AEW star Ricky Starks was the latest guest on Renee Paquette’s Oral Sessions podcast to discuss a variety of topics, most notably his time working for WWE as an extra. One story the Starman shares is a time he was slapped repeatedly on live television by Ryback, and how the Miz and CM Punk told him good job once the segment had concluded. Highlights from the interview are below.
On getting slapped by Ryback on WWE TV and The Miz and CM Punk giving him credit after the segment was over:
I got slapped in the face three times. He never told me he was going to slap me, so when you see me tense up, that’s legit. Initially, I was trying to cry and Michael Hayes came to me and was like, ‘You ain’t gonna cry like that in a real fight, would you?’ I said, ‘Hell nah, you’re right. I’d bow up to a motherfucker.’ I really enjoyed it, they paid for my shirt that he ripped up. I remember walking to the back and Miz and CM Punk were like, ‘good job on the segment.’ That was the end of it.
Says that while he enjoyed being a WWE extra he realized that he could never break through a certain ceiling:
When I was brand new and getting the call, I was like, ‘this is how I get hired.’ It’s a great feeling. That’s how I learned the most. I sat up on Raw days in the crowd with William Regal while they’re testing the music and he’ll tell me these stories and me asking questions. I’m a very observant person so sometimes I just sit back and watch everything. It was an awesome time, but for me, at a certain point, I got tired of it because I felt like there was a ceiling that I kept hitting every time I came. ‘Well, if ya’ll didn’t care for me after the 17th time, how is this 30th time going to be any different?’
(H/T and transcribed by Fightful)