A former WWE Superstar has wittily taken accountability for Ricky Starks' removal from an upcoming wrestling event. The talent in question, Matt Cardona, was set to face the AEW name next month.
Amidst his lengthy absence from the Tony Khan-led company, Ricky Starks shocked fans when he showed up at GCW Dream On some time earlier. It was afterward announced that The Absolute would take on Matt Cardona at the independent promotion's December 14 event, Highest In The Room 3.
However, in a massive update, it was reported that AEW pulled Starks from all his scheduled appearances in GCW, possibly due to alleged comments made by GCW wrestler Effy regarding Tony Khan's father, Shad Khan. Game Changer Wrestling later confirmed the same on Twitter/X.
With his match against Starks seemingly canceled, Matt Cardona took to X/Twitter to fire a shot at the 34-year-old star, claiming that he used his creative control to push the latter out of his scheduled appearance in Game Changer Wrestling.
A top AEW star has fired back at his critics HERE.
"I have used my creative control to get rid of this fake independent wrestler," wrote Cardona.
The former WWE Intercontinental and US Champion has competed several times on AEW programming. On the latest occasion, Cardona unsuccessfully challenged his former mentor, Adam Copeland, for the TNT Championship on Collision in March.
AEW's Ricky Starks on WWE rumors
Ricky Starks has many friends in World Wrestling Entertainment who were formerly employed by AEW, including Women's Tag Team Champion Jade Cargill and Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. His long-running hiatus in the Jacksonville-based company has often fed into rumors of his potential future move to the sports entertainment juggernaut.
During a recent interview with Chris Van Vliet, Starks discussed the possibility of joining the promotion, voicing his eagerness to work alongside his friends, wherever that may be.
“I could end up anywhere actually. It’s not crazy. I understand it, and definitely get it. Like, you know, you just go where your friends are. Yes, I love my friends. I would like to always see them every day in my life, whether they come to me or whatever the case may be. That’s just how it is in life. You have people that you are cool with, and you’re always gonna have people say, like, well, you’re gonna do that because of this person. It’s like, Well, damn, yeah, I can’t act on my own accord," Starks said.
Stroke Daddy is reportedly going to be contracted to AEW till 2025. It remains to be seen whether he will be WWE-bound after that.