WWE had plans for Ricky Starks once he became available, but they almost chose a different plan—and a later date—for his debut.
Many fans prayed for this and it happened. Last Tuesday on NXT, the revolution began and it was televised: Ricky Starks debuted in a surprise appearance amongst the people at the Performance Center. He didn’t have a match, but with his words, he made a huge impact.
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The bottom line is WWE wanted him as soon as he was a free agent, and was ready to call him up once that was the case. However, in a surprise twist, the company actually was plotting a different way to introduce him to their audience whenever he became available after months of rumors of unhappiness in AEW.
WWE originally wanted to debut Ricky Starks later in 2025
According to Dave Meltzer in his Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t to Wrestle Purists) Starks was always slotted for NXT, but he went to TV sooner than expected. “Even before his release, WWE had plans for Starks to debut in NXT at a major event later this year, but sped up the process as soon as he was available,” said Meltzer.
One has to wonder if by “later this year,” Meltzer is indicating that Starks could have made his presence felt at Stand and Deliver over WrestleMania weekend, the biggest stage imaginable, or if the higher-ups making the call and laying out the cards (i.e., Paul Levesque and Shawn Michaels) would have waited until the summer.
Note that Starks is close with Cody Rhodes and he may have had some input. It’s possible the undisputed champ urged them to strike right when the iron got hot, which happened the week of Starks’s arrival. The Absolute one was granted his release from AEW on February 10th – the day before he showed up on NXT impromptu.
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