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Ricky Starks Pulled from Upcoming GCW Appearances by AEW [Report]

It's been a tumultuous few days for Ricky Starks, who has now been blocked from working future dates with GCW.
Rick Ucchino|
Feb 22, 2023; Phoenix, AZ, USA; AEW Ricky Starks appears during AEW Dynamite at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images
Feb 22, 2023; Phoenix, AZ, USA; AEW Ricky Starks appears during AEW Dynamite at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images | Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

Just days after Ricky Starks made a surprise appearance for GCW, he has now been pulled from all future bookings for the company by AEW.

Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select was the first to report the news, having heard from those within Game Changer Wrestling that the decision to pull Starks - who is still under contract with All Elite Wrestling - was made Tuesday November 26.

The company has since publicly confirmed the news, making the following announcement on social media:

The belief is that alleged comments made by GCW wrestler Effy toward Shad Khan, All Elite Wrestling CEO Tony Khan's father, had at least something to do with the decision to end Starks' upcoming commitments. Ross Sapp has provided some more context on those comments.

Ricky Starks has dominated the news cycle over the last several hours after he addressed his recent absence from AEW, and multiple other topics, in an interview with Chris Van Vliet.

Fightful had also provided an update on Starks' contract situation with All Elite Wrestling early Tuesday morning, noting that he had an option year picked up in the spring and isn't expected to hit the open market until sometime near the beginning of the second quarter of 2025.

There's been no public comment from Tony Khan or AEW at this time, but Ross Sapp has reported that Starks has only been pulled from GCW and can still take other independent bookings that come his way.

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Rick Ucchino
RICK UCCHINO

Rick Ucchino is the Assistant Editor & Content Coordinator for The Takedown on SI. He also works full-time for 700WLW Radio in Cincinnati, Ohio as a local news and sports anchor, in addition to his time covering the Cincinnati Bengals for Sirius XM. Rick has been on the professional wrestling beat since 2019, having provided coverage for a number of outlets, including Fightful, SB Nation’s Cageside Seats and the Bleav Podcast Network. With an educational background in theater, creative writing and journalism, Rick focuses primarily on the storytelling aspect of pro wrestling, but he’s no stranger to the squared circle himself. He had the privilege of training with former WWE & WCW cruiserweight Jimmy Wang Yang for nearly two years and retired early due to back issues with a perfect 1-0 record in singles competition. Rick is a married father of two incredibly adorable children, who are budding pro wrestling fans themselves. Much to the chagrin of their mother. You can reach Rick at rwucchino@gmail.com

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