During a conversation on the “Insight” podcast, Ricky Starks shared his experience attending WWE Wrestlemania XL. He also spoke about AEW President Tony Khan’s neutral stance on his attendance.
Starks highlighted that he was not the only representative from AEW present in Wrestlemania 40. He attended the event in solidarity with Cody Rhodes and Jade Cargill.
Starks remarked, “You know who else was in the box with me? (Dustin Rhodes). QT Marshall. Aaron Solo. This is not me putting them under the spotlight. They were in the box. Fans have captured me celebrating. There was absolutely no problem with that. There was no controversy. Prior to my going, Tony (Khan) assured me, ‘Hey, it’s okay.’ There was no squabble. Even if he did not mean that, fine, I have no idea. But there was no conflict concerning that and even today, I fail to see an issue with it. I entered this domain because I am an enthusiast. I am an ardent lover of professional wrestling. No matter where I earn my livelihood from, I will back the people I admire and I am going to endorse wrestling as a whole. I was a spectator at Jade’s maiden Mania match and felt exceptionally proud. I was a witness to Mania in the previous year when Cody lost. I see no problem with someone attending a different show. Is it implausible for Jay-Z to attend a J. Cole concert? I remember observing reaction posts about me supposedly flattering Cody because I was present there. If one transfers this scenario away from the wrestling context, it would be seen as pretty standard, but for some odd reason, it’s considered off-limits not to be on one side when you plied your trade on the other. What’s the big deal? After all, we’re all earning, right? There are attendants from NXT present at AEW shows, all the time. Never posed a problem. When Forum happened, there were personalities from WWE backstage. Of course, they weren’t clicked, but do you suppose I’m going to instruct a fan, who shelled out for their seat, not to snap me up in the box seat? I couldn’t care less, and I continue to do so. I didn’t take the Rumble incident or the Mania event seriously. No one will make me feel guilty for acting out of benevolence. I desired to savor live wrestling and watch my friends competently perform live, which is exactly what I managed to do.”