— AEW’s Ricky Starks has driven a lot of headlines in recent months, mainly centering around his status with the promotion and relative lack of usage which could lead to an eventual departure. Starks was back in the news today with Ibou of WrestlePurists reporting that Starks recently asked AEW for his outright release but was denied. Chris Featherstone of Sportskeeda then confirmed the report.

— The first report from Ibou on Tuesday indicated that “things happened” between Starks and AEW, hinting that details of that would never be made public but that ultimately it led to a falling out between the two sides. He then noted that after being denied his release, Starks’ plan is to simply waiting out the rest of his contract. Featherstone added that the reason for Starks asking for his release is due to frustration with the creative process and his lack of usage, having not wrestled since March 2024.

— Featherstone added that Starks has “never turned down any creative ideas” as some speculated as the reason for AEW sending him to the doghouse, and is simply just not being used – a report that that fightfulselect.com corroborated and specified that happened months ago. They added that Starks also asked AEW not to pick up his option in 2023 and that the promotion ignored that and picked it up anyway.

— Starks’ contract is believed to be expiring in the spring timeframe and AEW has blocked him from doing GCW shows but is allowing him to work other indie dates. He was recently at AEW Full Gear and was reportedly well received backstage.