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Wrestling veteran Jim Cornette believes that former TNT Champion Cody Rhodes is prepping AEW's Ricky Starks for a WWE move.
Ricky Starks has been a part of AEW since 2020. His debut for the promotion was on Dynamite when he wrestled The American Nightmare for the TNT Title. The Absolute One may have suffered a loss in the match but his performance caught the eye of WWE veteran Taz and he recruited Starks for his faction. Starks has also captured the FTW Championship once in his three-year AEW run.
A photo of the Absolute One recently went viral. It was a picture of him alongside Cody Rhodes backstage at the Royal Rumble premium live event. The wrestling world began to speculate on the reason behind Starks' presence at the Rumble premium live event and so did wrestling veteran Jim Cornette.
During the latest episode of the Jim Cornette's Drive-Thru podcast, the former manager of The Midnight Express believed that the potential reason behind Ricky Starks being at the Royal Rumble could be to have some conversations with WWE personalities and get prepped up to sign with the promotion when his AEW contract expires.
“He’s there with his friend Cody Rhodes right now, but it can’t hurt to meet people... And everybody knows Cody and Starks are good friends, and Starks went to support him. And I’m sure Cody would love for Ricky Starks to meet the right people and they to remember his name when the proper time comes. And that’s why that happened," Jim Cornette said. [00:21 - 00:48]
Jim Cornette had some advice for AEW CEO Tony Khan about his talent showing up on rival promotions such as WWE
While speaking on the same podcast, Cornette mentioned that Starks should have informed Tony Khan prior to going to the Royal Rumble premium live event. If the Absolute One did not, Cornette advised the AEW CEO to strictly tell all his talents to keep him well-informed prior to making such appearances in the future.
"Tony Khan such a nice guy... If I was Tony, I would have made sure to let Mr. Starks know that if he didn’t tell me he was going beforehand, he should’ve. And he better if he goes again, tell me beforehand and as long as he’s not seen by the general public, there’s not much you can do about that. But he better not be seen by the general public,” [00:53 - 01:26]
The Royal Rumble premium live event was the night Cody Rhodes made his in-ring return and he also went on to win the 30-Men Rumble match and punched his ticket to WrestleMania.
Would you like to see the Absolute One sign with WWE? Let us know in the comments section below.
Please credit the Jim Cornette Drive-Thru podcast and give a H/T to Sportskeeda when you use any quotes from this article.
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