Tony Khan thinks 39-year-old star is the reason behind Ricky Starks leaving AEW - Reports

AEW CEO Tony Khan recently granted Ricky Starks (aka Ricky Saints) his release from the Jacksonville-based promotion. According to recent reports, Khan seemingly believes Cody Rhodes was the reason behind Starks' departure.

Last week on WWE NXT, Ricky Starks made his NXT debut and cut a great promo. On this week's episode of the show, Starks officially signed his contract with NXT and will now be known as Ricky Saints. The Absolute One has some good friends in the Stamford-based promotion including former AEW star and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes.

During Cody Rhodes' chase for the Undisputed Title, Ricky Starks was present backstage in many WWE PLEs like Royal Rumble and WrestleMania to support The American Nightmare. According to a recent report by Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Tony Khan believes Cody Rhodes has a huge influence on Ricky Starks' decision to leave AEW for WWE.

"Tony Khan reportedly believed that Ricky Starks wanted to leave AEW due to his connection and relationship with Cody Rhodes." (Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

Former AEW star Ricky Saints plans to move to WWE's main roster quickly

WWE WrestleMania 42 is rumored to take place in New Orleans. The move could get announced on tonight's Friday Night SmackDown which is set to take place in The Big Easy. The Rock will be making an appearance and has teased a massive surprise for the New Orleans crowd.

In a recent appearance on Busted Open Radio, Ricky Saints spoke about the rumor and revealed that he plans on getting called up to the main roster quickly so he would get to compete at WrestleMania in New Orleans.

“Absolutely, I would (take the chance to get called up to main roster quickly). We got New Orleans, supposedly, rumored, right? WrestleMania next year in New Orleans. Did you read about that?… I heard about the rumor as well. If the rumor is true, that is my goal, to wrestle in the (Caesars) Superdome. That’s all I want and I’m gonna make it happen," he said. [H/T: WrestleTalk]

The fans will have to wait and see if WrestleMania 42's location is announced by The Rock on tonight's Friday Night SmackDown.