Ricky Starks Jumps To WWE Immediately After AEW Release (NXT News)
36 hours after news of his AEW release broke, Ricky Starks was on WWE TV with NXT.
Ricky Starks has debuted for WWE within 36 hours of news of his AEW release breaking, appearing on last night's episode of NXT.
The former AEW World Tag Team Champion appeared in the crowd before the main event. Armed with a microphone, he said that if NXT is the future of wrestling, they need "an absolute Superstar of the future." He added that the "hottest brand" had landed the "hottest free agent," fresh off his AEW tenure ending.
"Everyone's been begging the question: when will the revolution be televised again?", Starks pondered. "I'm here, ain't I?"
This was Ricky's first televised appearance since March 2024, when he was written off AEW programming amid an apparent dispute for the promotion. Starks himself has denied rumours of injuries and turning down creative pitches. In May 2024, he told WhatCulture's Andrew Pollard that he didn't know why he wasn't being used on AEW television.
Speculation linking Starks with a WWE jump had swirled before this, going back to a CCTV still showing him behind the scenes with Cody Rhodes at Royal Rumble 2023 being leaked to the internet. It is the swiftness of his jump that is surprising rather than the jump itself.
During his AEW absence, Starks has wrestled for independent groups BTW, Glory Pro, House of Glory, and DEFY. On 7 February, he dethroned KENTA as DEFY World Champion on the promotion's 8th anniversary event.
Why Didn't WWE Mention Ricky Starks By Name On NXT?
Interestingly, WWE did not mention the name "Ricky Starks" during the former AEW star's appearance. The crowd was chanting it, but the broadcasters didn't use it - which may not be an accident.
Fightful Select reports that not mentioning Starks by name was done on purpose, though there's no word on why.
The situation has created speculation that WWE could change Ricky's ring name. If they do, this would be something of a break from the norm. While WWE still changes some names when an established wrestler joins the promotion (Delta became Zaria, for example), it is increasingly common for wrestlers to retain their existing monickers. Look at Giulia, Stephanie Vaquer, and Jordynne Grace for recent examples.
Fightful also reports that Starks' WWE arrival came together quickly. The promotion learned of the impending AEW release on Friday (Malakai Black and Miro were also let go by Tony Khan's promotion), though Ricky wasn't legally available until later that week. Currently, NXT is seen as a "much more fluid [way of] working him into the fold" in WWE, as most creative heading into WrestleMania 41 is set. This is according to main roster sources.