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Ricky Starks Details The Call From Triple H That Brought Him To WWE

Originally posted on Wrestling on SI | By Rick Ucchino | Last updated Jul 9, 2025 11:49 AM ET

Ricky Saints burst onto the scene in NXT back in February, arriving just days after he was released from his AEW contract.

The former NXT North American Champion was a guest this week on Cody Rhodes' What Do You Wanna Talk About? Podcast and revealed that his quick jump to WWE began with a bit of an awkward phone conversation with Chief Content Officer Paul 'Triple' Levesque.

"Triple H called me. Just got off a flight to Seattle actually, and he called me and I was just like, ‘Uh,’ because I didn’t know the number, and it didn’t say Stamford or anything. So, I was like who is this? And I always answer it. Even if it’s an unknown, I’ll always answer."

Thankfully Ricky did answer the phone, because his new free agent status had The Game eager to bring him in to NXT. Even though that's not exactly what Saints heard at first.

"I can barely hear him. The airport’s so loud and he asks me, ‘Hey, would you wanna come in?’ And, ‘We’re interested,’ blah, blah. ‘We’d love to have you. You’re talented,’ X, Y and Z and I was like, ‘Oh yeah, sure. Hell yeah,’ and right as I’m getting on the tram, he says something about — he was like, ‘Raw or SmackDown’ and I was like, ‘Wait, what? What did you say?’"

Ricky admitted to Cody that he was a bit nervous to ask Levesque to repeat himself, but eventually he was able to decipher what the plan for him would be.

"Basically, what he was saying was, ‘Hey, we’re not gonna put you on Raw or SmackDown just yet…’ But he wanted me to meet Shawn (Michaels), and so that was like a big thing. I was like, ‘Of course I will. Yes, I would love that.’ That’s all I really wanted is just resources. I feel like I’m a rough diamond that just needs a little polishing.” h/t Fightful.

Saints will next compete at NXT Great American Bash this Saturday afternoon, when he takes on Ethan Page in a rematch for the NXT North American Championship. This time in a Falls Count Anywhere Match.

This article first appeared on Wrestling on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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