Richard Starks (born February 21, 1990) is an American

professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...

. He is signed to

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

, where he performs on the NXT

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's goods or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create and ...

under the

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name or nickname used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons ...

Ricky Saints. Starks is known for his time in

All Elite Wrestling All Elite Wrestling (AEW) is an American professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. It is owned and operated by Shahid Khan, Shahid and Tony Khan, with the latter serving as President (corporate title), president an ...

(AEW) as Ricky Starks from 2020 to 2025, where he is a former one-time AEW World Tag Team Champion and a former one-time

FTW Champion The FTW ("Fuck The World") Championship was a professional wrestling championship. It was presented as an "outlaw" or "renegade" title that was unsanctioned by officials Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Angle, in-storyline, and often serve ...

. He is also known for his time with the

National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion and governing body owned by Billy Corgan and operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA be ...

(NWA), where he was the inaugural holder of the revived NWA World Television Championship.

Professional wrestling career

Early career (2012–2018)

Starks idolized wrestlers including

The Undertaker Mark William Calaway (born March 24, 1965), better known by his ring name the Undertaker, is an American retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Calaway ...

, The Rock, and

Mankind Humans (''Homo sapiens'') or modern humans are the most common and widespread species of primate, and the last surviving species of the genus ''Homo''. They are great apes characterized by their hairlessness, bipedalism, and high intelligenc ...

, among many others, while growing up watching

professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...

. Around the age of seventeen, Starks decided he would pursue his dream of becoming a professional wrestler. Before signing with

, Starks worked four matches for the promotion as an enhancement talent, losing against wrestlers like

Jinder Mahal Yuvraj Singh Dhesi (born July 19, 1986) is a Canadian professional wrestler. He is performing on the independent circuit under his real name, stylized as Raj Dhesi. He is best known for his tenures in WWE, where he performed under the ring nam ...

Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady FreeAgentZ (formerly known as Enzo and Cass) were an American professional wrestling tag team composed of nZo and CaZXL. The duo are best known for their tenure with WWE, from 2013 to 2017, under the respective ring names, Enzo Amore and Big Ca ...

Kane Kane or KANE may refer to: Art, entertainment and media Fictional entities *Kane (comics), the main character of the eponymous comic book series by Paul Grist * Kane (''Command & Conquer''), Tiberium universe character in the ''Command & Conquer'' ...

and

The Revival Revival most often refers to: *Resuscitation of a person *Language revival of an extinct language * Revival (sports team) of a defunct team *Revival (television) of a former television series *Revival (theatre), a new production of a previously pr ...

( Scott Dawson and

Dash Wilder Daniel Marshall Wheeler (born May 17, 1987) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under the ring name Cash Wheeler, where he is a former two-time AEW World Tag Team Champions with Dax Harwood together ...

), before debuting for the

's (NWA) Velocity Pro Wrestling on October 14, 2012 at the NWA Velocity Haunted Havoc event in

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

. There, he wrestled in a

triple threat match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called " gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a storyline. ...

against Jaykus Plisken and Big Ricky. Since 2012, Starks became a regular talent featured across numerous promotions in the state of

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, like Anarchy Championship Wrestling and Inspire Pro Wrestling. He appeared in a

backstage video on the July 29, 2013 episode of '' Raw'', where he was bullied, mocked, and slammed through a table by

Ryback Ryback Allen Reeves (born Ryan Allen Reeves; November 10, 1981) is an American retired professional wrestler and YouTuber. He is best known for his tenure with WWE, where he performed under the ring name Ryback. One of the eight finalists on ' ...

. Starks again made an appearance on the March 19, 2018 episode of ''Raw'' as a

US Marshal The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The Marshals Service serves as the enforcement and security arm of the U.S. federal judiciary. It is an agency of the U.S. Department of Jus ...

, arresting

Roman Reigns Leati Joseph Anoaʻi ( ; born May 25, 1985), better known by his ring name Roman Reigns, is an American professional wrestler and former gridiron football, football player. As a wrestler, he has been signed to WWE , where he performs on the Sm ...

, only for Starks to be attacked by Reigns.

