WWE Is Reportedly Very Interested In Signing AEW Star For NXT

"WWE NXT" has acquired a number of former AEW stars in recent years, and they've gone on to play a regular role on the brand's programming. Brian Pillman Jr. decided to leave his family lineage behind to forge his own path as Lexis King, Shawn Spears kept all of his AEW presentation when he arrived, despite competing as Tye Dillinger in the past, and "All Ego" Ethan Page is the NXT Champion. With that said, another name has reportedly attracted a lot of interest from those within "NXT."

According to Fightful Select, there is significant interest in bringing Ricky Starks into WWE's developmental brand when his AEW contract eventually expires, a date that has been the subject of much discussion over the past few months. Some believed that his AEW deal was up in March, a rumor that AEW President Tony Khan personally denied by saying that Starks is under contract for a while. However, more rumors began to swirl on social media when it was reported that Starks' deal with AEW expired in July, something that has yet to be confirmed or denied.

Despite some fans' consistent claims that Starks hasn't reached his full potential in AEW, "Absolute" held the FTW Championship for over a year between 2021 and 2022, before turning face and going after the AEW World Championship at the end of 2022. He followed that up with back-to-back wins over Chris Jericho, handing CM Punk one of his only losses in his AEW run to win the 2023 Owen Hart Foundation Tournament, and winning the AEW Tag Team Championships in October 2023. However, he hasn't appeared on television since the March 30 episode of "AEW Collision," fueling speculation that he's set to leave the promotion.