As Ricky Starks has risen up the ranks in All Elite Wrestling, fan comparisons with Dwayne Johnson have only grown louder.
While there are plenty of differences between the pair, viewers have pointed to the way Starks dresses and delivers promos as proof that he has taken inspiration from The Great One. These comparisons came into sharper focus on the December 7th episode of Dynamite where MJF openly called out the star for copying The Rock. In a firey promo exchange, MJF slammed Starks as a “dollar store Dwayne,” adding that he had stolen everything from “that guy.”
Ricky Starks Comments On Comparisons With Dwayne Johnson
Speaking during a recent appearance on Casual Conversations with The Wrestling Classic, Starks hit back at the comparisons. The AEW star said that while both men like to “talk crap about people” that’s where the similarities end.
“I go out there and I have this effeminate, sassy … attitude,” Starks said. “Whereas The Rock was just this ‘alpha male.’ The only similarities we have is that we both talk crap about other people. I can’t help that I’m good at that.”
In a different interview Starks clapped back at suggestions he had copied Johnson, stating that it simply wasn’t true. To hammer the point home, Starks added that when he was growing up The Rock wasn’t even his favourite wrestler.
On the December 14th episode of AEW Dynamite, Ricky Starks faced MJF for the AEW World Championship. Despite a spirited showing the star was eventually undone by a low-blow from the champion. The following week Chris Jericho came to the stage to praise Starks before trying to recruit him into the Jericho Appreciation Society.
Unsurprisingly, Starks was having none of it and a match was set between the pair for the January 4th edition of Dynamite.
H/t to Wrestling Inc