National Wrestling Alliance (2018–2020)

Starks made his debut for

(NWA) at the

NWA 70th Anniversary Show The NWA 70th Anniversary Show was a professional wrestling supercard that took place on October 21, 2018 at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. It was the first event produced under the NWA banner since William Patric ...

on October 21, 2018, competing in a

four-way elimination match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a storyline. ...

against Jay Bradley, Mike Parrow and

Willie Mack Willie McClinton Jr. (born January 5, 1987) is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Willie Mack, currently appearing in Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide, Juggalo Championship Wrestling, All Elite Wrestling, Major League Wres ...

, which Mack won. He returned on the October 15, 2019 episode of ''

Power Power may refer to: Common meanings * Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work" ** Engine power, the power put out by an engine ** Electric power, a type of energy * Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events Math ...

'', defeating

Trevor Murdoch William Theodore Mueller (born September 10, 1980) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Trevor Murdoch. He is signed to the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), where he is one-half of the current NWA World Tag Team ...

. At Into the Fire on December 14, Starks competed in a

three-way match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a storyline. ...

against

Aron Stevens Aron Steven Haddad (born August 3, 1982) is an American retired professional wrestler working as a manager in the National Wrestling Alliance under the name Aron Stevens. He is best known for wrestling with WWE under the ring name Damien Sandow ...

and NWA National Champion

Colt Cabana Scott Colton (born May 6, 1980), better known by the ring name Colt Cabana, is an American professional wrestler, color commentator, and podcaster. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a wrestler and as a coach, and he performs the same ...

for the title, where Stevens won. Soon after, Starks entered the tournament to crown the inaugural champion of the revived NWA World Television Championship at Hard Times on January 24, 2020, where he defeated

Eddie Kingston Edward Moore (born December 12, 1981), better known by the ring name Eddie Kingston, is an American professional wrestler. , he is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is out of in-ring action because of a leg injury, but continues to mak ...

in the first round, Matt Cross in the second round,

Tim Storm Timothy Scoggins (born February 18, 1964), better known by his ring name Tim Storm, is an American professional wrestler and sports commentator signed to the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), where he performs under the ring name Baron Von St ...

in the semi-finals and Trevor Murdoch in the finals to become the new NWA World Television Champion. Starks lost the title two days later to

Zicky Dice Nick Zoppo best known as Zicky Dice, is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his time in Impact Wrestling. In 2019 he worked with the National Wrestling Alliance, where he became NWA World Television Champion. Early life Dice ...

, which was aired on the March 3 episode of '' Powerrr'' due to tape delay. On May 18, it was announced that Starks was no longer with the NWA as his contract had expired.

All Elite Wrestling (2020–2025)

Team Taz (2020–2022)

On the June 17, 2020 episode of ''

AEW Dynamite ''AEW Dynamite'', also known as ''Wednesday Night Dynamite'' or simply ''Dynamite'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by the American Professional wrestling promotion, promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW). It air ...

'', Starks made his unannounced debut for

(AEW) where he answered Cody's open challenge for the

AEW TNT Championship The AEW TNT Championship is a Professional wrestling championship#Gimmick/style championships, men's professional wrestling television championship created and promoted by the United States, American professional wrestling promotion, promotion Al ...

in a losing effort. After the match, AEW CEO

Tony Khan Antony Rafiq Khan (born October 10, 1982) is an American businessman, sports executive, and professional wrestling promoter. He is best known as the founder, co-owner, president, CEO, executive producer, and head booker of All Elite Wrestling ...

announced that Starks had signed with the promotion. On the June 30 episode of ''

Dark Darkness is the condition resulting from a lack of illumination, or an absence of visible light. Human vision is unable to distinguish colors in conditions of very low luminance because the hue-sensitive photoreceptor cells on the retina are ...

'', Starks picked up his first victory in AEW by defeating

Griff Garrison Garrett Griffith is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and its sister promotion Ring of Honor (ROH) under the ring name Griff Garrison. He is a member of The Frat House stable. Early life Garrison was ...

while quickly establishing himself as a

heel The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower leg. Structure To distribute the compressive forces exerted ...

. On the July 21 episode of ''Dark'', after defeating

Will Hobbs Will Hobbs (August 22, 1947 - March 31, 2025) is the American author of twenty novels for upper elementary, middle school and young adult readers, as well as two picture book stories. Hobbs credits his sense of audience to his fourteen years of t ...

