Today’s wrestling landscape sees performers frequently jumping from one company to the next. That’s what’s best for business all around. In doing so, fans often debate about how companies may have “missed” on a talent when they were in their employ. Ricky Starks is no longer a part of All Elite Wrestling and it needs to be said that he’s the biggest miss in the company’s six-year history.
On Monday, February 10 news broke that Miro and Ricky Starks were released from AEW. A few weeks back, it was reported that expectations are that Malakai Black is also finished with the company. These are three names who were once considered big acquisitions or key pieces for the future. That would not be the case, leaving many to wonder what is next for each of them. Speculation is that they will head to WWE, and looking at the three men, Starks is the one that stands out with the biggest ceiling of them all.
Ricky Starks has “it.” Period. He can deliver in the ring and he certainly delivers on the microphone. Starks has chewed up two generational talkers in Chris Jericho and MJF, and he did so with ease. Every time a microphone was placed in his hands, he succeeded in delivering a passion that is almost required to get over with fans at this level of professional wrestling. Go back to his time with NWA and that talent was always there. That’s why fans were excited to see what’s next when he popped up in AEW as Cody Rhodes’s challenger for the TNT Championship.
AEW had a potential star in Ricky Starks
Starks is also a strong performer in-ring as well. Is he known for putting on 10-star classics? Absolutely not, but he’s not a slouch in the ring at all. Cagematch has Starks sitting at an overall 7.75 match rating and that’s a strong number when looking at the upper echelon of performers today. Did that always translate with AEW fans? No, but Starks still had all the makings of a major star for this company.
Then why did AEW miss on Starks? That’s a difficult question to answer. Starks was involved in two major feuds that fizzled out for reasons beyond his control. Both CM Punk and Bryan Danielson were the type of stars necessary to give Starks that main event push that fans wanted to see, but they never fully played out.
Starks was placed against MJF as one of the latter’s first challengers when he was AEW World Champion. Starks stepped up in that moment, delivering the type of performance meant to let fans know that he was at the same level as MJF.
Starks was a victim of AEW’s issue with starting and stopping with performers, angles, and divisions at random times. Shoving him into tag teams was not working, as it was his time to stand on his own feet as a singles performer. Starks proved he was at the same level as the “pillars” of AEW, and he should have seen the same type of strong booking as each one of them.
Ricky Starks would be a hit in WWE
If Ricky Starks shows up in WWE, all eyes will be on how he’s used by Triple H. Think about some of the potential feuds. Starks could finally have that full story with CM Punk. Then there are names like Kevin Owens, AJ Styles, Carmelo Hayes, and Bron Breakker. Imagine Starks tearing Logan Paul a new one with a vicious promo. Starks has the ability to be the exact type of performer WWE covets when looking for a “superstar.” The question will be whether the company would book him as so.
Fans are also watching closely to see how Triple H books a singles Black male performer. There’s been a lot of criticism to date, and even though it has been more silent over the last few months, the questions are still there. Could Starks be a name that helps change that trajectory? He has the skills to do so.
All Elite Wrestling has lost a major player in Ricky Starks. He’s someone who had all the talent to be a major name if he was given the chance to do so. That did not play out in AEW and now he’s speculated to be WWE-bound. One company’s loss is another company’s gain and Starks is going to prove that point.