AEW star and current FTW champion Rick Starks recently spoke with Blake Oestriecher of Forbes to discuss his journey from indie scene darling to top player in AEW. The Absolute One also discusses his desire to be in the main event, a part he feels that he was born to play. Highlights from the interview are below.
Says he was born to be in the main event:
“Even before I was born, I think I was always meant to be a main eventer. In any situation, any company, any place anywhere in this world, I’m a main eventer, first and foremost…Within the AEW world, I’m definitely a main eventer. I’ve been doing it for 11 years and really had to maul my way through the independent scene, especially when I wasn’t a big name and when I wasn’t someone that everyone knew of.”
On the incredible reaction he got in New Orleans:
“Very positive. I’m beloved in any city that I go to… I try not to even indulge in the negative stuff and focus mainly on the positive. It’s cool to see that the new people who have never seen me before are just as impressed with it, [as] entertained by it as the OG fans. I went from watching my first live event in 2001 at the Smoothie King Arena to watching Undertaker vs John Cena at the SuperDome and then coming to the Lakefront Arena and wrestling in front of my hometown. On the indies, I felt that…I wasn’t getting these opportunities that other people were that I knew I was just as equipped for, if not better.”
How difficult it was for him on the indie scene, but how it all paid off:
“There wasn’t ever a moment where I thought about quitting because my thing is, like, man, you’ve come so far. And you’ve slept on couches and you’ve slept in cars, and you’ve been homeless, you’ve been living paycheck to paycheck. Why give up now? And even then if you give up now, you’ve got to start over again.”
Talks AEW’s growing roster and how it doesn’t intimidate him because he likes a challenge:
“I like the challenge because I think I can have chemistry with anybody I wrestle. So I think it’s cool to have such a big mix of talent that we have on our roster…I don’t concern myself with that [adding wrestlers] because the people that they bring in, those people can’t do exactly what I can. They don’t bring to the table exactly what Ricky Starks can bring to the table. We have so many talented men and women…and it’s about getting in where you can fit in. And so, it’s not always the best plan of action, but it’s the best plan that we have right now.”