The debut of Ricky Starks on NXT last Tuesday made a lot of headlines, but there were also some questions about it. Some fans were worried about WWE's initial plans for him, with wrestling analyst Sam Roberts comparing the purported problem to what happened with Gunther.
Starks came through the crowd before Tuesday's main event match between Tony D'Angelo and Ridge Holland. The fans chanted his name, acknowledging the fact that they know who he was. However, some people online are skeptical about WWE not mentioning the star's name in official posts, images and videos on social media.
WWE analyst Sam Roberts wants the fans to calm down and not worry about a possible name change for Ricky Starks. Roberts pointed out WALTER becoming Gunther and Bryan Danielson turning into Daniel Bryan as great examples of name changes that worked.
"Whether he keeps his name or his name changes, I don't think it's going to affect him. Every time a name changes, we freak out a little bit. When Walter becomes Gunther, when this one becomes that one, we freak out for a second. I mean when Brian Danielson became Daniel Bryan, it was like, ‘What do you mean?’ Then it becomes normal within a week. It's really not a big deal. It ultimately comes down to what the superstar does with their time on television and whatever name they go by. If they're making the most of their television minutes and connecting with us, with the audience, there's a lot of names that we can look past," Robert said. [From 06:49 to 07:32]
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Why did Ricky Starks go to NXT and not the main roster?
While some might feel that Ricky Starks is perfect for NXT, others were baffled since he already looked like a main roster-level talent. Fightful Select reported that it was all because of a "timing issue."
With plans from now until WrestleMania 41 likely set in stone, WWE won't have a way to insert Starks into the main roster scene. But with NXT, there are plenty of stories to be told with the former AEW star.
NXT's men's division also needed a boost in star power since Oba Femi, Trick Williams, and Ethan Page are not enough. Maybe Starks could stay in developmental and win the NXT Championship first before a call-up to the main roster.