AEW CEO Tony Khan On The Potential Return Of Ricky Starks: 'We'll Have To Stay Tuned'

One of the most mysterious issues surrounding All Elite Wrestling as the calendar turns to 2025 is the ongoing absence of Ricky Starks, one touted as one of the promotion's bright young stars but who has now been absent from Tony Khan's programming for nine months. In a media call ahead of Saturday's Worlds End pay-per-view event, Khan offered a noncommittal answer on a potential Starks return, either at Worlds End or the upcoming January 1 episode of "AEW Dynamite: Fight for the Fallen."

"I think we'll have to stay tuned to see who's going to be a part of Fight for the Fallen and the simulcast," Khan said.

Khan immediately redirected his attention to Worlds End card, which he touted as having "one of the best PPV lineups" in 2024. Worlds End is slated to see Continental Classic semifinals and finals, an AEW TBS Championship defense, and a fourway match for the AEW World Championship, among other spectacles. He didn't use Starks' name in his response.

"As for who's going to be at 'the mother of all simulcasts,' that remains to be seen," Khan concluded.

Starks was last seen on the March 30 episode of "AEW Collision," where he and Big Bill took an on-the-fly loss to Top Flight. Starks has been a hot topic in the professional wrestling news cycle after he went on an unapproved interview with Chris Van Vliet, after which he was pulled from preplanned January 2025 GCW dates for unrelated reasons. Starks is reportedly ring-ready, but any future AEW creative plans involving the former FTW Champion remain undisclosed.