Ricky Starks rose through the ranks of the NWA before joining the AEW during the COVID-19 pandemic. He quickly became a member of Team Taz before breaking away to be his own man.
For several years, Starks has been compared to The Rock due to their appearance and the way they speak. Last week’s AEW Dynamite featured a promo from MJF in which he referred to Starks as a “dollar store Dwayne.”
Stark addressed the comparisons in an interview with ComicBook.com’s Liam Crowley.
“I tell this all the time, The Rock wasn’t my favorite wrestler. He was like my number three favorite wrestler,” Starks said “That’s not to discredit The Rock from any type of talent he has, but I say that to say he wasn’t a big inspiration.”
Starks stated that he wants to be respected for his own uniqueness.
“I always tell this: I don’t hate the comparisons,” Starks continued. “What I do hate though, is being discredited for my natural creativity in lieu of someone saying, ‘Well, you’re just literally copying The Rock,’ which isn’t true at all.”
In terms of their speech patterns, Starks cited his hometown of New Orleans as the source of his cadence. He praised The Rock for being a great businessman and for the way he conducts himself.
“If some by chance, somebody thinks that I’m Rock-lite, then that’s cool.”
Starks will face MJF for the AEW World Title at Dynamite: Winter is Coming on Wednesday.
