Ricky Starks is officially Ricky Saints in WWE NXT, closing the chapter on his AEW run after months of being kept in the dark.
Saints was granted his AEW release in mid-February, nearly a year after being pulled from television. The former AEW World Tag Team Champion had requested to leave in 2024, but was left sitting on the sidelines with no clear explanation.
According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Tony Khan assumed Starks was on his way to WWE, largely due to his close friendship with Cody Rhodes. As a result, Khan reportedly decided to stop using him altogether after March 2024. Saints, who was seen backstage at Royal Rumble 2023 with Cody and later attended WrestleMania 40 to support him, found himself frozen out of AEW despite not publicly confirming his future plans.
While some might see Khans decision as harsh, Meltzer compared it to WWEs handling of Ricochet, who was booked to lose key matches before his contract expired. Reports suggested AEW had creative plans for Starks in 2024, but he allegedly turned them downthough he has denied those claims.
Now, with a fresh start in WWE under the name Ricky Saints, the former AEW star is ready to carve out a new legacy.
Do you think AEW dropped the ball with Ricky Saints, or was this just business as usual? Drop your thoughts below!