, Starks aided

Brian Cage Brian Christopher Joseph ButtonRobert Anthony Robert Anthony (born June 11, 1982) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Egotistico Fantastico, known for his time with the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), where he competed under the ring ...

and

Darby Allin Samuel Ratsch (born January 7, 1993), better known by the ring name Darby Allin, is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He is a former two-time AEW TNT Championship, AEW TNT Champion and a former AEW Wo ...

after their match, creating an alliance between the two. The team, managed by

Taz Taz or TAZ may refer to: Geography *Taz (river), a river in western Siberia, Russia *Taz Estuary, the estuary of the river Taz in Russia People * Taz people, an ethnic group in Russia ** Taz language, a form of Northeastern Mandarin spoken by ...

and now known as

Team Taz Team Taz, alternately called Team FTW, was an American professional wrestling stable signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). They were named after Taz, the leader and manager of the group. History On the July 21, 2020 episode of ''AEW Dark'', Ri ...

, began feuding with Allin as they faced Allin and

Jon Moxley Jonathan David Good (born December 7, 1985) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Jon Moxley and is the current AEW World Championship, AEW World Champion in his ...

on the July 29 episode of ''Dynamite'' where they were defeated. At the All Out pay-per-view on September 5, Starks participated in the

Casino Battle Royale The Casino Battle Royale is a professional wrestling match utilized by All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Versions for traditional tag teams (Casino Tag Team Royale) and three-man teams - referred to by AEW as trios (Casino Trios Royale) have also been e ...

, but he was eliminated by Allin. On the November 18 episode of ''Dynamite'',

would join Starks, Taz, and Cage's alliance after he struck Cody with Cage's FTW Championship belt and then assisted them in attacking both Allin and Cody as well. On the December 2 episode of ''Dynamite'': Winter Is Coming, Starks and Hobbs, the latter now known as Powerhouse Hobbs, would lose a tag team match to Cody and Allin, after which,

Sting Stimulator of interferon genes (STING), also known as transmembrane protein 173 (TMEM173) and MPYS/MITA/ERIS is a regulator protein that in humans is encoded by the STING1 gene. STING plays an important role in innate immunity. STING induces typ ...

made his AEW debut and ran Team Taz off after a post-match attack. On the January 20 episode of ''Dynamite'', it was announced that Starks and Brian Cage would be facing Allin and Sting in a street fight at

Revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...

, a

cinematic match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Gimmick, gimmick matches" in the Glossary of professional wrestling terms, jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick m ...

that Starks and Cage ultimately lost. On July 14, 2021, on night one of Fyter Fest, Starks won the FTW World Championship from Brian Cage, winning his first championship in AEW, although the FTW title is not an officially sanctioned championship in the company. On an episode of ''

Rampage Rampage may refer to: People * Rampage (rapper) (born 1974) * Quinton Jackson (born 1978; nicknamed "Rampage"), American mixed martial artist and actor * Randy Rampage (1960-2018), Canadian musician Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional chara ...

'', Starks defeated Cage in a Philly street fight. Starks would qualify for the "Face of the Revolution"

ladder match A ladder match is a type of match in professional wrestling, most commonly one in which an item (usually a title belt) is hung above the ring, and the winner is the contestant who climbs a ladder and retrieves the item. The ladder itself become ...

by defeating Preston "10" Vance, but would fail to win the match at

. In September 2021, in addition to still being a wrestler on the show, Starks joined the ''Rampage'' commentary team, replacing

Mark Henry Mark Jerrold Henry (born June 12, 1971) is an American former powerlifter, Olympic weightlifter, strongman, and retired professional wrestler currently signed to WWE under a Legends contract. Henry is a two-time Olympian (1992 and 19 ...

. On the July 20, 2022 episode of ''Dynamite'', Starks issued an open challenge for his FTW Championship, where he defeated Cole Karter. After the match, he issued another open challenge for the following week's ''Dynamite'', which was answered by Danhausen. At Fight for the Fallen on July 27, 2022, Starks issued an open challenge immediately after defeating Danhausen. It was answered by Team Taz teammate

Hook A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved/bent back or has a deeply grooved indentation, which serves to grab, latch or in any way attach itself onto another object. The hook's d ...

