Ricky Starks Recalls His WWE Tryouts

While making an appearance on AEW's Unrestricted podcast, Ricky Starks discussed his tryout appearances for WWE before he joined AEW:

"I think my first enhancement match was back in 2012, a year after I started wrestling. I think that was against Jinder Mahal on SmackDown in Houston, and that was cool to just have that experience. Obviously, when you're younger and doing stuff like that you're like, 'oh this is it. This is how I'm getting my big break.' Obviously, it didn't turn out like that. That was the first start of that, and then, as the years went on, I started to do more with them. I did some stuff with Ryback and getting put through a table.

I've done a tag team match with me and Aaron Solow against the Revival, just a big, big circle, obviously, in life, and then also too, I had a match against Kane in Austin on Main Event. And that one is very unusual just for the fact that they gave me a live microphone. I went out there. They gave me a live mic. and I talked my stuff. Then Kane comes out, and we have this this five-minute match.

It was so weird to me because a writer gave me a sheet that I had to go over. I'll never forget, the writer came up to me. He's like, 'do you want to go over the lines and what you're going to say to me?' I said, 'no, I think I got it. It's up here,' and he asked again. I said, 'I think I'm OK.' I can't remember who it was. It was one of the producers. I would say it was Dean [Malenko], but I don't even think it was Dean. It was someone else, and they go, 'he's basically telling you to recite it to him.' I said, 'oh, OK. Well, I guess I'll go ahead and do that.' And it was terrible. What was written was like stuff that people in Austin, in TX don't even eat at a sporting event, but I went out there and I did it.

Kane comes out, and I knew Kane's move set. And there was this moment where he whipped me to the turnbuckle, and usually, he gives you the sidewalk slam. And that wasn't called in the back, and I really thought I was in trouble because I hit it and walked out and then just ran right into it. I was like, 'oh shoot,' and as he's covering I go, 'I'm so sorry man.' He goes, 'no, it's OK kid. Keep going' and we get to the back, super nice guy, super, super nice, super respectful, and really, after that, it kind of ended there."