Ricky Starks is one of AEW's brightest stars...and one of its most underutilized as well. We haven't seen him on television since March 30, a decision which makes little sense seeing as the former FTW Champion is cleared to wrestle.
Now, two weeks before the AEW Double or Nothing PPV takes place, Starks has told What Culture that he doesn't expect to receive a place on the card.
"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,'" Starks admitted. "I really have no clue [when I'll be back]. It's just a very interesting time, I feel like. I wish that I was on 'Dynamite,' or I wish I was on [AEW's recent Dynasty PPV]."
"At a certain point, it's not in my control. I think that's the biggest lesson I have," he added. "Things are just not in my control, but the things that are, I try the hardest. I'm not hurt. Even that night [on 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."
There's been speculation among fans that Starks could make the leap to WWE where his close friend Cody Rhodes is currently Undisputed WWE Champion.
That company is also where former AEW star CM Punk now calls home. Before he was fired by Tony Khan, the Second City Saint had been booked in a match against Starks for the Real World Championship, with Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat serving as the special outside enforcer.
It didn't end up happening, but Starks was quick to praise Punk for the time they spent together on AEW Collision.
"I have no issues with Punk. I don't give a f*ck with anybody tries to tell me. I don't care. He has never done me wrong. And you can have your opinions on him and all that," he said. "But you shouldn't vilify someone for thinking differently than you. You get I'm saying. I will say that till I'm blue in the face, he really went out of his way to really try to make something on that Collision show for me."
"I still think Punk is a good dude, in my opinion, like, he has helped. He tried to help a lot of us on that show. And I can always be thankful for that."
Starks refused to comment on his AEW contract and future with the company, so watch this space.