Report: Ricky Starks Asked For His AEW Release

Ricky Starks reportedly asked for his release from All Elite Wrestling but his request was not granted by AEW CEO Tony Khan.

That is according to Ibou of WrestlePurists and SelfMadePW, who stated during a several-minute discussion about Ricky Starks and his status in AEW and the industry as a whole that the former AEW World Tag Team Champion is currently waiting out the rest of his deal.

"At the end of the day, things happened to where he's on the outs with AEW right now. It is what it is. There's a lot of things, most of it will never be reported. But ultimately there's a falling out there and it is what it is. He's asked for a release, Tony won't give it to him, and he's just going to wait the rest of his deal. He's going to stay relevant by working indy dates and good for him, I'm happy for him. That's just gonna be the situation in the meantime," Ibou said on the WrestlePurists Raw Review.

After initially being a featured performer in the promotion, Ricky Starks has not appeared on AEW TV since March 2024. Starks disappeared from TV after suffering a stinger but he quickly recovered from the issue and AEW have simply not been using the 34-year-old.

The expectation within the industry is that Ricky Starks will join WWE when his AEW contract expires. Reports in late 2024 noted that Starks is signed to AEW until the Spring or Summer of 2025. His contract was originally set to expire in 2024 but AEW activated an option year on Starks' contract.

Ricky Starks has begun working on the independent wrestling scene again, wrestling for Glory Pro and House of Glory and appearing in DEFY. Starks was also planned to work for GCW but those appearances were scrapped by AEW over comments made by Effy about Tony Khan and Shad Khan.

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