Top AEW star addresses rumors of being arrested for beating up a cop drunk
A top AEW star was accused of celebrating a massive milestone moment with a disorderly night of unfortunate behavior. The allegation came amid rumors of backstage heat and disrespect, but new developments may provide the real story. The curious update comes from the multi-time AEW champion himself.
Ricky Starks' AEW current status and future have been hot topics of discussion all year, but this isn't the first time the former FTW Champion has been the subject of rumors. A so-called insider on Reddit made a viral post several months back, accusing Starks of turning down creative pitches and being hard to work with. The deleted post also accused Starks of getting arrested in 2023 after beating CM Punk to win The Men's Owen Hart Cup in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
The allegation claimed Starks was intoxicated when he started a fight in a Calgary bar, and left the establishment in the back of a squad car. It was also alleged that this was a big deal that Tony Khan had to deal with personally, and would keep Starks from returning to Calgary later that year. This is interesting as AEW didn't return to Calgary until this year, but they did run Canada at the end of December, and Starks did not work either taping.
Absolute Starks previously set the record straight on allegations of being a lazy in-ring worker, naming multiple WWE Superstars who will vouch for him. In the same interview with Chris Van Vliet, the New Orleans grappler brought up the arrest rumor, and declared that all of these stories against him were lies. Starks joked to the Canadian interviewer about how this incident supposedly took place in a small town outside of Winnipeg, Manitoba.
"Yeah, they said I got... I beat up cops, and then got thrown in the back of a cop car, honestly... [for the record, this did not happen, right?] Didn't happen, but I will say... I sound like a total badass. I beat up a cop and got arrested, and was able to wrestle [in Canada] the following year. [CVV acknowledges Starks has crazy stories] Dude, there's been a few crazy stories, and they all come from a place of trying to tear me down," Ricky Starks said. [From 1:07:38 to 1:08:36]
At the time, multiple AEW sources denied even hearing about the Starks arrest rumor, and everyone allegedly involved has denied the story. AEW has never commented on this in an official capacity. Starks claims now that he was never in any kind of legal trouble in The Great White North, and there have been no issues with the 34-year-old crossing the border as he has worked there since.
Starks' next match in Canada was actually his last match with AEW so far. The Collision episode on March 30, 2024, saw Ricky and Big Bill lose to Top Flight in a championship tournament quarter-finals match. Starks is healthy, and remains under contract to AEW, but has not wrestled for the company since that night.
AEW announces very special edition of Dynamite
All Elite Wrestling has announced its sixth Fight for The Fallen edition of Dynamite. The special episode will air live on New Year's Day, Wednesday, January 1 from Harrah's Cherokee Center in Asheville, NC. The pre-sale begins tomorrow, November 27, and the general on-sale is next Tuesday.
Fight for The Fallen 2025 will benefit the victims of Hurricane Helene, which devastated the Asheville, NC area this past September. Local stars FTR are advertised front-and-center for the Dynamite special. The first Dynamite of 2025 will also be the company's first event that simulcasts on Max, and after that night, all future AEW TV shows will air the same way.
Fight for The Fallen has raised money for various causes over the years, beginning in 2019. A Rampage special was added in 2022, and Collision was added to the lineup in 2023. There was no Fight for The Fallen this year.