Ricky Saints addresses long-running AEW absence before WWE jump
Before joining WWE in 2025, Ricky Saints (then known as Ricky Starks) was one of the most popular names on the AEW roster; however, after a March 2024 loss on Collision, Saints went missing from AEW.
While still under contract with AEW, Saints continued to wrestle for independent promotions during his AEW absence. Recently speaking on Getting Over: Wrestling Podcast, Saints opened up in detail about that period and the feeling of “restlessness.”
“Yeah, no. You know, no real discussion or anything like that from my side of it, in terms you know, what was discussed and all that, but there was some restlessness just because I’m so used to wrestling all the time. And I think that’s the type of person I am,” Saints said.
“I’m used to creating. I’m used to using my body for these things. And to not have that was a very odd place to be at mentally. And so you’re having to figure out these other things, especially when it goes to like the independence. It was not as easy to get some of these independent dates cleared.
“And for that’s not a knock on the company itself. It’s just a conflict of interest for AEW and whatever independent that I wanted to do. Um, but at the end of the day, it all worked out. Truthfully, it all worked out. And I’m thankful for both sides. I’m thankful for AEW. I’m thankful for the Independence as well,” he finished.
Saints’ last indie appearance dates back to his DEFY World title win at DEFY Hundredth – 8 Year Anniversary on February 7th, 2025, following which he made his WWE NXT in-ring debut on the February 25th episode of NXT.
Shortly after joining the WWE NXT roster, Saints became a one-time NXT and one-time NXT North American Champion.
Shounak Chakrabarti is an experienced sports journalist with a lifelong passion for athletics and storytelling. He holds a Master’s Degree in International Journalism from the University of Leeds and joined F4WOnline in 2025.
Shounak takes particular interest in soccer, closely following top clubs like Real Madrid and Arsenal. Beyond sports, he enjoys fiction writing, photography, gaming, and cinema.