Ricky Saints Sent Farewell to NXT Crowd Before WWE SmackDown Move

Ricky Saints is officially moving on to WWE SmackDown, but before closing the door on NXT, he made sure to thank the fans who helped shape his run on the brand.

Saints competed in what is believed to be his final NXT match during Tuesday’s episode, where he was defeated by Shiloh Hill on his way out. After the show went off the air, Saints stayed in the ring and delivered an emotional farewell message to the live crowd, reflecting on how much the NXT audience meant to him during his time on the brand.

While speaking to fans after the cameras stopped rolling, Saints looked back to the moment he first arrived and credited the NXT crowd for helping him stay grounded through the transition into WWE.

“I should be thanking you. I should be thanking the people in the production truck. All of them. February 7, I stood up there and I talked my stuff, and you guys welcomed me and you chanted ‘Ricky Starks’, and you made sure I remembered who I was. On the 11th, I had my match, and then a few months after that, I won the North American Championship. I want you to understand something, I didn’t know what I was getting myself into when I came here, but you welcomed me.”

Saints also admitted that the move into WWE wasn’t always easy, acknowledging that adapting to the NXT system came with challenges. He made it clear that the support from fans and the locker room helped him push through the difficult moments along the way.

“I’d be lying if I said this was all a very easy transition, but it was not and that is okay, that’s how it gets sometimes, but at the end of the day, I came out here, I busted my ass, I made sure that I did what was needed for business. You guys repaid me with love, with stroke, with buying the shirts, with all of that. I don’t think that I would even get this far had it not been for the people here, and definitely for the people in the back.”

After thanking several members of the backstage crew, Saints closed his speech by addressing the possibility that this marked his final appearance inside an NXT ring. He also encouraged fans to continue following his journey as he transitions to SmackDown.

“So, if this is the last time that you may see me in this NXT ring, then thank you from the bottom of my heart, and I would hope that this Friday on SmackDown, I would hope that you’d watch me there too.”

Ricky Saints’ move to SmackDown signals the next chapter in his WWE career, closing out a run in NXT that included a North American Championship victory and several standout moments that helped establish him with WWE audiences. With his farewell now delivered and his next appearance expected on SmackDown, attention shifts to how Saints will fit into the blue brand’s roster moving forward.

Ricky Saints made sure to leave NXT on his own terms, thanking fans and staff alike before stepping into the next phase of his WWE run.

Do you think Ricky Saints will find bigger success on SmackDown than he did in NXT, or should he have stayed longer on the brand? Drop your thoughts below and let us know what you expect from his next chapter.