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Ricky Starks stunned the pro wrestling world on Tuesday night when he showed up on WWE NXT just mere hours after he was released from All Elite Wrestling.
Among those shocked, superstar Roxanne Perez.
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Ricky Starks makes his entrance during NXT at WWE Performance Center on Feb. 11, 2025 in Orlando, Florida. (Eric Johnson/WWE via Getty Images)
The two-time NXT women’s champion, who has a shot at an historic third title reign at NXT Vengeance Day on Saturday, was among those shocked.
Perez told Digital in a recent interview she has known Starks since she was younger and was excited to see him on the brand. Furthermore, she did not even know he was going to be there.
“It was awesome. I have known Ricky Starks since I was literally 15 years old. He came up in Texas as I did, so we definitely ran into each other a lot,” she said. “I didn’t even know he was going to be there. I didn’t even see him walk out into the crowd. I saw it on the TV screen with everybody else and that made me so happy because he’s awesome. He’s such a great person and I think he deserves everything.”
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Ricky Starks visits the #IMDboat official portrait studio at San Diego Comic-Con 2022 on The IMDb Yacht on July 23, 2022 in San Diego. (Irvin Rivera/Getty Images for IMDb)
Starks had not made any AEW appearances since last March and had been seen in a few instances in Game Changer Wrestling, House of Glory and DEFY.
Fans cheered in the stands when he showed up.
“It’s obvious you know who I am,” he said. “If NXT is the future of professional wrestling, well guess what? You need an absolute superstar of the future. If this is the hottest brand, well you need the hottest free agent right now, baby.”
Perez added that she hoped Starks emerging on NXT will lead to some kind of work together.
“To see him here now and hopefully maybe get to work with him, that’s going to be awesome.”
Roxanne Perez during the Women’s Royal Rumble during the WWE Royal Rumble at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Feb. 1, 2025. (Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images)
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Perez will look to earn the NXT Women’s Championship back in a fatal four-way match against current champion Giulia, Bayley and Cora Jade.
Vengeance Day is set for Saturday at 5:30 p.m. ET in Washington, D.C.
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