Ricky Saints breaks silence after his WWE in-ring debut; cries on camera

WWE Superstar Ricky Saints (fka Ricky Starks) recently broke silence after his massive in-ring debut on the latest edition of NXT. The former AEW star teamed up with Je'Von Evans to lock horns with Ethan Page and Wes Lee. All of the stars involved in the bout put on an amazing display of action and, for the most part, it was a back-and-forth affair.

However, during the last stages of the match, Evans and Page started brawling with each other outside the ring, which left Saints in a tricky situation as Lee had backup from Tyriek Igwe and Tyson Dupont. The duo tried to interfere in the bout, but the former AEW star stood his ground and ultimately came out victorious after hitting his opponent with the Roshambo.

During a WWE digital exclusive interview, Ricky Saints talked about his NXT. The star got extremely emotional, even tearing up a bit, saying that his debut felt like a "fever dream" from which he never wanted to wake up.

"If there was ever any doubt about me, tonight proved otherwise... I thought tonight was probably more appropriate for where I'm at in my life. And I am an emotional man, I'm not afraid to admit that. But tonight felt like a fever dream that I don't wish to ever wake up from. Cause I'm already living it," he said. [0:49 - 1:36]

Saints also mentioned that he was honored to have made it to WWE NXT despite all the hardships he had faced in his career in recent months.

"I am very honored to be here, standing in front of this camera in front of NXT. I don't think that I ever envisioned my life ending up this way but damn, at least I can freaking say that I made it through. Every bulls**t that was out there, and I'm sorry to curse, but I made it through. I stood there with my head held high and my chest puffed out because I knew what I wanted and I knew who I was and that will never change," he added. [2:04 - 2:40]

Check out his interview below:

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Teddy Long talked about Ricky Saints' WWE debut

Ricky Saints shocked the world when he made his surprise debut on the February 11, 2025, edition of NXT. On a recent episode of Sportskeeda Wrestling's The Wrestling Time Machine, Teddy Long said he was happy for Saints and believed the Stamford-based promotion could show AEW what an incredible talent they had.

"Well good for him ... now maybe WWE will show AEW what they had," the Hall of Famer said.

Check out the video below:

It remains to be seen what Shawn Michaels has planned for Ricky Saints' future in NXT.

Please credit WWE's X account and give Sportskeeda Wrestling an H/T if any quotes from the first half of this article are used.