Less than a day after rumours surfaced that the former AEW star had been taken off the promotion’s roster website, Ricky Starks made his unexpected WWE NXT debut.
In addition to his free agency status and lack of a 90-day compete clause, these reports supported earlier rumours that Starks was headed to the WWE.
Starks made an unexpected entrance in NXT just one day after his noticeable departure from AEW’s roster website. The audience at the Performance Centre in Orlando gave Starks a tremendous pop.
On the February 11 program of WWE NXT, the former AEW World Tag Team Champion made his WWE debut, unexpectedly emerging from the audience.
When he made his debut, the 34-year-old also made a daring declaration. Taking a microphone at once, Starks proclaimed himself the “absolute superstar of the future” in the WWE.
“When will the revolution be televised again?” Starks asked the crowd at the WWE Performance Center. “Well, I’m here ain’t I?”
In 2020, the former FTW Champion made his broadcast debut on AEW and seemed to be one of the company’s biggest emerging stars. His AEW credentials was called into question, though, since he vanished from television for almost a year shortly after losing the AEW Tag Team Championship to Sting and Darby Allin.
were Tony Khan, the founder of AEW, reportedly rejected his request for his release. That would eventually change, though, when on Monday he, Malakai Black, and Miro were all taken off the company’s roster website. Later, it was verified that they had all left the company.
Following that, it was stated that the three would not be subject to any limitations on their work schedules or locations, presumably since their contracts did not have a non-compete clause.
Although Starks has been a long-time friend and supporter of WWE Champion Cody Rhodes, it is unknown what kind of contract he now has with the company
Contents
With Ricky Starks making his WWE NXT debut, the rich get richer
There is more Black greatness than any other national wrestling promotion in the world right now, which has led to NXT’s comeback. The overall viewership of NXT has grown by 28% in the past year.
Following Oba Femi’s victory over Trick Williams to capture his first NXT Championship at NXT New Year’s Evil, NXT is currently experiencing a Black-to-Black conflict among its global champions.
Throughout Black History Month, NXT’s Million Melanin March continues to roar, from the first-ever Women’s NXT North American champion Kelani Jordan to the former NXT global champion Carmelo Hayes.
It’s possible to view Starks’ entry into NXT as a large fish in a little pond. However, NXT has outperformed AEW in terms of overall viewership since switching to the CW, even though AEW has a far larger TV deal (estimated at $185 annually) and more well-known performers.
In terms of overall views, WWE NXT has surpassed AEW Dynamite 17 times since switching to the CW on October 1, 2024, which was 19 weeks ago.
Starks may now move forward with a new beginning since he is no longer trapped in an AEW mindset. Similar to how Luka Doncic dropped into the Lakers’ lap, Starks fell into NXT’s, but AEW didn’t receive a similar reaction to Anthony Davis’.
One could argue that Starks needed NXT as much as NXT needed him, if not more, given the momentum that NXT already had. NXT will only grow more dangerous to a floundering AEW, though, now that the top wrestler and the up-and-coming organisation have officially teamed up.
Results of WWE NXT– February 11, 2025
- Bayley defeated Cora Jade.
- Josh Briggs and Yoshiki Inamura defeat Hank and Tank and No Quarter Catch Crew.
- Zaria defeats Nikkita Lyons
- Lexis King defeats JDC (Fandango) in the NXT Heritage Cup
- Ridge Holland was defeated by Tony D’Angelo in a steel cage match for the NXT North American Title