Ricky Saints Breaks Silence on AEW Departure

Ricky Saints made his debut on the February 11 episode of NXT, which shocked fans and pro wrestlers alike. His arrival came shortly after AEW removed him from their roster page last week and now Ricky Saints has finally addressed his departure from AEW and what led to it.

While speaking on Busted Open, Ricky Saints talked about his departure from AEW. Saints stated that things in AEW changed after CM Punk left, but he also admitted he might not have played the backstage politics well.

Saints explained that he got a minor injury in March 2024, but even after recovering, AEW never brought him back. There was no communication from AEW, and he wasn’t sure exactly what went wrong. He believed multiple factors played a role, including asking for his release.

Ricky Starks thinks that if something went wrong, it was probably because of things other people said about him. Saints noted that if he had to guess, he believed it was personal, not professional. He feels that if it was just a work-related issue, things wouldn’t have played out the way they did.

Saints made it clear that he’s not trying to talk badly about anyone in AEW, just being honest about his experience. He also denied that his appearances at WWE events had anything to do with it, saying that if people think that was the reason, they’re wrong.

“You could say it was CM Punk leaving and things kind of fell apart. Absolutely. I’d probably agree with you on that. Or you could say it’s that Ricky didn’t play the politics well enough. Okay, for sure…

(Bully Ray asked if there are a lot of politics in AEW) I’m not saying there’s a lot of — just as much as any other company probably. But you could say that I maybe didn’t protect myself in that way. There’s so many things that you can say. What I can say for myself is that when I got hurt in March, that was it. I never came back, and even then, I wasn’t hurt, it was a precaution thing where I got scared because I got a stinger… And then I was fine. After that, no. No dice. No communication, no nothing and that is okay because if someone was mad at me — and the reason I say it was okay because I ended up here and it’s fine.

Everything worked out. I don’t know explicitly where it went wrong. I can’t point to one thing. I can say that it was a storm of things probably. Did I do something that may have tipped them off? Sure. Asking for my release whenever — this past whenever. That could have been about it. But never once was I not willing to do something, never once was I sabotaging anything.

What I think it probably was, if you give me that point is there were probably things said to him from other people maybe. I don’t know. Gun to my head, educated guess what it was?… It was probably personal. It probably was personal because if it was professional, it wouldn’t have happened this way. That’s how I believe it, and that’s not to disparage anybody there. Just so we’re clear, I already know how this is gonna be taken. There’s nothing disparaging for me to say. What I am saying is the truth that I don’t know exactly what it was and if you point to those two times that I was caught on footage at WWE, I can tell you that you’re wrong.”

Saint felt like nothing was happening with him in the company, so he thought it was best to move on quietly. He compared it to trying to find love in the same place where you lost it, it just wasn’t possible anymore. He wasn’t scared to ask for his release because he had already thought through the consequences.

Saints said he has always bet on himself, just like when he left NWA. He emphasized that he’s built his career on his own, without favors or connections, and he’ll continue that way. In his mind, leaving AEW made sense, but he was frustrated that his decision was leaked.

It’s like trying to find love in the same place that you lost it. It’s just not possible. It’s not possible. At a certain point, it’s not possible anymore. At a certain point, you have to be honest with yourself and that’s where I was at with it… No it was not scary asking for my AEW release and I’ma tell you why: Any decision I make, I’ve already gone through the consequences of it in my head. I have always betted on myself. I betted on myself with NWA, when I left.

I betted on myself with this situation. I will always bet on myself, I will always think highly of myself, okay? I have gotten here. 14 years, on my own. Didn’t have a hand out nor a name to put a good word in for me. Everything was done by me, by myself and that’s how it’s gonna be until I’m dead. So, no, it wasn’t scary. What it was-was this was just at the point where it only made sense to me. ‘Hey, nothing’s happening. Let’s just be done. Let’s just quietly be done’ and then for some reason, all my information gets leaked.“

Now that he’s in WWE NXT, Ricky Saints is ready for a fresh start. Even though his time in AEW ended on uncertain terms, he’s still confident in himself and his ability to succeed. Saints will team up with Je’Von Evans next week on NXT to face Ethan Page and Wes Lee, so we will have to see how he performs in his in-ring debut.

Do you believe Ricky Saints’ AEW exit was truly just a mix of unfortunate circumstances? Could it have been avoided? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!