AEW must get Ricky Starks on television

All Elite Wrestling has built a strong roster. Tony Khan continues to make big moves with free agent signings like Will Ospreay, Kazuchika Okada, Mariah May, the reported Kamille, and several others. But with a finite amount of time available for these stars, someone is going to get left out. Ethan Page was such an individual, and now it seems like Ricky Starks is in a comparable situation. Just like Page, he’s someone that Khan should bend over backward to get on television each week.

Nearly two months have passed since Starks was last on television. He and Big Bill lost the title eliminator to Top Flight, and Starks hasn’t been seen since. He’s confirmed via social media that he’s not injured, and in an interview with WhatCulture Wrestling, Starks spoke openly about not being on television and missing AEW Dynasty.

“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,” Starks said to Andrew Pollard. “So, at a certain point, it’s not in my control. I think that’s the biggest lesson I have. Things are not in my control, but the things that are, I try the hardest.”

Starks is an uber-talented member of the wrestling community. Long before he stepped through the curtain to challenge Cody Rhodes in 2020, his status as a name to watch was steadily growing. It was that moment that a wider net of fans realized that Starks had the potential to be a top player for AEW, which was still a young promotion at the time. From there, he’d have several moments where it seemed like momentum was being built behind him, just to see it halted suddenly.

AEW can’t let Ricky Starks become another victim of its stacked roster. Yes, the promotion has Ospreay, Bryan Danielson, Jon Moxley, Okada, and others. But Starks is one of those individuals who an organization shouldn’t let sit on the sidelines. Everything a performer needs to have in order to be a top star in this business, Starks has it and he has it in spades. AEW needs more personalities on its shows that can mix professional wrestling with sports entertainment, Starks is one of the few on the roster that can do that in a way that can be a necessary divergence from what AEW does each and every show. All the company needs to do is unleash him on television.

There are times in professional sports when players will leave a team and become a star somewhere else. It’s happened so many times throughout history. That may happen with Ricky Starks as well. He’s too talented to be sat by the wayside, he’s proven that. Hopefully, AEW recognizes that fact and gets him back on television in a way that is impactful. If not, maybe he’ll have to go somewhere else to get his time in the spotlight.