WWE Releases Heartfelt Ricky Saints Promo Ahead of SmackDown Debut

“February 7, I stood up there and I talked my stuff, and you guys welcomed me," Saints said. "You chanted ‘Ricky Starks’, and you made sure I remembered who I was."

Saints arrived in NXT just days after he was able to negotiate his release from All Elite Wrestling, ending a five-year run with WWE's top rival promotion.

He spent much of his final year in AEW off television, making only a few appearances on the independent circuit during that time, but the NXT faithful knew exactly who he was and what he had accomplished in his career. Saints' distinguished resume, however, didn't make the jump to WWE any easier.

"I want you to understand something, I did not know what I was getting myself into when I came here,” Saints said in his promo Tuesday night. “I’d be lying if I said this was all a very easy transition, but it was not, and that's okay. That’s how it gets sometimes. But at the end of the day, I came out here, I busted my a**, I made sure that I did what was needed for business."

Ricky was able to find his footing, and by August of last year, he had already captured the top two men's championships that NXT had to offer.

This past Tuesday night, Saints made sure to shout out every single person who made his success possible, from head of creative Shawn Michaels, to those working the merchandise stands, to, of course, all the fans who pack the WWE PC every single week.

“You guys repaid me with love, with stroke, with buying the shirts, with all of that. I don’t think that I would even get this far had it not been for the people here, and definitely for the people in the back," Saints said with fire in his voice. “If this is the last time that you see me in this NXT ring, then thank you from the bottom of my heart, and I would hope that this Friday on SmackDown... I would hope that you watch me there, too.”