"I couldn’t have predicted that" - Ricky Starks details the story of how he signed with AEW
FTW Champion and AEW star Ricky Starks has detailed the story about how he signed with Tony Khan's promotion.
Starks made his AEW debut when he answered Cody Rhodes' open challenge for the TNT Championship. Despite losing, Tony Khan quickly signed him as part of AEW's roster.
While speaking to talkSPORT, Ricky Starks opened up on how the signing and debut happened.
“It’s crazy because I actually watched the Dynamite where Cody said it was open to anyone and then he went on Twitter and clarified it’s literally open to everyone, even people who aren’t signed. Thursday I was in the gym and I had this vision that I would come out and cut this promo and I had this match with Cody for the TNT title. Then Friday I still had the same vision and then Sunday I got a text saying ‘Hey, do you want to come in and answer this challenge?’ And I was like that’s insane. But it furthers my belief in manifesting things that I want to happen. So honestly, after I had my match with Cody I really thought that would be it. I didn’t think I was going to get hired just because we were in a pandemic. I figured that not only could I raise my stock on the indies, but I would just circle back around with the company once the pandemic was over," said Ricky Starks.
Starks revealed that he got an overwhelmingly positive reaction which led to him getting his AEW contract.
“But, the day that it aired, I had a crazy, overwhelmingly positive reception to coming out and after the match I got offered a contract so it was insane! It still is insane to talk about. I couldn’t have predicted that,” revealed Starks.
Ricky Starks has had a steady rise in AEW
Ricky Starks' very first match in AEW was for a title against one of the biggest names in the company, Cody Rhodes. He quickly aligned himself with Brian Cage and Taz and feuded with big names like Darby Allin and Sting.
Upon his return from injury, he replaced Brian Cage as the main focus of Team Taz and won the FTW Championship from The Machine at AEW Fyter Fest Night One in his hometown of Texas.
Starks got a thunderous ovation upon his victory and looks poised to be a major star for AEW in the future.