Ricky Starks officially became Ricky Saints on Tuesday's NXT when he signed his WWE NXT contract.
Ricky made his debut on the February 11th episode of NXT, but was identified by name. During advertisements for his appearance on the February 18th episode, the name Ricky Starks was never used.
Speaking to Bully Ray on Busted Open Radio, Ricky commented on his name change.
"It's just a throwback, it's not really a throwback because the New Orleans Saints are still around, but Saints in itself is pretty indicative of New Orleans, regardless if you think of the football team or the French influence and things of that nature. It's as close as you're going to get to Starks. I like the name. It's going to take time to get used to it, and I respect that they care so deeply about me that they rebel against the name change. At the same time, I am a product of New Orleans, first and foremost, and I want to pay respects to that as well.
"It would be different if I was named Ricky Genevieve or something like that. Something so off, or if my whole thing was changed. I think this is the best of both worlds and something that means a lot to me, too. It's cool to have a piece of home with me. The person doesn't change. I'm still that guy."
Elsewhere during the interview, Ricky commented on his AEW departure. You can find his full comments by clicking here.
If you use any of the quotes above, please credit and link to the original source with a h/t and link back to Fightful for the transcription.
