Just a day after being released by AEW, Ricky Starks surprised the WWE crowd with his appearance on NXT. Before finally leaving AEW in February 2025, Starks made appearances on various wrestling platforms like GCW, DEFY wrestling. Starks was in AWE for 5 years and Tony Khan (president of AEW) decided to release him in February 2025. With Stark's appearance on WWE NXT, it is speculated that as a superstar he will face the current reigning champion of NXT. Also, he might challenge Cody Rhodes for his undisputed WWE Championship belt that holds the title of WWE Champion and WWE Universal Champion.