"I'm not a turncoat" - Popular AEW star says he's still in touch with WWE Superstar Cody Rhodes

The American Nightmare's short stint with AEW is in the history books, but his valuable contributions to the company since its inception are still vivid. AEW star Ricky Starks recently spoke about his friendship with WWE Superstar Cody Rhodes.

Rhodes launched Starks' career on television during his initial days as the inaugural TNT Champion. The two men fought in a memorable title match on the June 17th episode of AEW Dynamite in 2020, which saw Rhodes emerge victorious.

Speaking to Wrestling Inc, Ricky Starks revealed that Cody Rhodes is still his go-to person despite the latter jumping ship to WWE:

"Absolutely [On still being in touch with Cody Rhodes]...I know a lot of people make up these rumors and ideas because I'm friends with someone that certain things happen, and it's just funny to me other people like how dare he still talk to? It's like if you had a real friendship with someone, you guys would know that it doesn't matter where they go or what happens to them. Yes, Cody and Tony brought me in, for sure. I still talk to Cody. So asking for advice. There's nothing wrong with that. There's no, you know, I'm not a turncoat or something like that. It's just a genuine friend to have somebody that actually, you know, cares and looks out for me," - Starks said. (19:28)

Starks also stated that Sonjay Dutt is another person who's very helpful and caring:

"The other person in AEW is Sonjay [Dutt]. He actually looks out, you know, is helpful with me, and sometimes you need that man. Sometimes you're just a misunderstood person, and people just don't want to bother. It's good to have these people that do care," - he added. (20:12)

You can check out the full interview below:

---

Ricky Starks missed out on the opportunity to become a double champion on AEW Dynamite

During the Fyter Fest (Night 1) edition of Dynamite, Starks and Hobbs failed to become world tag team champions. They competed in a highly-praised three-way match featuring The Young Bucks and The Swerve in Our Glory.

However, fans did witness a shocking title change as Lee and Strickland captured the coveted prize for the first time in their careers:

The two former WWE Superstars made history as they dethroned Nick and Matt Jackson without pinning them.

It will be interesting to see whether the Jackson brothers use this as an excuse to demand a rematch with The Swerve in Our Glory down the road.

---

While using quotes from this article, please give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling and Credit Wrestling Inc.