WWE wasted little time in signing perhaps the biggest free agent on the market. Ricky Starks appeared during the February 11 episode of WWE NXT, making it clear that he was there to take over.
Moments before the main event between Ridge Holland and Tony Deangelo, Ricky Starks suddenly walked down the steps in the NXT crowd. With a microphone in hand, he called his shot in NXT.
“It’s obvious you know who I am,” Starks said. “If NXT is the future of professional wrestling, well guess what, you need an absolute superstar. I’m the future. If this is the hottest brand, well you need the hottest free agent right now, baby.”
One major point of note, the name “Ricky Starks” was never used. The NXT commentary team avoided using his name. Ricky never said his name, and even more telling is that WWE never mentioned Ricky Starks by name on any of the social media posts announcing his arrival. Fightful Select reported that “not mentioning him by name wasn’t an accident.” Starks was known by this name while in NWA as well, so there are questions around whether WWE will be able to use it or will he have to switch to another moniker.
Ricky Starks started the week as a member of the AEW roster, and by Tuesday evening he’s walking into NXT. Starks is too big of a star for NXT, but according to Fightful’s report he was placed there due to the build to WrestleMania 41 being set and NXT having a more fluid atmosphere at the time. It would have made sense to debut Starks during the Raw after WrestleMania, but that news would have potentially leaked, taking away some of the shock of his appearance.
If Starks is going to be in NXT until WrestleMania 41 at least, here are three big matches fans will want to see on the Tuesday brand and beyond.
Three big matches for Ricky Starks in WWE
Trick Williams
At first thought, most will push for Starks to immediately capture the WWE NXT championship. But if he’s only planned for a short stint in NXT, it wouldn’t be best to have him cut into the momentum Oba Femi is enjoying. Instead, pitting Starks against a former champion in Trick Williams would make more sense.
Williams remains over with the fans of NXT and even those on the main roster. It would be fun watching him and Starks trade barbs leading into a match. Plus, Williams isn’t hurt much by taking a loss to Starks, especially since he should be in the latter period of his NXT run.
CM Punk
CM Punk and Ricky Starks have business to finish. Before Punk was dismissed by AEW for his second backstage altercation, there were plans for he and Starks to have a sustained program. That never came to fruition but imagine the story that WWE could tell.
CM Punk is potentially heading into WrestleMania 41 to face a major triple threat against Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins. If he comes out of that match with the victory, he should be considered a top contender to a champion. But before he gets there, a fully played out angle with Ricky Starks on the main roster would be an amazing way to introduce the latter to the WWE fanbase.
Cody Rhodes
Ah yes, Cody Rhodes. It was Starks visiting Rhodes leading into WrestleMania 40 that sparked a lot of this situation. Starks was captured by security footage walking backstage with Rhodes and that led to a lot of speculation. Some of which is said to have harmed his status in the AEW locker room. Boom, that’s an immediate story to tell between the two men in WWE. If WWE is going to treat Ricky Starks as a top name, there are few others on the roster who would be able to make that happen than Cody Rhodes.
Free agency in professional wrestling is a great thing. Fans get excited when stars from other shows pop up in other companies. Ricky Starks, or whatever his name will be, did that with WWE NXT and the excitement is palpable.