AEW Pulls Ricky Starks From Upcoming GCW Dates

AEW cancels all further GCW appearances for Ricky Starks.

by Andrew Pollard
Ricky Starks
AEW

With Ricky Starks having made a surprise appearance for GCW over the weekend, there's some disappointing news for those hoping to see more from Absolute in GCW.

Per Fightful Select, AEW made the decision on 26 November to pull Starks from any further appearances for GCW. Ricky was due to wrestle for GCW on 12 December, 28 December, and 19 January, with GCW taking to X to confirm the Stroke Daddy will no longer be appearing for the company.

As for why Ricky Starks won't be returning to GCW, this Fightful reports notes how AEW took exception to comments made by GCW favourite Effy on the Weekend at Effy's podcast where it pertains to AEW's financials, Shahid Khan paying Tony Khan to "stay away", and AEW running the Hammerstein Ballroom.

It's worth noting that Ricky Starks is still able to work independent dates for promotions other than GCW, but AEW no longer has any interest in Starks working for GCW. While contracted AEW stars are allowed to work indie dates, all such dates have to be approved by AEW. On that front, Ricky had his first match in six months this past Sunday, going up against Kody Lane for Glory Pro Wrestling. Prior to that, he last wrestled at BTW Welcome to Paradise against QT Marshall in May.

Ricky Starks
AEW

Ricky Starks' AEW Future

It's been a strange old time for Ricky Starks in AEW this year, working just five matches for Tony Khan's promotion, the last of which being a tag team match on Collision back in March where he and Big Bill lost to Top Flight. As such, many have questioned whether Starks was on his way out of the company or whether he was possibly dealing with an injury.

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On the latter point, the hugely talented 34-year-old has reiterated on several occasions - including to WhatCulture Wrestling back in May and more recently to Chris Van Vliet - that he has been fully fit and healthy this entire time, and that he doesn't have any answers as to why he's not been used on AEW programming. Of course, there has also been plentiful speculation that Starks could be WWE-bound, with him being close friends with the likes of Jade Cargill, Cody Rhodes, and CM Punk, and viewing William Regal as a mentor figure.

As for what the immediate future holds for Ricky Starks, yesterday brought the news that an option was triggered last spring on the former AEW Tag Team Champion's deal with Khan's company, in turn keeping Ricky #AllElite until the spring or summer of 2025. It was also noted how, prior to AEW activating that option, Starks was keen to explore the free agency market.

In addition to appearing for GCW over the weekend, Ricky Starks was backstage at AEW Full Gear, although the talent is said to not be factored into any AEW creative plans or pitches.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.