"My Aspirations In AEW Were To Be Given A Chance & Given The Ball Fully" - Ricky Saints (WWE News)
The former Ricky Starks sheds more light on AEW experience.
Ricky Saints, who has since made the long-rumoured jump to WWE as part of the NXT brand, has shed further light on his ambitions in All Elite Wrestling.
Saints, who is currently a champion in WWE, having captured the NXT North American title at the expense of Shawn Spears, recently spoke with The Ringer's Cameron Hawkins as part of an in-depth profile piece.
The former Ricky Starks said:
"My aspirations were to just be given a chance and given the ball fully," the former Ricky Starks said. In what be a hint to what he means by that, Starks also revealed that his goal in WWE is to go all the way and win the big one. "I want the WWE championship," he said emphatically.
Did Starks want the AEW World title? And was he qualified to get a run with it?
Opinion: Ricky Saints Must Show, Not Tell, In WWE After AEW Jump
The AEW Ricky Starks saga will likely endure as a "What if?" scenario because compelling evidence exists on either side.
An in-form Starks was incredible in his short, late 2022 programme with then-World Champion MJF. The match at Winter Is Coming was not the smoothest, but it was very dramatic, and his emotive mic work in the build was close to an iconic breakthrough moment.
Elsewhere, though, Starks was guilty of making multiple promo segments awkward, and one could argue that only one of his singles in-ring performances ranks among the very best AEW matches ever. While Starks was and is a very smart wrestler who excels at small details, that isn't an ideal hit rate for a promotion premised on high-end match quality.
One thing is certain: Saints has spoken a lot about his credentials as a superstar after jumping. He has tasked himself with a goal that only a select few pro wrestlers actually achieve. The time for showing, not telling, draws near; ambition and delusion sit uncomfortably close to one another.