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When news broke that Ricky Starks was now Ricky Saints as a member of the WWE Universe, it created genuine questions about his fit in NXT.
Why would the promotion give him such an, um, unusual moniker and then push him like a legitimate star? Did they genuinely believe in him as a future main roster performer, or would he become the next Ethan Page or Shawn Spears, who have remained stuck in developmental in the middle of mid-card storylines?
Well, after recording a commanding win in his tag team debut that saw the crowd chant “Tony fumbled” as the show went off the air, Saints had a chance to speak for himself and revealed how it felt to have his big moment in NXT.
“Wild, absolutely wild. My story isn’t that not-told, as they say. It’s pretty well known at this point, and I think I overcame a lot of things just to make it in this moment. My first time that I came here, I didn’t know what I was gonna expect. The second time I showed up at NXT, didn’t know what to expect. But this time was different. I knew what was gonna happen,” Saints declared via Fightful.
“Old Ricky never died. While I thought I put him to bed, guess what? He woke up on his own two feet, and he was ready to go, energized, charged up, like 100% iPhone. You know what I’m saying? If there was ever any doubt about me, tonight proved otherwise. If you have been sleeping on me for the past 14 years, we might as well call you a Tempur-Pedic. One thing’s for certain, I always show up and show out. I deliver every time. I thought tonight was probably more appropriate for where I’m at in my life. I am an emotional man, I’m not afraid to admit that. But tonight felt like a fever dream that I don’t wish to ever wake up from.”
Interesting stuff, right? Well wait, it gets better, as Saints had plenty more to say on the matter.
“There’s some other things that I actually wanted to tell you, one being the goals that I set the day that I signed my name on that dotted line, and I said that I was gonna be the man of NXT, that I was gonna headline every NXT PLE. If this wasn’t a start, I don’t know what was. I am very honored to be here standing with you, I’m very honored to be standing in front of this camera, in front of NXT,” Saints declared.
“I don’t think that I ever envisioned my life ending up this way, but d*mn, at least I can freaking say that I made it through. I made it through. I stood there with my head held high and my chest puffed out because I knew what I wanted, and I knew who I was, and that will never change. There will be no man or woman that makes me forget that. Tonight was a love letter to all the people that rode for me, and most importantly, tonight was a reminder to the old Ricky and more of a letter of what’s to come to the new Ricky and the future Ricky. I think you’ll like that guy too.”
Is this the same Ricky, only better? Will he be able to keep what made him special in AEW and translate it to the biggest promotion in the world? Or will his gimmick get as watered down as his moniker? Fans will find out soon enough.
