WWE's Ricky Saints Reflects On AEW Absence And Departure: 'I'm Thankful'

Before he became both North American and NXT Champion in WWE, Ricky Saints was known as Ricky Starks in AEW. However, Saints seemingly had some issues in Tony Khan's company in 2024, and he was absent from AEW programming for almost a year, and even reportedly asked for his release at the beginning of 2025. While he was away from AEW, Saints wrestled a handful of matches on the independent scene, including at House of Glory and DEFY. On an episode of "Getting Over: Wrestling Podcast," Saints reflected on his AEW absence and ultimate departure, and said he was restless.

"I'm so used to wrestling all the time. I think that's the type of person I am," Saints explained. "I'm used to creating. I'm used to using my body for these things. To not have that was a very odd place to be at mentally. So, you're having to figure out these other things, especially when it goes to like the independents, it was not as easy to get some of these independent dates cleared. 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. But, at the end of the day, it all worked out. I'm thankful for both sides. I'm thankful for AEW. I'm thankful for the independents as well."

Saints was removed from AEW's roster page on February 10 of last year. He appeared live in the WWE Performance Center, though he initially didn't say a word, on the February 11 edition of "WWE NXT." He would go on to win his first WWE gold in just his third match on the brand.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Getting Over: Wrestling Podcast" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.