A new round of rumors point to Ricky Starks being a near lock to join WWE and he may have even signed a contract with the top company in professional wrestling.
AEW doesn’t have many prominent stars that the company can say are homegrown talents. Many of their biggest names developed huge followings in WWE and NJPW before joining the promotion. However, performers like MJF, Darby Allin, and Ricky Starks are wrestlers who became household brands due to their time in AEW.
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MJF is one of the faces of AEW while Allin seems like he will be a company lifer. But over the last few months, there have been clear signs that Starks could be on his way out. After becoming tag champions with Big Bill their title reign was abruptly ended in the spring and Ricky Starks has rarely been seen on AEW television since.
Followup rumors suggested his contract was set to expire this summer and with the two sides not close on a new deal, he was pulled from television. There have been rumblings for the last year that the former FTW and tag champ could be WWE-bound. Since his close friendship with WWE Champion Cody Rhodes is public knowledge.
Could Ricky Starks soon show up in NXT?
Well, some new reports now suggest Starks’ time in AEW is officially over and he may have signed a contract with WWE. First, a recent report from Fightful claimed there is “significant interest” with WWE to bring Starks to the NXT brand.
That could soon happen because popular wrestling podcaster Jason Solomon dropped a huge piece of intel on Tuesday night. “I’ve heard Ricky’s contract actually expired in July and he’s been a free agent. Or perhaps WAS a free agent. :),” he wrote.
The 34-year-old is talented enough that he could go to the main roster immediately. However, with Shawn Michaels slowly bringing NXT back to its golden era when veterans were featured on the brand, it isn’t shocking that he could end up as a pillar of the gold brand. Similar to what they have done with fellow AEW alum and current NXT champion Ethan Page.
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