NXT's Ricky Saints Set For Imminent Main Roster Move (WWE News)

Ricky Saints' time in NXT could be coming to an end already.

Ricky Saints
WWE

Having lost the NXT North American Championship to Ethan Page this past week, it looks like Ricky Saints has the WWE main roster in his near future.

The latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter notes that Saints, along with the previously reported Jordynne Grace, are on their way out of NXT and off to the main roster.

This comes hot on the heels of a report last week that said Grace was heading to SmackDown, and that Stephanie Vaquer will soon join the Raw brand. Since then, the most recent SmackDown saw it confirmed that Vaquer is now officially a member of the Raw roster.

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While all indicators state that Jordynne Grace is switching NXT for SmackDown, there's no word just yet on whether Ricky Saints is Raw-bound or if he'll instead be calling Friday nights his new home. Either way, Saints has the potential and ability to become a major star for either brand should he be given the ball to run with.

In the case of Ricky, this Observer report notes how, much like Grace and Vaquer, Absolute was only intended to have a short run in NXT before then heading to the main roster. As for that run, Saints arrived on the 11 February NXT - essentially one day after being granted his AEW release - with him revealing the following week that Ricky Starks had become Ricky Saints. Less than two months later, the Stroke Daddy defeated Shawn Spears for the NXT North American Championship, then successfully defended that prize against Ethan Page at Stand & Deliver, before All Ego eventually took that title from Saints this past week.

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Ricky Saints WWE NXT North American Title
WWE.com

Post-WrestleMania 41 NXT Call-Ups

Stephanie Vaquer is the latest NXT call-up as part of WWE's regular post-WrestleMania moves, with Jordynne Grace and Ricky Saints now purportedly on the cusp of joining La Primera on the main roster.

For Vaquer, she follows in the footsteps of Roxanne Perez, Giulia, and the Fraxiom duo of Axiom and Nathan Frazer. While Roxanne has been sporadically wrestling on the main roster since the turn of the year and pulling double-duty in NXT, the Prodigy is now formally a member of the Raw roster. And despite Giulia having initially joined Perez on Raw, the Beautiful Madness was quick to swap Raw for SmackDown, with Smackers GM Nick Aldis bringing her over to the blue brand.

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Likewise, Fraxiom nowadays call SmackDown home, and the former NXT Tag Team Champions have already made a major impression, impressing in matches against the Street Profits, #DIY, Pretty Deadly, and Los Garza. To some, Axiom and Frazer have long been the best tag team on the planet, and the pair hasn't wasted any time in showing main roster audiences the explosive, energetic action that they bring to the table.

It remains to be seen whether any other NXT call-ups are in the works, with Trick Williams, Lola Vice, and Tony D'Angelo three particular names who've previously been rumoured for the main roster.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.