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AEW’s Ricky Starks recalls sneak-eating king cakes, washing cars for money ahead of champions’ homecoming show

Posted: Feb 1st 2024 By: Mykal Vincent

New Orleans native Ricky Starks will return home a champion when All-Elite Wrestling brings Dynamite to Louisiana on Wed., Jan. 31 at the UNO Lakefront Arena.

Starks told his mother when he was seven years old, playing with action figures, that he wanted to be a wrestler and was going to be a big star.

“I used to ride my bike around the arena and wash cars to save up money,� he recalled. “Then I’d go to McKenzie’s and buy a king cake just for myself and go to the park and eat it. And my mom would never know. I would wash cars all day long, just with a bucket.�

His wrestling journey will come full circle when he showcases his talent in front of his family and friends.

“To come back home is a great thing, especially to defend the titles,� he said. “We were here two years ago and that was a great time. Now I’m coming back as a champion so that’s even better. My mom is coming in a week early because she wants to experience all of it. Last time was very heartfelt and this time it will be no different. Having the goal and dream of wrestling in my hometown, especially at Lakefront Arena, or in the future at the Superdome, it’s very hard to explain. I can’t put it into words.�

Starks made his AEW debut in June 2020, won the FTW World Championship a little over a year later, and is now one-half of the AEW Tag Team Champions with Big Bill.

“I know there’s gonna be some people who are gonna make a good trip to come to this show, from four hours away, five hours away. They want to experience it. And that’s what it’s about. Getting there and being there live and in person and seeing these larger-than-life characters right in front of you,� he said. “To wrestle in front of the people that you grew up with, the people that you love. Whenever I’m on screen, I’m embodying the people of New Orleans. They go ‘well, what’s your character?’ I don’t have a character. It’s just who I am.�

How surreal is it to work with the people you grew up watching?

“I don’t let myself think about it that way. When I’m in the room with some of these people, or when I’m in the ring with them - I am on the same level as them. I’ve wrestled all over; Brian Danielson, CM Punk, Cody Rhodes, all of these people. I do not place myself lower than them. They are my coworkers. So yes, the younger Ricky was watching them on TV. But now the older Ricky is where he knew he was gonna be all along, and that’s shoulder-to-shoulder with these people. Sometimes I’m like, this is so crazy. This is the most bizarre thing. Life is just weird that way.�

Is it tough being on the road all the time?

“Not really. I live in Austin. So I came from Austin to Orlando. Orlando to New Orleans. New Orleans to St. Louis. St. Louis back to Austin. And that’s all gonna be within the span of like four or five days. I do like traveling, don’t get me wrong. And I don’t let myself think about it in a negative way, but then I’ll be turned off on it. But there’s sometimes I’m like, man, I’m just enjoying spending time on my couch right now. I take the good with the bad. But I’ve been traveling for 20 years, so at this point I’m used to it and I’ve figured out a way to train my mind to enjoy where I’m at and some type of routine because if not, being stuck in a hotel all the time I’ll go crazy.�

Do you ever think about taking time off?

“Even when I’m home, I’m still doing stuff. And I think at this point in my career, I don’t want to take too much time away, because I feel like that kills the momentum. I have to be in motion. I don’t want to be stopped. I hate sitting in traffic. I hate stop signs. I hate red lights. I have to be doing something. So that’s a balance that I have to make because my body needs to rest, but my mind and my ambition has to keep going. So I’ll get there. One day, a week off ain’t bad. Two days off ain’t bad. But it’s not like I’m not doing anything. I’m still doing something.�

How much of your success is your workout routine, diet, and nutrition?

“It’s a lifestyle. I never realized like ‘oh wow, that is a lot to do - to maintain a workout regimen, to stay in shape. That’s all a full-time job and you have to stay dedicated. I just never thought of it that way. I just started, like, this is what I had to do to be successful.�

Who are some of your favorite people in the AEW locker room?

“Sting is really cool. Sting is really helpful, too. I hang out with Daniel Garcia. Eddie Kingston is really good. Ethan Page is another good one. Those are the guys that I talk to that I try to gravitate towards. Especially because you’re on the road so much and you get bored being at the hotel, you want to go out and do stuff. I don’t surround myself with anyone who doesn’t have a drive or ambition because it just doesn’t serve me. Those guys I look at and I’m ‘oh, wow, they’re putting in the work.� Like I can really see them going the extra mile and I need to step up. Even when I feel like I’m giving 100%.�

Does anybody have any strange pre-match rituals?

“Jungle Boy throws up before every match. He throws up. We have a bucket before we go out. He throws up every single time. Sometimes there’s nothing. I don’t have a ritual because let me tell you how last minute I am. There’s times when I’m stretching right when the music hits or I didn’t do my hair and I put the product in or dump water on my head right when I walk out. But I’m gonna get a good ritual. I know some guys eat candy bars which is not bad - sugar. Some guys do energy drinks. I’m scared to do all that because what if I get heart palpitations?�

Who haven’t you worked with yet that you would like to?

“I’d like to wrestle The Undertaker. That’s my favorite wrestler. That’s really it. I’ve wrestled the people that I want to, and I’m blessed to have that. The better question is you should ask them - why am I at the top of their list of who they want to wrestle? All these guys want to be in the ring with me. I would wrestle Ric Flair. I would wrestle Rick Rude. Dusty, that’d be a good one.�

What do you say to people who call wrestling fake?

“When people say that they think it’s not completely real - tell it to the injuries that I’ve had. My personal opinion on it is that you can’t ever change somebody’s thought process on it. Because I guarantee you they will go and watch a movie and they don’t ever think for a second about a stuntman falling from 50 feet. “Once you get in there and you fall and you feel it, you’re like ‘Okay, I have a different appreciation for it.’ Yes, it hurts. I had my elbow jacked up. I broke my neck three years ago. My back sometimes gives me issues. Thankfully, I do a little yoga. There’s no point in wasting energy with somebody who’s gonna think that. Go talk to my bank account.�

AEW Dynamite comes to the UNO Lakefront Arena on Wed., Jan. 31. Tickets are available at AEWTix.com.