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AEW's rising star and current FTW Champion Ricky Starks has been friends with Bayley for many years.
Speaking to Alex McCarthy of talkSPORT, 'Absolute' Ricky Starks called Bayley his "best friend." He credited her for being a great friend and a mentor not just in wrestling but in life as a whole.
“She’s my best friend. Me and Aaron Solow [Bayley’s former fiancé] used to be a tag team and we used to live together back in 2017 or something like that," Starks said. "I met her in 2014 and we were just all mutual friends.
"We’ve definitely trained together, travelled together, she’s a great person. She’s helped me out with advice about life, the wrestling business and she’s been there through it all for me. Especially after the tryout I had with WWE and I didn’t get anything from them. I love her, she’s awesome. She’s one of my closest friends.”
Bayley and Starks' friendship is quite well documented. Even after Starks signed for AEW, Bayley has been a constant supporter on social media.
Ricky Starks has seen his popularity rise in AEW since his first match against Cody Rhodes for the AEW TNT Championship. At AEW Fyter Fest, it was clear from the reception he got from fans upon winning the FTW title that he is a future star.
List of All the Current Champions in AEW
Bayley has been out of action since July
Bayley is one of the most popular female stars in WWE today. She was due to face Bianca Belair at WWE Money in the Bank for the Smackdown Women's Championship but had to pull out of the match due to injury.
Bayley suffered an Anterior Cruciate Ligament tear that has sidelined her for the next nine months at least. ACL injuries are one the most devastating possible that one never fully recovers from.
Hopefully Bayley can make a full recovery and come back as soon as possible. She's one of the faces of the women's division and WWE and was doing some excellent work as a heel prior to her injury.
The former Hugger's heel work benefitted Belair as well, as the EST improved her stock as a babyface in WWE by going over multiple times.