, who defeated him for the title, ending Starks's reign at 378 days, making him the longest-reigning FTW Champion at the time. After a impassioned post-match promo by Starks, Powerhouse Hobbs attacked him, turning Starks

face The face is the front of the head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may affect th ...

. The following week, Taz, while on commentary, announced that he had dissolved Team Taz. Starks came out to confront Hobbs on the August 3 episode of ''Dynamite'' only for his former partner to attack him and leave the ring. The grudge match between Hobbs and Starks was set for All Out, where Hobbs defeated Starks in just over five minutes. Starks and Hobbs faced off once more at

Grand Slam Grand Slam or Grand slam may refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category terminology originating in contract bridge and other whist card games Athletics * Grand Slam Track, professional track and field league Auto racing * ...

in an Unsanctioned Lights Out match, where Starks defeated Hobbs, ending the feud.

Championship pursuits and departure (2022–2025)

On the Thanksgiving Eve special episode of ''Dynamite'' on November 23, Starks defeated

Ethan Page Julian Micevski (born September 20, 1989), better known by his ring name Ethan Page, is a Canadian Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT (WWE brand), NXT WWE brand extension, brand, and is ...

in the finals of an

AEW World Championship The AEW World Championship is a men's professional wrestling World championship (professional wrestling), world championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion, promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Unveiled on ...

Eliminator Tournament to face AEW World Champion

Maxwell Jacob Friedman Maxwell Tyler Friedman (born March 15, 1996), better known by the ring name Maxwell Jacob Friedman and the shortened epithet MJF, is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and actor. , he is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW ...

at ''Dynamite'': Winter Is Coming for the title. Two weeks later, on the December 7 edition of ''Dynamite'', Starks competed in the Dynamite Dozen Battle Royale, last eliminating Ethan Page to add the Dynamite Diamond Ring as a second prize to his AEW World Championship match. The following week on ''Dynamite'', Starks and Friedman faced off in a heated promo, with Starks insulting Friedman's cheap tactics of gaining acclaim, compared to the hard work Starks put in, resulting in Friedman hitting Starks with a low blow, only for Starks to retaliate with a spear, knocking Friedman down. At Winter is Coming, MJF defeated Starks to retain the AEW World Championship and winning Starks' Dynamite Diamond Ring. Following this loss, Starks entered a feud with

Chris Jericho Christopher Keith Irvine (born November 9, 1970), better known by the ring name Chris Jericho, is an American-Canadian professional wrestler, rock musician, and actor. As a wrestler, he has been signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) , where he ...

, who attempted to recruit Starks into his Jericho Appreciation Society (JAS) group on the December 22 edition of ''Dynamite'', but failed as Starks declined, insulting Jericho and JAS members

Sammy Guevara Samuel Guevara (born July 28, 1993) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of The Sons of Texas and is a record tying three-time former AEW TNT Champion. He also appears in AEW's sist ...

and Daniel Garcia in the process. This led to JAS member

Jake Hager Donald Jacob Hager Jr. (born March 24, 1982) is an American professional wrestler and former amateur wrestler and mixed martial artist. He currently performs on the independent circuit. He is best known for his tenures in WWE as Jack Swagger an ...

attacking Starks along with the remainder of the group until Starks was saved by

Action Andretti Tyler Reber (born February 1, 1998) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under the ring name Action Andretti and is one-half of CRU with Lio Rush. He also makes appearances for its sister promotion Ring o ...

, who was also feuding with the JAS. Two weeks later on the January 4 edition of ''Dynamite'', Starks defeated Jericho in a singles match, although he and Andretti were attacked by the JAS post-match, including Hager

powerbomb A powerbomb is a professional wrestling throw in which an opponent is lifted (usually so that they are sitting on the wrestler's shoulders) and then slammed back-first down to the mat. The standard powerbomb sees an opponent first placed in a s ...

ing Starks through a table. Starks avenged the attack, defeating Hager on the January 18 edition of ''Dynamite''. On February 8, Starks faced the JAS in a

Gauntlet match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Gimmick, gimmick matches" in the Glossary of professional wrestling terms, jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick m ...

