Former AEW star Ricky Starks debuted in WWE NXT during the second hour of this week’s show. He cut a promo about how if NXT represents the future of wrestling, it needs a superstar of the future.
He added that if NXT is the highest brand, it requires the highest free agent, vowing to turn the place upside down. Starks never mentioned his name, and neither did the announcers. That was done by design.
Fightful Select reports that they were told that the fans chanting his name “was the expected reaction and that not mentioning him by name wasn’t an accident. However, we’ve not been told why specifically that is.”
They had heard that AEW releases were returning on Friday, but it didn’t happen until this week. Releasing talent had been long considered, and Starks was among the names in the release plans.
The deal came quickly together. As of December, nobody in WWE had communicated interest to Starks, but those they spoke with knew he would be signed once he was free and clear of WWE.
It was added, “Those we spoke to on the main roster said that they believe the majority of creative heading into WrestleMania is planned, and NXT would be much more fluid working him into the fold.” The word of Starks being on the show circulated around the WWE PC by about 30 minutes before the show.
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