Ricky Starks made his WWE NXT debut on this week’s episode, and a new report provides some insight into his arrival. As mentioned, Starks appeared on Tuesday’s show, delivering a promo from the crowd. According to Fightful Select, the absence of Starks’ name being mentioned on TV was intentional, with WWE anticipating that the crowd would chant his name, which they did.
The report reveals that while the AEW talent releases were not officially confirmed until this week, they had been in consideration for some time. Starks’ deal with WWE came together quickly, and it’s noted that there had been no communication of interest from WWE to Starks as recently as December.
As for why Starks debuted on NXT, sources within WWE suggested that due to the bulk of creative plans for WrestleMania already being in place, it would be easier to integrate Starks into NXT’s programming. Word of his appearance began circulating around the WWE Performance Center about 30 minutes before the show aired.
