Unusual Reason Ricky Starks Debuted In NXT
The WWE debut of Ricky Starks happened in NXT for a particular reason.
It was an interesting week for Ricky Starks because the man who was benched by AEW in March 2024 was finally let go from his contract. That news came out on a Monday and by Tuesday night he was already on WWE NXT television.
Late in the February 11th episode of WWE NXT, the announcers were doing a rundown of the Vengeance Day card and then suddenly somebody started speaking on a microphone. It was former AEW Tag Team Champion Ricky Starks, which led to the crowd chanting his name.
Starks addressed the crowd with confidence.
“It’s obvious you know who I am. If NXT is the future of professional wrestling, well guess what, you need an absolute superstar on the future. If this is the hottest brand…well you need the hottest free agent right now, baby.”
At that moment he paused while the fans were chanting “Ricky” for Starks.
“Do not let the handsome face and expensive fragrance fool you. I am here to turn this place upside down. And everybody’s been begging the question…when will the revolution be televised again? Well, I’m here now.”
The deal with Starks was done so quickly that WWE officials decided to be cautious and not even say his name on the show in case there was a change.
WWE Has Interesting Reason To Put Ricky Starks On NXT
It could be argued that a wrestler with 15 years of experience like Ricky Starks doesn’t need to be on the NXT brand, but WWE has a reason for it.
While speaking on Wrestler Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer talked about how Starks being on NXT has something to do with what WWE tells its investors.
“With Ricky Starks, it’s like, ‘We’ve gotta get our percentages for our investors – 89% of the people at WrestleMania went through NXT’, or whatever the percentage that they say is.
“So it’s an investor thing. They want to prove that expenditure for NXT is valuable because everyone goes through it.”
The WWE NXT brand will present the Vengeance Day PLE on February 15th and it’s possible that Starks could make his second appearance at the show.