WWE's newest Superstar, Ricky Saints, discusses his AEW departure and what might have been the motives for his release becoming quite personal.

Ricky Saints has gotten a firsthand look at how WWE functions compared to AEW, and he has now explained the behind-the-scenes differences between the two.

Cody Rhodes imposed his own roadblock to the world championship, and maybe, seeing how WWE is using Penta, AEW could have done even more with him. There wasn’t the same feeling around Saints as there was for Brian Pillman Jr. and Ethan Page.

Ricky Saints (Ricky Starks in AEW) left AEW on February 10th when he was removed from the AEW roster page, becoming a free agent. One night later, Ricky appeared on NXT television. Ricky had been off AEW television since March 2024, but had been making independent appearances at the end of the year.

Having debuted on last week's NXT, Ricky Starks formally signed his kayfabe contract on last night's episode. But alas, Ricky Starks is no more, for the Stroke Daddy is now going by the name Ricky Saints.

Ricky Starks officially became Ricky Saints on Tuesday's NXT when he signed his WWE NXT contract. Ricky made his debut on the February 11th episode of NXT, but was identified by name. During advertisements for his appearance on the February 18th episode, the name Ricky Starks was never used.

WWE has officially applied to trademark Ricky Starks’ new in-ring name. One week after his surprise debut, it was revealed on NXT that Starks is now going by the name “Ricky Saints.