, defeating Matt Menard and Angelo Parker but lost to Daniel Garcia. Starks and Jericho's feud culminated at

, where Starks once again defeated Jericho. Starks then began a feud with

Juice Robinson Joseph Ryan Robinson (born April 10, 1989), better known by his ring name Juice Robinson, is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of the Bang Bang Gang stable. He also wrestles in Ne ...

, who attacked Starks on the March 8 edition of ''Dynamite''. The two men were set to face off on the April 5 edition of ''Dynamite'', though before the match former

Bullet Club , stylized as BULLET CLUB and sometimes shortened to BC, is a professional wrestling Glossary of professional wrestling terms#stable, stable primarily appearing in the Japanese Professional wrestling promotion, promotion New Japan Pro-Wrestling ...

leader

Jay White Jamie White (born 9 October 1992), better known by the ring name Jay White, is a New Zealand professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is the leader of the Bullet Club sub-group Bang Bang Gang. White is a former ...

made his debut after signing with AEW, attacking Starks alongside Robinson, causing a no-contest. Starks competed in the Owen Hart Foundation Men's Tournament, defeating Robinson and Powerhouse Hobbs to advance to the tournament finals. On the July 15 episode of ''

Collision In physics, a collision is any event in which two or more bodies exert forces on each other in a relatively short time. Although the most common use of the word ''collision'' refers to incidents in which two or more objects collide with great for ...

'', he defeated

CM Punk Phillip Jack Brooks (born October 26, 1978), better known by his ring name CM Punk, is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw brand. Regarded as ...

in the finals to win the men's tournament. On the August 5 episode of ''Collision'', Starks unsuccessfully challenged Punk for the "

Real World Championship The , also referred to as the Real World Championship was a championship established and promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling. Karl Gotch was billed as a first champion by New Japan Pro-Wrestling. It used the belt (or belt replica) of American Wre ...

", with Ricky "the Dragon" Steamboat serving as the special outside enforcer due to Starks cheating to defeat Punk in their previous two matches. After the match, Starks assaulted Steamboat with Steamboat's own belt, thus turning heel. As a result of his actions against Steamboat, AEW (

kayfabe In professional wrestling, kayfabe (pronounced ) is the portrayal of staged events within the industry as "real" or "true", specifically competition, rivalries, and relationships between participants. The term has evolved to become a code word ...

) suspended Starks from wrestling for 28 days. However, Starks acquired a manager's license in order to continue appearing in AEW and started managing

Big Bill Big Bill is a nickname that may refer to: * Bill Abstein (1883–1940), American Major League Baseball and amateur soccer player * Bill Bachrach (1879–1959), American swim and water polo coach * Bill Bagwell (1895–1976), American Major League ...

. On the September 2 episode of ''Collision'', Starks issued a challenge to Steamboat and signed a match contract to

strap match A strap, sometimes also called strop, is an elongated flap or ribbon, usually of leather or other flexible materials. Thin straps are used as part of clothing or baggage, or bedding such as a sleeping bag. See for example spaghetti strap, should ...

at All Out against "The Dragon". "The American Dragon" Bryan Danielson then came out to sign the match contract instead of Steamboat. At All Out, Starks lost to Danielson by technical submission after passing out from Danielson's modified submission using the strap. On the October 7 episode of ''Collision'', Starks and Big Cass won their first AEW championship by defeating FTR (

Cash Wheeler Daniel Marshall Wheeler (born May 17, 1987) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under the ring name Cash Wheeler, where he is a former two-time AEW World Tag Team Champions with Dax Harwood together t ...

and

Dax Harwood David Michael Harwood (born June 30, 1984) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under the ring name Dax Harwood. Teamed with Cash Wheeler as FTR, Harwood is a two-time AEW World Tag Team Champion. H ...

) to become the new

AEW World Tag Team Champions The AEW World Tag Team Championship is a men's professional wrestling world tag team championship created and promoted by the United States, American professional wrestling promotion, promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW). It is a standard tag team ...

