WWE Star Ricky Saints (Ricky Starks) Discusses Name Change And Reasons For AEW Fall Out

Saints was a guest on Busted Open Radio on Sirius XM immediately after NXT went off the air Tuesday night. He told Bully Ray that Saints was as close to Starks as folks were going to get, but also that he likes the change.

“It’s going to take time for [fans] to get used to it,” Ricky said. “I respect that they care so deeply about me that they rebel against the name change. But at the same time, I am a product of New Orleans, first and foremost, and I want to pay respect to that as well. I think this is the best of both worlds and that means a lot to me. Obviously I think it’s cool to have a piece of home with me. And the person doesn’t change. I’m still that guy, so it is what it is.”

Bully gave Saints the floor to discuss his departure from AEW, which only became official a day before he made his NXT debut.

Ricky had reportedly asked for the company to not pick up his option year in the fall of 2023, but that request was not granted. AEW locked Starks in for another 12 months in the spring of 2024 and then essentially left him on the sidelines until he was released on February 10.

When asked to pinpoint what went wrong during his AEW tenure, Saints was not able to pinpoint one specific moment or issue.

“You could say it was Punk leaving and things kinda fell apart. Absolutely, I probably agree with you on that, alright? Or you could say is that Ricky didn’t play the politics well enough. Alright, for sure…there’s so many things you can say.”

Ricky Starks' final match in AEW came last March when he and Big Bill lost in an AEW Tag Team Tournament to Top Flight. Ricky suffered a stinger in the match, which required an audible to be called to put Dante and Darius Martin over.

"After that, no, no dice, no communication. No nothing. And that is okay because….I ended up here. And it’s fine. Everything worked out."

Saints confirmed that he did ask for his release and said that may have played a role in his lengthy stay on the sidelines, but maintains that he was always willing to work while he was still under contract.

"Never once was I not willing to do something, never once was I sabotaging anything,” Ricky said. “I will say this, there are some people who stuck their nose in my creative business that shouldn’t have happened,” Saints said. “Veterans. And that’s it, I’ll leave it at that. And if they got a problem with me, they got my number. And text me about it. I think what it was is if it didn’t work for their creative, then someone had to get the boot. That’s how I see it."

Ricky Saints will make his in-ring debut next Tuesday night in Cincinnati when he and Je'Von Evans take on Ethan Page and Wes Lee.