Tony Khan Praises Ricky Starks, Says He'd 'Love To Get Him Involved And Back In AEW'

Former FTW Champion Ricky Starks has been absent from AEW television over the past few months, and Tony Khan has spoken about him and his future in AEW.

Khan was asked about Starks and when fans might see him again during a recent interview with "SHAK Wrestling." Khan ran down a list of accomplishments and milestones Starks has been a part of, including being in Sting's first AEW match and the Hall of Famer's last match on TV before his retirement. The AEW CEO stated that he would love to see Starks back in the company as the former AEW Tag Team Champion is only just scratching the surface of what he's capable of. 

"I think Ricky Starks is tremendous," Khan said. "I'd love to get him involved and back in AEW anytime. He's been a huge part of what we've done here for about four out of the five years, and tons of respect for Rico."

Starks was last seen on the March 30 edition of "AEW Collision" where he and Big Bill were eliminated from the AEW Tag Team Championship tournament by Top Flight. The match, reportedly, wasn't meant to see Bill and Starks lose, but ended up happening as Starks suffered a head injury during the match. Since then, rumors have swirled about whether Starks is fit to compete, which led to him revealing that he's fine and simply waiting for the call to return to AEW.

There had also been rumors as recently as March 2024 that Starks might be wrapping up his time with AEW as his contract was set to expire. However, Khan squashed all of those rumors by clarifying that Starks was still under contract with AEW and has time left on his contract.