Ricky Starks Discusses Getting Advice From The Undertaker, Helping Him For Mania Match | Exclusive
In December 2018, a documentary was released entitled Onnit Stories Presents: True Wrestling. The documentary featured Ricky Starks and Aaron Solow as they traveled from Independent show to Independent show, looking to make it as professional wrestlers.
In the documentary, Starks & Solow sit down with The Undertaker for BBQ and get advice from “The Deadman.”
Speaking on Fightful’s Distraction Daily, Starks discussed how the seemingly random lunch with The Undertaker all came about.
“I used to train at this gym in Austin called Onnit. Undertaker was there one day, training. There was a guy doing a documentary on Taker for his [WrestleMania] match against Shane [McMahon] in Dallas. I would always be there when he was training. He’s getting prepared and filming a documentary because maybe he thought this would be the last match. Brandon, the guy filming it, knew I was a huge Taker fan and wanted to interview me and get comments. That’s when I started talking to Taker. He was a really cool dude. It was so surreal. I remember going up to him like, ‘I don’t mean to bother you. I just want to thank you.'”
Starks continued, “In addition to that, we were doing this documentary with me and Solow, just two dudes trying to make it in wrestling. He wanted to get a scene with Taker at a BBQ spot and we just asked him to sit around, ask for advice, and talk to him.”
Fast-forward a bit and when Undertaker was set to step in the ring with John Cena at WrestleMania 34, Starks and Solow were tasked with helping him knock off any rust.
“We get to the point where Taker is coming back to do the match with [John] Cena. And he actually asked for me and Solow to come and do the WrestleMania thing. He rented a ring in this little building and he was just in there practicing. We were helping Taker train for his match for WrestleMania,” recalled Ricky.
The clip with Undertaker, Starks, and Solow has begun to resurface online with Undertaker doing more out of character interviews, Starks becoming a star in the National Wrestling Alliance, and it being WrestleMania season.
The Undertaker pulled back the curtain during his chat with Starks and Solow, which has become more commonplace as of late for him. Not only is AJ Styles using his personal life to build their upcoming WrestleMania 36 bout, but Undertaker has started to dive into social media a bit more, posting in non-Phenom fashion.
“I kind of, as a big fan, it’s still weird for me in a selfish way to see the social media,” said Starks. “I know that, for him, he wants to finally step out of that and not have to be behind [the character]. But as a selfish eight-year inside of me, I’m like, aww man. It was still a cool experience. he gave me such great advice. Advice [that] I take to the grave and that is really long lasting in my mind. I’m the biggest fan of Taker so to be in the ring or to have BBQ with him and get advice from him. Like….what? I remember sitting down and he watched a match from mine from INSPIRE. I couldn’t believe that he was sitting on the couch next to me just watching my match.”
Before WWE moved all shows to the Performance Center, Undertaker had been giving advice to trainees and training himself for his WrestleMania match.
You can view the documentary featuring Starks and Solow in the video above. And listen to our entire interview with Starks in the video below.