During the latest edition of the āBusted Open Radioā podcast, AEW President Tony Khan provided an update on Ricky Starksā following the recent news that he suffered a neck fracture.Ā
Ā āI feel terrible. I wasnāt going to say anything about it. Rico (Starks) in the match against Hangman had hurt his neck. He came out of it feeling okay, he really felt like like he dodged a bullet. So we felt good about it but Doc (Samson) said āpull him outā and had him go get checked out. And he had a little soreness and Doc sent him for an MRI. We didnāt know what to expect. Rico thought he was going to be okay and it turned out he had a small fracture in his neck.ā
āSo heās going to be sitting out for awhile. Itās very scary, but Iām really glad they took all the precautions they took. Thatās why Doc sent him to get a second opinion and go get an MRI. They definitely told him to take a few months off and rest. Itās a very unfortunate situation. I wasnāt going to say that specifically, but it somehow got out. I talked to Starks about it last night and Iām really gutted for him, because heās worked so hard to get to this spot. And he wouldāve been a big part of Double or Nothing. I canāt say enough good things about Ricky Starks and what he does for AEW.ā
āDo you remember when Shawn Michaels had that phase in the mid 90ās, in 94, where he wasnāt wrestling as actively? Even before they (Shawn and Diesel) won the tag belts, he was almost more of the manager. He did some speaking, did some announcing and became a more versatile performer. And I thought when he came back and they were the tag team and then did the turn that he was probably in a better place for it, really. I think that can hopefully be what we get out of this. He (Ricky) can come back and, being involved with Hobbs and Cage, that when heās back heāll be in a better position. But itās very unfortunate. Iām just glad heās okay and, in the moment, I think we all felt like āthat couldāve been a lot worseā, when Hangman put him down. Starks is one of the most exciting young wrestlers we have, and Iām just glad, like I told him, āmonths is better than years. And so the few months, weāll get through this.ā Heās been a huge part of our success and I think when we come back hopefully we can experience success in this time when heās out, and weāll be in a better place when he comes back and hopefully he will too.ā
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