Ricky Starks Addresses AEW Absence: “I Wish I Was On Dynamite, I Have No Answers”

Why hasn’t Ricky Starks appeared on AEW programming for the past several weeks?

Your guess is as good as his.

“Absolute” Ricky Starks recently spoke with What Culture Wrestling for an in-depth interview, during which he addressed his hiatus from AEW since he and Big Bill lost to Top Flight on the March 30 episode of AEW Collision.

Featured below are some of the highlights from the interview.

On missing AEW Dynasty and if there’s a chance he’ll be at AEW Double Or Nothing: “I don’t know. I would hope so. But I really don’t know. Things are…every time I always predict something to go some way, it doesn’t go that way, and it kind of just leaves me being like, well, we’ll just figure out and see. I really have no clue. It’s just a very interesting time, I feel like. I wish that I was on Dynamite, or I wish I was on Dynasty. I wish I was on these things, but I think at a certain point, just for my own sanity, I can’t go too crazy about it because the proof is in my work and my effort that I’ve constantly given. I’ve constantly given 1000% effort. So at a certain point, it’s not in my control. I think that’s the biggest lesson I have. Things are just not in my control, but the things that are, I try the hardest.”

On his AEW status and how he’s not hurt: “I’m not hurt. Even that night [on AEW Collision], I specifically stated, hey, I’m not hurt. I was just being cautious about it because at the moment, I didn’t know what was happening, especially with this side of my body. So I wasn’t hurt. I was never put on an injury list or anything like that. I have no answers. People ask me all the time, ‘Well, why aren’t you…’ I don’t know. I have no clue. That isn’t up to me. It does suck, obviously, to not be on TV, but the support in people online and people sending me messages is very, very sweet and endearing, and very encouraging, from that standpoint.”

On only having six matches thus far in 2024: “That’s a small number, compared to what I was doing the years prior. I don’t bullshit anybody, I don’t try to play with anybody’s life or anything like that. So I just kind of stick to myself. I just always operate under the belief, like, well, my work will carry me through any obstacle. I still believe that.”

On the past report from PWInsider.com where it was noted he was in Jacksonville: “Mike [Johnson] from PWInsider, whatever, he didn’t say that I was hurt. But people alluded to, ‘Well, he was there to get cleared.’ No, bro. I was just there to get my balls checked and do my physical, and that was it. That’s all I was doing. I’m healthy, I’m great, I’m perfectly fine. I shouldn’t have any type of questioning, ‘Are you really?’ B*tch, I’m telling you I’m not hurt. I don’t know what more you want me to say.”

Check out the complete interview via the YouTube player embedded below, or at WhatCulture.com. H/T to Fightful.com for transcribing the above quotes.

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