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WWE wants AEW's Ricky Starks for NXT

WWE wants AEW's Ricky Starks for NXT

Posted: Aug 21st 2024 By: Shawn Van Horn - TheSportster.com

Ricky Starks has potential, but AEW isn't utilizing him properly. WWE's NXT is showing interest in signing him.
Starks has talent and charisma, but AEW's inconsistent booking has left him frustrated and underused.
A move to NXT could be the key to Ricky Starks' success in WWE, similar to Ethan Page's journey to becoming NXT Champion.

Every wrestling company has them, those wrestlers who seem to have it all but don't get pushed anywhere close to their potential. AEW for sure has a few of those names, and topping the list is Ricky Starks. Starks is a former FTW and AEW World Tag Team Champion, along with last year's winner of the Owen Hart Cup. He is great in the ring, and is often compared to none other than The Rock thanks to his look and phenomenal promo skills. Somehow, though, AEW hasn't seen him as a major star, and it's rare to see him on TV. That might be changing soon. Tony Khan might not have interest in him, but WWE does for NXT.

Ricky Starks Is NXT Bound If He Signs With WWE

Ricky Starks has been with AEW since the summer of 2020, when he debuted by immediately going after Cody Rhodes. His career with Tony Khan's promotion has had some major up and downs. He's held gold, and was feuding with CM Punk when he was fired last year, but any time Starks gets a chance to shine, he then quickly disappears. It has led to a lot of talk about him possibly leaving AEW when his contract runs out, and Starks himself has vented his frustrations over not being used.

AEW might not know what to do with him, but WWE has a plan. According to Cody Brennan of Fightful Select:

"Regarding the Ricky Starks rumors going around on social media, NXT sources say that there is significant interest in bringing Starks into the brand once he is available."

Will Ricky Starks Succeed In NXT?

You could argue that Ricky Starks is ready for WWE's main roster, and while he has all the tools, he has been absent from AEW for so long that he needs built back up. A stint in NXT would do wonders in reintroducing him to fans. If you want proof that this approach works, look no further than Ethan Page. Page is very similar to Starks as a veteran wrestler with great charisma who rarely got a chance in AEW. Now he's the NXT Champion and doing the best work of his career.

Ricky Starks already has connections to WWE. He helped train the Undertaker a few years ago for one of his WrestleMania comebacks, and Cody Rhodes is one of his best friends, so much so that he accompanied the American Nightmare backstage at the 2023 Royal Rumble and attended WrestleMania 40. When Ricky Starks' contract ends exactly isn't known, but it's coming soon. Once it does, he needs to leave AEW immediately and go to NXT. There, with Shawn Michaels guiding him, he will quickly become the star he was always meant to be.

 

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