AEW Rumors: Ricky Starks Release Not Granted By Tony Khan

Ibou of WrestlePurists is now reporting that at some point in the past year, Ricky Starks asked for his release from the company. Tony Khan apparently denied that request.

“At the end of the day, things happened to where he’s on the outs with AEW right now. It is what it is.”

“There’s a lot of things, most of it will never be reported. But ultimately there’s a falling out there and it is what it is.

“He’s asked for a release, Tony [Khan] won’t give it to him, and he’s just going to wait the rest of his deal." Ibou on WrestlePurists Raw Recap

While he hasn't wrestled for AEW since March of last year, Ricky has been granted permission to accept certain independent bookings. He just competed this past Friday against former AEW star Mike Santana at House of Glory Watch the Throne in Chicago.

Starks sat down for an interview with Chris Van Vliet on an episode of Insight back in November and the former AEW Tag Team Champion was unable to provide any answers as to why he was being kept off television.

“Beats me," Starks said "I could have 1,000 theories about what’s really going on. The fact of the matter is that if I don’t have a definitive answer, I can’t just make up an answer for people and just assume. Would I love to know the exact reason? For sure. Do I have speculations about why? Absolutely."

Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select reported late last year that AEW picked up a 1-year option on Starks' contract in the spring of 2024 and his current deal won't run out until later this year.