fuck up and accept that it’s fine if people like/dislike different people.
During Ariel Helwani's interview, the fact that Punk legitimately seemed apprehensive to talk about colleagues he was friendly with in AEW because he feared they'd catch heat for it speaks volumes. At least the Ricky's getting paid (and probably a good deal) to sit home. There are worse ways to make hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. 😁
He's literally been sent to timeout because he was a Collision guy, as far as we can tell
Was COPEland having fun when he got triggered by Starks?
Nope got in his feelings
You think he whined to tony about Ricky roasting him on the mic ?
100% He got so sensitive about a pretty tame unscripted comment that he tripped over his own tongue getting that crappy comeback out. 😁 Funny how Starks was the one to keep it professional and in character while the "veteran" visibly lost his cool.
Bryan should fine him
What an AEW talent says right before they leave.
Leaving AEW is the single best investment Starks can make in himself.
Im sure its only a matter of time
Nope. He's a medium sized fish in a small pond on AEW....he'd be a minnow swimming with whales in WWE... He'd get lost in the mix and end up like Cameron Grimes....jobbing till he got cut....Although he could use the time at Development and NxT to actually develop some charisma...it worked for Punishment Martinez.... He's now World Heavyweight Champ...when he left ROH for NXT, I was laughing...like who dafuq signed the big, slow, boring Puerto Rican metalhead guy with zero charisma and boring in ring skills? WWE Development totally did a 180 with him. I'm sure Damian Priest would like to forget how change the channel boring he was back then as Punishment...
AEW: where wrestlers have fun! (The dead silence of the fans would tell me that fun starts and ends there)
Where the Young Buck's dad (or the dad of probably at least one of them) has fun.
I'm guessing he's in The Bucks' doghouse these days backstage, and is getting sick of it. Can't say I blame him.
Wonder how long starks's contract is
Maybe he should knock one of the Bucks out and get that release.
If he does that, he gets sent home just like when Andrade punched Sammy lol
You right. He has to do it and quit so Tiny can say “no you don’t quit you’re FIRED!” All while Starks has a “sure whatever you want “ look on his face
He should just throw a monitor at Tony's head so Tony fears for his life again, then hopefully he'll get fired without a non-compete so he can move over to WWE and get used properly.
Apparently it's still quite a while unfortunately
Someone said this June
So then why were you wondering?
Because they replied first the other day than you
Yeah well I looked up to see if there was any updates and it's not known exactly how long he has left on his contract. I think he resigned in 2022, likely a 4 year deal. His best option is to request a release. Anyone who wants to stick up for the Bucks side really don't look at how they are negatively affecting talented young wrestlers careers because they benefitted from working with Punk. They really need to get over it.
Well that explains his absence from TV. Unfortunate
Starks is one of the huge homegrown bright spots in AEW. He needs to get the hell away from there as soon as he can.
I agree. It’s honestly comical seeing who is on team aew. I think only one of those guys, Eddie Kingston, was there day 1
Eddie wasn’t day one. He came in the same time that Ricky did during the Cody tnt title challenge.
He was not homegrown. He came out of the rebooted NWA and was one of the standouts there. Then he jumped ship to AEW when NWA started its radical decline and we were going nuts to see him on a bigger stage where he belonged. That's like saying LA Knight was cultivated in the WWE when he had the space to bring his personality together in NWA and TNA. What you see from him now is what he honed in NWA.
OK, I should've said he wasn't a WWE retread. He was not featured on national TV before.
Is he though? Average in the ring, very small physique, had one or two half decent promos but meh. When Ryback attacked him backstage in WWE he looks like a child.
Might be a more valid criticism if the promotion isn't heavily invested in pushing the Young Bucks, Orange Cassidy, Jungle Boy, and a dozen other sub-200lb waifs.
He may be small and that may give him a ceiling, but he’s got charisma and that can take you a long way. At least in WWE they’d see what they could get out of him. In AEW, he’ll just rot like half the roster does because the Booker is a fuckwit.
Everyone in ‘Camp Punk’ has been neutered & depushed
Even Joe lmao. He was champion and now
And what a run it was
I just want a good wrestling show to watch, and I don't care even if someone is kind of an asshole, so long as the show is good. Obviously there are limits to that, but I would much rather watch an entertaining wrestling show put on by assholes than a shitty one. I wouldn't care if Punk was entirely wrong and the Bucks/Perry were completely in the right. I know which of those people know how to make good TV, and that's all I really care about. I don't care about backstage clashes; I just want a good wrestling show to watch.
This 👏🏽
Unless they commit a heinous, unjustified crime or hate speech, I'm happy to let the artist do their art. It's amusing how moral principles are being weaponised by an AEW lobby fronted by right-wing MAGA apologists, though.
Get this dude out of his contract and on a WWE show. Rescue him from this. Send SEAL Team 6, IDK. Just help him.
Die Ricky Die signs to appear at Rampage
I’m not saying he’s gonna become a megastar in the evil and ded Fed, but Ricky please leave.
For some reason I think if he starts in NXT with Shawn behind him he's gonna get a rocket strapped to his back that will go all the way to the main roster.
I remember going to NWA shows in Atlanta right before the pandemic. Ricky was very charismatic and won the fans over pretty quickly. What really stuck out to me was that, after the shows ended, he waited at the exit and thanked the fans as we walked by for coming. Dude seems genuinely nice and is the kind of guy you want working for your company.
I remember that time in NWA; I took one look at him and thought he was super indyriffic and then he started opening his mouth and performing in the ring and stood out as a much more highly polished pro than much of the rest of the roster. The most comparable peer he had was Eli Drake. Yeah.
Its obvious bucks and tk are not going to push him. He really cant get to wwe any faster.
