Ricky Starks is a superstar who has captured the hearts of the wrestling world in his fruitful tenure so far in AEW. Nevertheless, it has not all been sunshine and rainbows for the AEW star recently. Starks plies his trade for the Florida-based promotion but he has not featured on AEW programming since March 2024 due to reasons undisclosed.

Ricky Starks was last seen on AEW television competing in the World Tag Team Championship tournament. Since then, there has been no news on him, which has his admirers scared that something horrible has happened to him. Thankfully, Starks recently turned to Instagram to share an update, uploading a photo of himself flaunting his gear.

Furthermore, other AEW superstars reacted strongly to the post, expressing their delight at seeing Starks return to social media. One superstar even commented on the Instagram post, admitting that he misses the former FTW champion’s presence in the promotion. This was none other than Isiah Kassidy, one half of the Private Party, better known by his ring name, Zay. The star simply commented, “Miss you” highlighting his fondness for the 34-year-old.

Starks’ post’s caption had stated, “I’m too fresh. You punk heauxs in wrestling should stick to ‘wrestlin’ and stop trying to write fiction novels about ya boy. You should be using my autobiography as a blueprint”

This demonstrates Zay’s close bond with the AEW star and could also highlight the current mood of the AEW roster pertaining to Starks’ absence. Wrestling insiders spoke about how Starks faced backlash for not adhering to creative’s demands. Nevertheless, that doesn’t emerge as the decisive sticking point for his four-month absence from AEW programming. Some fans have speculated that Starks has suffered an injury which is hindering him from appearing on TV. However, does that notion hold weight?

Is Ricky Starks really injured?

This explanation became a prevalent opinion as the internet wrestling community shed light on this talking point. However, it appears that the notion is far from the truth as Ricky Starks addressed his absence on Twitter. There, he stated that he was not wounded and was medically cleared to perform in the ring. He also informed the followers that they should come up with another explanation to explain his absence because the ones they brought forth held no credence. Ricky Starks tweeted, “To ease anyone’s mind, I’m not injured. Never was. Pick another narrative pleaseeeee.”

As a result, the mystery surrounding the young talent’s disappearance remains unknown, and admirers will have to wait for him to explain why. Only time will tell when Starks will make his return to the product.

What do you think of Ricky Starks’ continued absence and the Private Party member’s reaction to his post on social media? Let us know your thoughts on the comments section below.