Massive update on Ricky Starks' status after rumors of arrest surface - Reports
A rumor about AEW star Ricky Starks surfaced on Reddit today, and it instantly caught fire with the wrestling community. The Reddit post claimed that Starks was arrested last year in Calgary and had been turning down all creative pitches made by Tony Khan in recent months. A new report has shed light on these claims.
Ricky Starks has been off AEW television for months now, and his former tag team partner, Big Bill, has moved on without him. A now-deleted post on Reddit's SquaredCircle board today claimed that the 34-year-old had been arrested last year after starting a drunken fight at a bar in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
The post claimed that the arrest and the headache it caused Tony Khan was the reason Starks wasn't competing in the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament this year and that the former AEW World Tag Team Champion had been turning down creative pitches for months now.
Fightful Select has now reported that sources in AEW have confirmed the rumor about Ricky Starks turning down creative pitches, at least to some degree. However, it was claimed that a pitch for his breakup angle with Big Bill was the only idea he'd turned down recently, and it was because Ricky believed it wouldn't be beneficial to his former partner. Fightful notes that some within the company had criticized the Absolute star for not wanting to do business.
Regarding the rumored arrest, the report claims that none of the sources within AEW had heard about it, and the talents mentioned in relation to the supposed incident have claimed that it never occurred.
As for Ricky Starks' alleged frustration with AEW's creative direction, it's said that he was frustrated with the lack of follow-up after his acclaimed strap match against Bryan Danielson last year, and those Starks had spoken to claimed that he felt CM Punk's departure had put a damper on his momentum in the company.
According to Fightful, Ricky Starks is medically cleared to compete, but conflicting information has made it impossible to tell his current status or when—if ever—he might return to television. Many believe the 34-year-old is set to join WWE once his contract expires, but there have been no reports on when his current deal is up.