Ricky Starks hates the idea of AEW having “pillars.”
A couple of years ago, MJF coined the term “Four Pillars” to describe himself, Darby Allin, Jungle Boy, and Sammy Guevara. After achieving varying degrees of success since their arrivals in AEW, all four men were finally able to meet in one match for the AEW World Championship at Double or Nothing where MJF retained his gold. But that hasn’t stopped the conversation surrounding the idea of the company being built on the foundation of four rising stars.
During a recent interview with The Corner Podcast, Ricky Starks was asked to weigh in after some fans have labeled him the “fifth pillar.”
“I actually hate the idea of pillars,” Starks said. “I loathe the idea of a pillar because one, it’s a full gimmick, and it came from one guy who — there’s nothing behind it. To say that these four dudes are the pillars of the company, you know what you’re doing by saying that? Eff everybody else who did anything. Those people don’t matter. It’s these three guys that we’ve deemed, ‘I have bestowed this sacred title upon thee, and I want you to go forth and do with it.’ No, I don’t believe in that.
“It’s a very sweet gesture to say Ricky should be considered a fifth pillar. Baby, I don’t need to be a pillar, okay? I can be a foundation. I can be the roof. I can be the person outside maintaining the lawn. I don’t need none of that. Because to me, that’s a box within itself. Four pillars, you got me, ‘What? Four pillars? Four pillars of what?’ Name one coliseum that you know that’s famous. I bet you couldn’t even do that.”
To further to his point, Ricky Starks wants to see if the numbers add up as far as ratings, quarterly hours, and money is concerned with the self-proclaimed pillars.
“So to say that these four guys are the ones that are gonna make and break, let’s see the numbers. Y’all wanna talk about ratings? Let’s see the ratings for y’all four. Let’s see how much money y’all making. If y’all want to keep bringing up all this bullshit, let’s see it pen to paper. How are their quarterly hours doing when y’all are on TV? Let’s see it, I want to see it. The Four Pillars, hell yeah. My paycheck is signed by those four dudes? Hell yeah, let me see it.
“I don’t even like the conversation. I don’t even want to be included. Keep me away from that. I don’t want that. I don’t want to be considered a pillar. This ain’t All Japan. You don’t know shit about All Japan, I bet. I tell Max to his face, ‘You don’t know nothing about All Japan. Come on. You just want a slogan and a t-shirt.’ I can give you that. I can go to ChatGPT right now and get that AI to set us up with something.”
For what it’s worth, even Darby Allin isn’t a fan of the “pillars” term. He recently said in an interview that it makes them seem above everyone else, whereas he believes the whole roster, specifically those who are “ride or die” for the company, are considered pillars to him.
RELATED: Darby Allin: Whoever Is Ride Or Die With AEW Is A Pillar In My Eyes
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit The Corner Podcast with a h/t to WrestleZone for the transcription.