. Starks and Big Bill lost the titles to

and Darby Allin in a

tornado tag team match Much like the singles match, tag team professional wrestling matches can and have taken many forms. Just about any singles or melee match type can be adapted to tag teams; for example, hardcore tag team matches are commonplace. Tag team ladder m ...

on the February 7, 2024 episode of ''Dynamite'', ending their reign at 123 days. On the March 30 episode of ''Collision'', Starks and Big Bill were defeated by Top Flight (

Dante Martin Dante Martin (born March 3, 2001) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He also appears for AEW's sister promotion Ring of Honor (ROH). He performs alongside his older brother Darius Martin and Leila G ...

and

Darius Martin Darius Martin (born September 20, 1999) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He also makes appearances for AEW's sister promotion Ring of Honor (ROH). He performs alongside his younger brother Dante Mar ...

) in what would be Starks' final AEW match. In February 2025, Starks' profile was removed from AEW's website and he was subsequently released, ending his five-year tenure with the company.

Independent circuit (2024–2025)

On November 23, 2024, Starks debuted in

Game Changer Wrestling Game Changer Wrestling (GCW), formerly known as Jersey Championship Wrestling (JCW), is an American Independent circuit, independent professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion based in New Jersey. The promotion was original ...

(GCW) at GCW Dream On, where he cut a promo stating that "I'd I will be damned if I sit at home and let my career dwindle". Later that night, GCW announced that Starks would face

Matt Cardona Matthew Brett Cardona (born May 14, 1985) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is a freelancer who competes on the independent circuit as well as making in ring appearances for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), Al ...

at GCW Highest in the Room on December 14. Several days later, GCW announced that Starks had been pulled from all upcoming appearances. On December 29, Starks appeared in

DEFY Wrestling DEFY Wrestling is an American Independent circuit, independent professional wrestling promotion based out of Seattle, Washington (state), Washington. DEFY was created in 2017 after founders Jim Perry and Matt Farmer successfully petitioned the Wa ...

at DEFY Blueprint to challenge DEFY World Champion

Kenta Kenta (廉侍) is a masculine Japanese given name. (written: , , , or in katakana). Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese baseball player *, Japanese film director *, Japanese kickboxer *, Japanese professional wrestler *, Japane ...

for the title at DEFY Hundredth on February 7, 2025, where he went on to defeat Kenta for the title. On January 17, Starks made his debut for House of Glory (HOG) at HOG Watch The Throne, where he unsuccessfully challenged

Mike Santana Mark Sanchez (born February 4, 1991), known by the ring name Mike Santana or simply Santana, is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). He also makes appearances for partner promotion WWE on their ...

for the HOG Heavyweight Championship. On February 28, Starks relinquished the DEFY World Championship after signing with WWE, ending his reign at 21 days.

WWE (2025–present)

Starks returned to WWE on the February 11, 2025 episode of '' NXT'' as an unnamed free agent, adopting the ring name Ricky Saints soon after. On the February 25 episode of ''NXT'', Saints teamed with

Je'Von Evans Malachi Jeffers (born April 28, 2004) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs under the ring name Je'Von Evans on the NXT brand. He was previously known under the ring name Jay Malachi on the independent cir ...

to defeat

and

Wes Lee Deveon Everhart Aikens (born November 2, 1988) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT and Evolve brands under the ring name Wes Lee and is the leader of The High Ryze stable. He is a former one-t ...

in a tag team match. On the April 1 episode of ''NXT'', Saints defeated

Shawn Spears Ronnie William Arneill (born February 19, 1981), better known by his ring name Shawn Spears, is a Canadian Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and trainer. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the WWE NXT, NXT WWE brand extension, ...

to win the

NXT North American Championship The NXT North American Championship is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is defended as the secondary men's championship of NXT, the promotion's developmental brand. The current champi ...

. During his celebration, Saints was attacked by Page to start a feud for the title. At NXT Stand & Deliver on April 19, Saints successfully defended the title against Page. On the May 27 episode of ''NXT'', Saints lost the title to Page in a rematch, ending his reign at 56 days and suffering a laryngeal contusion.

Professional wrestling style and persona

Starks has referred to his style as a "pastiche" of other wrestlers, most notably

's selling and

Shinjiro Otani is a Japanese semi-retired professional wrestler and the current acting president of Pro Wrestling Zero1 (Zero1). He is currently inactive from pro-wrestling competition due to a cervical spine injury sustained in April 2022. A product of the Ne ...

