AEW's Ricky Starks Opens Up About Fans Comparing Him To The Rock

TheSportster

By Jim Parsons

Published May 4, 2022

Ricky Starks understands there are going to be fans that compare him to The Rock, but there's one thing about that comparison he absolutely hates.

Unless you want to have the SmackDown laid on your candy a--, don't let AEW's Ricky Starks hear you say that he's nothing more than a "Rock wannabe". Speaking with the The PWI Podcast this week, Starks talked about that being the one thing really pi--es him off when it comes to the fans.

Starks said that he doesn't mind being compared to one of the greats of all time and the most electrifying performer in WWE history, but when fans say Starks is flat-out copying The Great One, it bothers him. He explained, “... the only thing that bothers me is when people try to say that I’m actually actively copying The Rock with the way I dress and all this other dumb sh*t. It does pi-- me off because I’ve never gone into wrestling trying to copy The Rock." He added that he's never studied The Rock or used his promos to get ideas. He said, "Everything I do, it comes from my head. It comes from how I feel and how I want to look."

AEW's Ricky Starks and the FTW Championship

He's not a fan of being discredited by fans who say he's just copying someone else and noted that those fans are probably too closed-minded to understand that each performer has their own individuality. Knowing how to dress is not exclusive to The Rock and just because Starks doesn't dress like everyone else doesn't mean he's found someone to model himself after and wants to be the next People's Champion. Starks said it's more likely the case that these fans "just can’t fathom somebody coming on screen and dressing in a turtleneck and nice slacks. It’s the most bizarre thing.”

Starks Understands The Comparisons

The AEW performer understands that fans might make comparisons because the two have a similar look at Starks has a high ceiling in AEW. He also noted that it's only the fact that people suggest he's ripping off someone else's gimmick that he doesn't like. In the end, “Me and The Rock are both handsome individuals, and you can’t say that a lot for some of the fans that try to talk trash about us."

h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.

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