Ricky Starks has been absent from AEW programming since his run as AEW World Tag Team Champion with Big Bill concluded. Reports indicate Tony Khan rejected Starks’ request for a release from the company.
Starks achieved notable success in 2023, capturing the Owen Hart Cup tournament victory. He later formed an alliance with Big Bill, leading to their reign as AEW World Tag Team Champions. After losing the championships, Starks made an appearance at a GCW event, but Tony Khan reportedly prevented further independent appearances following comments made by Effy.
The Wrestling Observer Newsletter provided insight into the situation.
Tony Khan more and more if someone doesn’t want to do his creative, unless they are his top tier guys, he just stops using them with the idea there are tons of other people who are cooperative that want TV time. Plus, with Starks, once he was convinced Starks was leaving, he wasn’t going to book him going forward because that’s just how he does things.