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WWE NXT has had a number of ex-AEW stars join the brand as regulars in recent years. Brian Pillman Jr. left his family behind to forge his own path as Lexis King. Shawn Spears, despite previously competing as Tye Dillinger, kept all of his AEW imprint when he joined AEW. And “All Ego” Ethan Page is the NXT champion. That being said, there’s one other name that’s garnering a lot of interest from NXT officials.
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According to Fightful Select, there is considerable interest in bringing Ricky Starks to WWE’s developmental brand when his contract with AEW expires. This deadline has been the subject of much discussion over the past few months. Some assumed his contract with AEW would expire in March, but AEW President Tony Khan personally denied the rumor, stating that Starks is still under contract for a while. However, once it was reported that Starks’ contract with AEW expired in July, more rumors began to fly on social media. This has yet to be confirmed or denied.
Despite fans consistently claiming that Starks has yet to prove himself in AEW, “Absolute” held the FTW Championship for over a year from 2021 to 2022 before turning face and challenging for the AEW World Championship at the end of 2022. He then won the 2023 Owen Hart Foundation Tournament with back-to-back wins over Chris Jericho and giving CM Punk his only loss in AEW, before capturing the AEW Tag Team Championship in October 2023. However, he has not appeared on television since the March 30 episode of “AEW Collision,” sparking speculation that he may be leaving the promotion.
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