Ricky Starks Goes Off on Fans for Criticism Over Attending WWE Events

Ricky Starks has many friends across the wrestling industry, not just in AEW, but also in WWE. Some people take issue with him attending WWE events while being an AEW star, and Starks has now spoken out against those who criticize him for it.

While speaking during an interview with Chris Van Vliet, Ricky Starks addressed criticism from fans online for his appearances at the Royal Rumble 2023 and WrestleMania 40 this year. Starks said he doesn’t see any issue with it because he’s a wrestling fan first and loves the sport. He explained that he went to WrestleMania to support Jade Cargill in her debut and watch Cody Rhodes, just like he did the year before.

Starks compared it to music, saying it’s normal for one artist to attend another’s concert, so it shouldn’t be a big deal in wrestling. Starks said he saw people online calling him names for supporting Cody Rhodes, which he found ridiculous. He believes that outside of wrestling, no one would see a problem with what he did.

“I still to this day don’t see a problem with it. I got into this because I’m a fan, I love pro wrestling. Regardless of where I work, I’m gonna go support people that I love and I’m gonna go support wrestling in general. I was there to watch Jade’s first Mania match and was proud, then I was there to see Cody’s match. Guess what? I was at Mania the year before that and saw Cody lose. There is no issue with somebody being at another show like an artist. Like, Jay Z ain’t gonna go to another rapper’s concert, a J. Cole concert? I

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It’s only blown up like that online. I don’t know if I agree with it all the way. I remember seeing some quote tweets about how I was d***riding Cody cause I was there. I was like wow this is amazing, because if you took this situation out of the scope of wrestling, people would think it’s normal. But, for some reason, it’s so taboo to not be over here when you work… who cares? We’re all getting paid aren’t we?

The former FTW Champion also mentioned that wrestlers from NXT have attended AEW shows, and WWE stars have been backstage at AEW events, but no one complains about that. He added fans shouldn’t expect him to stop others from taking photos of him in a box seat at WrestleMania. Starks made it clear he doesn’t regret his decision, and he doesn’t care about the criticism. He just wanted to enjoy live wrestling and support his friends, which he feels is perfectly fine.

“You know what’s wild? There are people from NXT at our AEW shows all the time. Never an issue. When we did the Farm, there were people from WWE backstage. Sure, they weren’t photographed, but you think I’m gonna tell a fan who paid for their seat not to photograph me up in a box seat? At the end of the day, I didn’t give a f***, and I still don’t. I didn’t care about the Rumble thing, and I didn’t care about the WrestleMania thing. Nobody is gonna sit here and make me feel like a bad person for doing something out of the goodness of my heart. I wanted to enjoy live wrestling, and that’s what I did. I wanted to see my friends wrestle live, and that’s what I did. And what the f*** about it?”

Ricky Starks also revealed some veterans were upset with him over his Royal Rumble visit. No matter what, The Absolute will continue to stay true to his own values and visit his friends in WWE and fans feel no one has the right to tell him otherwise.

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