Ricky Saints (the former Ricky Starks) has spoken about his new name in NXT and what happened to him in AEW.
The former AEW star debuted for NXT last week after being granted his release from the company. This week, he announced his new name would be Ricky Saints as he embarks on a new chapter in his career in WWE.
Ricky Saints spoke about his name change on Busted Open Radio. The former AEW Tag Team Champion said he likes the name and it is as close to “Ricky Starks” as it could be.
“It’s as close as you’re going to get to Starks. I like the name. I know a lot of people are going to be…it’s going to take time for them to get used to it.” Ricky Starks said (H/T F4WOnline).
“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.”
Ricky Saints On Where It Went Wrong For Him In AEW
Next, Ricky Saints spoke about how his run in AEW went sour. He went from the AEW Tag Team Champion to not being featured for nearly a year before finally being granted his release.
Ricky Saints revealed that he didn’t know the specific details behind the breakdown of his run. However, he noted that the leaked footage of him backstage at the Royal Rumble with Cody Rhodes had nothing to do with it.
“I don’t know the specifics of what it was. Some people, you ask the internet, it was because you were at the Rumble. Screw you. The footage got leaked from me being at the Rumble. I wasn’t backstage…I left after the first match. Some could say well, you were at Mania in a suite and you got on camera cheering. Screw you. You’re an idiot with no friends and no passion in life if you think the damndest thing I’ve done is cheering somebody on in another company…my boss was okay with it.” Ricky Saints said.
“I can’t tell you exactly what the moment was. 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,”
