24 hours after he was officially let go from All Elite Wrestling, Ricky Starks strolled into the WWE Performance Center and on to the February 11 edition of "WWE NXT." Starks appeared in the crowd as the Steel Cage was being set up for the main event match between Tony D'Angelo and Ridge Holland, and after leaving fans around the world with more questions than answers, Fightful Select have reported some more details on his shocking debut.
WWE sources told Fightful that they expected the reaction Starks got from the live crowd, but one thing that many people picked up was that no one officially called him Ricky Starks. There is no word as to why this decision was made at the time of writing, but some have speculated that it could be to do with the recent list of trademarks WWE filed for. Those who have followed Starks' career believe that he is ready for the WWE main roster already, but according to WWE sources, the reason why he debuted in "NXT" was because a number of creative plans have already been put in place for WrestleMania 41, while "NXT" would be "more fluid" in working Starks into their creative plans.
Starks' deal with WWE reportedly came together very quickly as those who Fightful spoke to stated that he would be signed quickly if he became available, with their interest in the former AEW star dating back as far as December 2024. Fightful had heard that Starks was amongst the names considered for a release from AEW over the weekend, while those who were at the WWE Performance Center for the show only heard that he would be appearing half an hour before the episode went live. Starks is also the current DEFY World Champion, with no official word on what might happen with that title.
