"It does p--- me off" - Top AEW star unveils how he feels about being compared to WWE legend The Rock
AEW star Ricky Starks has often drawn comparisons to The Rock in the way he presents himself and in his promo work. He had the chance to discuss his feelings about the comparison during a recent interview.
Under the tutelage of Taz, Starks continues to be one of the most promising talents that's rising through the ranks in AEW. His star potential and charisma have caused fans to compare him to The Rock during the Attitude and early Ruthless Aggression eras of his career.
Ricky Starks saw pictures of The Rock from the 90s and said ''yeah let's go with that''. #AEWDynamite https://t.co/hJG5HtBgq4
However, during an appearance on The PWI Podcast, Starks recently explained that sometimes these associations bother him. He stated that it comes off as people trying to "discredit his originality" and claimed that he doesn't try to emulate The Rock.
“Well, the only thing that bothers me is when people try to say that I’m actually actively copying The Rock with the way I dress and all this other dumb sh--. It does p--- me off because I’ve never gone into wrestling trying to copy The Rock. I’ve never studied The Rock’s promos to do exactly how he does. Everything I do, it comes from my head. It comes from how I feel and how I want to look. So when I hear people say that and discredit my originality, it does bother me a bit.” (H/T WrestlingNews.co)
The AEW standout further made what appeared to be a dig at rival promotions by suggesting they have made a greater attempt to copycat The Rock than himself:
"If you want to see who is stealing The Rock, maybe we should look at some other promotions and go from there. Because I have never sat up here and tried to basically bite off The Rock’s style of anything." (H/T WrestlingNews.co)
Ricky Starks cost Swerve Strickland during last week's AEW Rampage
Starks and his Team Taz partner Powerhouse Hobbs have risen through the tag team rankings recently, and they have called for their shot at the gold.
Despite having their eyes on the prize, they remain embroiled in a feud with former WWE stars Keith Lee and Swerve Strickland.
Starks. Hobbs. Swerve. Lee.
Just put on an absolute banger. Bright futures in this company for all 4 of them.
#AEWDynamite https://t.co/oyKL1rKKtI
Last month, the Team Taz duo defeated Swerve and Lee to avenge Hobbs' prior loss to Lee. Starks previously defended his FTW Championship against Strickland.
On the most recent episode of AEW Rampage, Starks cost Swerve his chance to qualify for the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament. The former Hit Row star has since declared that he will be calling on Lee once more as he looks to get revenge on Team Taz.