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Ricky Starks recently returned to the independent wrestling circuit. He was scheduled to have a match outside of AEW, which has now been canceled. GCW owner and promoter Brett Lauderdale recently shared his perspective on Starks' removal from the upcoming events.
The Absolute made a surprise appearance at the GCW Dream On event, where he confronted Broski Jimmy. He also addressed his fans, saying he wouldn't sit at home and let his career dwindle.
Following this, the company announced a match between him and Matt Cardona for the GCW: Highest in the Room 3 event scheduled for December 14.
On Tuesday night, it was reported that AEW had canceled Ricky Starks' future appearances with the promotion. Speaking on the recent edition of Game Changer Weekly, 41-year-old star Brett Lauderdale commented on the AEW star being suddenly pulled from the upcoming GCW shows.
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"It's a weird situation because Ricky Starks is an independent contractor. This is a whole wrestling conversation that, one of these days, this is going to be tested and something is going to happen because theoretically an independent contractor is independent, and they can go and work wherever they want. In wrestling, these independent contractors don't seem to be very independent. They are at the whim of an employer, which makes it seem like they are an employee. It's above our pay grade. I'm just an indie wrestling company, and I don't have people under contract. These guys reach out to me. I like working with talented people, and I don't really get into their contract situation. If they make it to the point where they can appear on my show, I am to assume that everything is cleared. People don't traditionally breach contracts on this level of wrestling," said Lauderdale. [H/T: Fightful]
Why did Tony Khan cancel Ricky Starks' GCW dates?
Many AEW stars have performed in GCW in the past. So why did Tony Khan bar Ricky Starks from performing in the promotion? It was reported the AEW President made this decision after GCW official Effy (real name Taylor Gibson) took shots at him and his father, Shahid Khan, on his podcast.
Effy said, "My company, I don't run a company, our company GCW can't run on a 40 million dollar deficit and continue to run shows, but some of us have the privilege of being able to run at a 40 million dollar deficit. Brett (Lauderdale) does not own a football team. Brett doesn't have a dad who pays him to stay away. I don't want this to be a personal thing."
Starks, a former FTW Champion, has been absent from AEW since March 2024. He was booked for multiple future appearances for the promotion across Los Angeles, Seattle, and The Hammerstein Ballroom, all of which have been canceled.
