Ricky Starks made his NXT debut on the February 11th episode of the program, arriving through the crowd as they chanted his name.
Starks was not mentioned by name on the show, but he cut a promo saying he was going to turn NXT upside down.
The Undertaker was on Busted Open Radio as the debut happened, and discussed his friendship with Starks over the years.
"I'm training at this gym, and I notice this kid there every day. Doesn't say anything. Really respectful. As the training went along, we needed different spotters and different help. He was always right there. Finally, we struck up a conversation and he told me he was trying to break into the business and I kind of talked to him about different things. On one of the Rumbles that Michelle [McCool] was a surprise guest in, she wanted to get in the ring and he came down and trained with her. I've seen him a few times here and there, and I've always had great conversations with him. He's such a good kid, such a respectful kid. I haven't seen him in probably a year, year and a half, maybe. That's how we met, in a gym while I was getting ready for Shane [McMahon] at WrestleMania," he said.
Undertaker faced Shane at WrestleMania 32 in 2016. McCool was part of the women's Royal Rumble matches in 2018, 2022, and 2023.
We got LIVE reaction of @undertaker & @bullyray5150 when they saw @starkmanjones show up on #WWENXT !------
— SiriusXM Busted Open (@BustedOpenRadio) February 12, 2025
Full Interview coming on the #bustedopen247 Podcast! pic.twitter.com/hyNoq8i1Vu
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