. Dan Allanson of ''

Pro Wrestling Torch Wade Keller (born May 22, 1971) is an American professional wrestling journalist who runs the ''Pro Wrestling Torch'' newsletter. Keller has hosted ''The Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Podcast'' on PodcastOne since 2017. ''Pro Wrestling Torch'' Kel ...

'' agrees, describing Starks' in-ring style as a mix of the Undertaker and

Bret Hart Bret Sergeant Hart (born July 2, 1957) is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. A member of the Hart wrestling family and a second-generation wrestler, he has an amateur wrestling background at Ernest Manning High School and Mount Royal U ...

, while his persona is a throwback to self-confident

Attitude Era The Attitude Era was a major era of professional wrestling within the WWE, World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). The term "WWF Attitude" was used to describe its programming from November 9, 1997 to May 6, 2002. It began during the Monday Ni ...

stars such as The Rock and

Stone Cold Steve Austin Steve Austin (born Steven James Anderson and later Steven James Williams; December 18, 1964), better known by his ring name "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, is an American media personality, actor, producer and retired Professional wrestling, profes ...

. Starks uses an

Inverted powerbomb A powerbomb is a professional wrestling throw in which an opponent is lifted (usually so that they are sitting on the wrestler's shoulders) and then slammed back-first down to the mat. The standard powerbomb sees an opponent first placed in a st ...

dubbed the "Rochambeau" as a finishing manoeuvre. Other finishers include a lifting sitout double underhook facebuster called ''The Buster Keaton''/''Arms of Orion'' and a leaping spear.

Personal life

Starks grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana and was raised by a single mom with two siblings. Starks has spoken on a number of occasions about his frustrations that people often do not realise he is

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

(Starks has described himself as " light-skinned"), something that was a source of bullying and fights in his childhood.

Filmography

Television

Championships and accomplishments

AEW World Tag Team Championship The AEW World Tag Team Championship is a men's professional wrestling world tag team championship created and promoted by the American promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW). It is a standard tag team championship, being contested by teams of two wr ...

( 1 time) – with

** FTW Championship ( 1 time) ** AEW World Championship Eliminator Tournament (2022) ** Dynamite Diamond Battle Royale (2022) ** Men’s Owen Hart Cup (

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

) *Anarchy Championship Wrestling **ACW Hardcore Championship (1 time) **ACW Televised Championship (1 time) **ACW Unified Championship (1 time) *

DEFY World Championship The DEFY World Championship is a men's professional wrestling world championship created and promoted by the American promotion DEFY Wrestling, being sanctioned as the promotion's top championship. There have been a total of ten reigns shared betw ...

( 1 time) *Dojo Pro Wrestling **Dojo Pro White Belt Championship (1 time) *''

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

'' **Breakthrough Wrestler of the Year (2022) *Imperial Wrestling Revolution **IWR Revolutionary Championship (1 time) *Inspire Pro Wrestling **Inspire Pro Championship (1 time) **Inspire Pro Junior Crown Championship (1 time) **Inspire Pro Pure Prestige Championship (1 time) *

NWA World Television Championship The NWA World Television Championship is a Championship (professional wrestling)#Television championships, world television championship owned and promoted by the United States, American professional wrestling promotion National Wrestling Allianc ...

( 1 time, inaugural) **NWA World Television Championship Tournament (2020) *NWA Houston **NWA Lone Star Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *''

Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishing Group. The maga ...

'' ** Ranked No. 92 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the ''

PWI 500 ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishing Group. The maga ...

'' in 2020 *VIP Wrestling **VIP Tag Team Championships (1 time) – with Carson **VIP Tag Team Championship Tournament (2015) *WrestleCircus **WC Big Top Tag Team Championships (1 time) – with

Aaron Solo Aaron Solow (born February 4, 1987) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to the American promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he was part of the QTV stable, using the ring name Aaron Solo. Professional wrestling career Sol ...

w *

( 1 time) *Xtreme Championship Wrestling **XCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time, final)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Starks, Ricky 1990 births 21st-century male professional wrestlers 21st-century American professional wrestlers AEW World Tag Team Champions African-American professional wrestlers American male professional wrestlers Living people Professional wrestlers from Louisiana Sportspeople from New Orleans American professional wrestling announcers NWA World Television Champions FTW Champions Owen Hart Cup winners DEFY World Champions NXT North American Champions