Ricky Starks is no more.
One week on from his shock arrival on NXT, where neither he nor commentary would say his name, the newest addition to the NXT roster appeared live on the February 18th edition of NXT to sign his contract and make it official.
Introduced by General Manager Ava, the former Starks first stated that NXT was amazing and vowed to main event multiple Premium Live Events before being interrupted by Ethan Page. The former NXT Champion claimed that the new signing was taking a page right out of his playbook before being chased off by Je’Von Evans.
With order seemingly restored, the contract signing was interrupted again, this time by Wes Lee, who was disrespected by the former AEW star earlier in the night. As Lee attempted to hit the recent signee with a cheap shot, the former North American Champion was thrown out of the ring. With order restored for a second time, the contract was then signed and zoomed in on the new name, Ricky Saints.
Appearing on Busted Open Radio after the show, Saints admitted that while the new name would take some getting used to, it does pay tribute to his hometown of New Orleans:
“It’s as close as you’re going to get to Starks. I like the name. I know a lot of people are going to be…it’s going to take time for them to get used to it. I respect that they care so deeply about me that they rebel against the name change. But at the same time, I am a product of New Orleans, first and foremost, and I want to pay respect to that as well. I think this is the best of both worlds and that means a lot to me. Obviously I think it’s cool to have a piece of home with me. And the person doesn’t change. I’m still that guy, so it is what it is.”
Ricky Saints [FKA Ricky Starks] To Make WWE In-Ring Debut Next Week
Later in the show, Saint, Evans, Page and Lee all appeared backstage alongside General Manager Ava, who announced that next week Saints would team with Evans to take on Page and Lee.
Also on the show, it was announced that Matt and Jeff Hardy will be returning to WWE.
Breaking his silence in an interview after NXT, Ricky Saints spoke about his AEW exit.