Ricky Starks Trolls Top NJPW Wrestler Over "Forbidden Door" Comments
It appears AEW star Ricky Starks is having some fun with New Japan star Tetsuya Naito over social media. The FTW Champion was inspired to do so after quotes from Naito's interview with Sports Illustrated came out regarding the upcoming AEW/NJPW Forbidden Door Supershow in June.
"There is no wrestler I want to call out," Naito said to SI's Justin Barrasso. "The reason is simple. Wrestlers in AEW will all gather and shout 'I want to wrestle Tetsuya Naito!' and 'I want to fight Los Ingobernables de Japon!' It isn't hard to see this happening. It won't take long before it does."
Today, Ricky Starks took to Twitter to troll the former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion. In the tweet, Starks all but copied Naito's words verbatim, only making changes to claim that wrestlers wouldn't be looking to face Naito's Los Ingobernables de Japon stable, but rather Team Taz, who Starks is a key member of.
"Regarding the Forbidden Door PPV," Starks tweeted. "There is no wrestler I want to call out...Wrestlers in NJPW will all gather & shout 'I want to wrestle Ricky Starks!' and 'I want to fight Team Taz!' It won't take long before it does."
No matches have been announced yet for AEW/NJPW Forbidden Door this June, making it possible Team Taz and LIJ could face each other at the supershow.
That would leave Team Taz at a disadvantage, however, as the stable currently consists of just four members (Starks, Powerhouse Hobbs, Hook, and Taz, their manager), whereas LIJ consists of Naito, BUSHI, SANADA, former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Shingo Takagi and former IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Hiromu Takahashi.
AEW star Andrade El Idolo is also associated with LIJ from his past leading Los Ingobernables in Mexico, potentially putting Team Taz at a 6-on-4 disadvantage.
AEW/NJPW Forbidden Door will take place on July 26 from the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. Tickets are expected to go on sale on Friday, May 6.
Regarding the Forbidden Door PPV:
There is no wrestler I want to call out... Wrestlers in NJPW will all gather & shout, 'I want to wrestle Ricky Starks!' and 'I want to fight Team Taz!' It won't take long before it does.
— Ricky Starks (@starkmanjones) April 27, 2022