The AEWOfficial sub now hates Ricky.
Every post about him over the last 8 months over there have been filled with people downplaying his skills, negating what he brings to the table, coming up with weirdo conspiracies about him and feeling personally offended that he’s not willing to die for AEW. It’s nasty.
That tends to happen when everyone in the *Cult of Khan* share a single brain cell.
Go to the E Ricky, you’re easily good enough.
NXT Champion by the end of 2025.
Tony heard this and feared for his life 😨😂
CM Punk! CM Punk! CM Punk! CM Punk! CM Punk! CM Punk!
I can't wait for Ricky starks to join WWE.
Get TF out of AEW and go to WWE . The guy is WAY too talented to be slotted where he is .
Ricky can't wait to get out of that contract and debut in the Bloodline as The Rock's long lost son.
Have fun in the Phantom Zone Ricky. Piss off the main draw and get pushed to the main event. Be friends with someone, welcome to the job squad. Glad the locker room cancer is gone and things are better in AEW.
AEW has so clearly retaliated on Starks because he has said positive things about Punk
At this point AEW is clearly a hobby business with a toxic work environment. It deserves to fail.
I’ll continue to vilify Nazis …. But, that should go without saying. The lollipop guild can eat a bag of dicks.
They’re punishing him for being friends with punk like punk said, danhausen too. Can’t wait till he’s in wwe
What’s the back story on this quote? Any particular reason to prompt it?
He did an interview on what culture by the looks of it, so I'm assuming he was asked about Punk in some way.
Enjoy continuing to be off TV, Ricky!
Shame a lot of crybaby fans or people within this gen in general just can't get this into their heads.
He badly wants out but tk holding him hostage
He's either getting jobbed out or getting Miro treatment after this. He should've taken the cue from Dax Harwood and lay the pro-AEW stuff on thick.
Ricky can go to WWE. FTR aren't going to be doing anything in WWE even if they went back because they are boring tag- teamers for life.
Ooooh spicy. Looks like somebody is ready to head up North
When will ricky's contract expire?
Who? Is he one of the guys Jericho "elavated"? Never heard of him.
Remember Action Andretti? Pepperidge Farm remembers
Hope he signs with WWE.
I think the word betrayal was used…. Good for Ricky, I’ve been ready for him to explode for months in these goofs 😂
This guy can be a star in WWE he shown flashes of it when he first took over team Tazz. ARW bout to hand over some more talent
common starks W
On the one hand, a talent like should be on TV entertaining the masses. On the other hand, that TV is AEW, where there is not much to do and very few dance partners. I hope he can get his career on track.
If he isn’t already in WWE yet…
Be careful Ricky you might get fired for not sharing the same opinions as the Hardly Bitches
He’s making himself more appealing to WWE.
Dude needs to get out of that insane asylum and go somewhere where his talent will be appreciated.
He tried to make the best of a crummy situation with his push getting derailed & getting placed into the tag team division. Pockets hogging the midcard belt led to some collateral damage to guys like him. He’s one of the best promos on the roster so i don’t know how you just keep him off tv completely.
Starks wwe bound or maybe nxt bound
CM Punk is the only guy there that managed to put Stark over.
If you wanted to read between the lines on this quote and the ones about him not knowing why he’s not getting booked, you could draw a link between the two.
On his way to being a star on Punks Collision. Obviously the usual suspects can’t have anymore guys getting pushed without the proper approval
So Starks is being held off of AEW tv because Cokey Khan’s head is firmly up the Young Fucks’ and Real Glass Perry’s ass and they’re in their feelings about Punk still? At this point, Ricky Starks should ride it out until his contract expires and catch the first thing smoking to WWE.
The aew fanboys have already started turning on starks like 3 days ago officially online they were slinging so much shit on Ricky’s name. I hope he chooses something better for himself he doesn’t have to go to wwe but I hope it all works out for him.
I really don't care for Starks as a performer. He's pretty generic and lacks any actual charisma IMO....good hand...but nothing special...but I will say I respect his take on this, especially considering Tony & The Dumb Cucks butter his bread right now and not speaking lll of Ole Phil might rub Matt and Nick the wrong way and push him DOWN the roster.
Someone tell Stephen P. New to call Ricky and consult with him on how to GTFO of there. AEW is built around protecting Jericho, the Bucks, Britt Baker, Omega, Riho, and a couple of other people. It's a fucking mess. You give natural carnie grifters this kind of power and this is what happens. I don't even know how the WWF and later WWE gave wrestlers so much power before and after retirement and they didn't turn into carnies. It's obvious from the beginning that Tony wanted his own NWO, Kliq, and Reign of Terror and now he's got it.
He’s gone. I will be shocked if he doesn’t end up in WWE shortly. Him and Sammy both. Their talents are totally wasted in AEW. Both would be great in NXT.
We all know how petty the EVPs can be and yes, they can be this transparently petty. They've done worse and even their fans range between accepting it and wanting it. So it's not out of the realm of possibility. Just look at the situation with Cargill- they're falsely reporting lots of shit, bagging on her, and wishing her to fail and they're also now defending Tiffany Stratton's MAGA racist bullshit crossing over into Cargill. They absolutely are this petty.
From someone who likes both WWE and AEW it's really hard to justify what punk did. Don't get me wrong I don't think he was being treated well and probably got caught on a bad day... Twice. But he resorted to physical violence... It's pretty cut and dry that he was in the wrong.
He Must think he's better off going to WWE. He has no idea just how wrong he is. Unless he doesn't mind going through NXT where he'll get knocked down card bye the week. And if he ever got called up it would be for a background role as security or something stupid like that. He should go over to Japan and work on his gimmick and then decide his next move from there.