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Ricky Starks, now known as Ricky Saints in WWE, was interviewed on Busted Open Radio after last night&#8217;s NXT, where he was asked what led to his AEW departure.
Here&#8217;s what the former AEW World Tag Team Champion said:
“I don’t know the specifics of what it was. Some people, you ask the internet, it was because you were at the Rumble. Screw you. The footage got leaked from me being at the Rumble. I wasn’t backstage. I left after the first match.
Some could say well, you were at Mania in a suite and you got on camera cheering. Screw you. You’re an idiot with no friends and no passion in life if you think the damndest thing I’ve done is cheering somebody on in another company. My boss (Tony Khan) was okay with it.
I can’t tell you exactly what the moment was. You could say it was (CM) Punk leaving and things kinda fell apart. Absolutely, I probably agree with you on that, alright? Or you could say is that Ricky didn’t play the politics well enough. Alright, for sure. There’s so many things 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 as I had a stinger. Then I was fine. After that, no, no dice, no communication. No nothing. And that is okay because&#8230; 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 it was a storm of things probably. Did I do something that may have tipped them off? Sure, asking for my release whenever you know, this past whatever, that could have been about it, right? But never once was I not willing to do something, never once was I sabotaging anything.
I will say this, there are some people who stuck their nose in my creative business that shouldn’t have happened. Veterans. And that’s it, I’ll leave it at that. And if they got a problem with me, they got my number. And text me about it.
I think what it was is if it didn’t work for their creative, then someone had to get the boot. That’s how I see it. But I’m not trying to be negative in my thought process about it.
If you want to step on me to get ahead in your illustrious career, everyone has an illustrious career. Everyone should have an illustrious career. That is perfectly fine. But at the same time, I’m not wet behind my ears.”

Viewership For Last Week’s SmackDown

Ludwig Kaiser Says He Will Never Betray Gunther

Ricky Starks Says Veterans In AEW Stuck Their Nose In His Creative Business

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At Monopoly Events’ ‘For The Love of Wrestling’ convention, WWF Legend Mick Foley thanked AEW President Tony Khan for playing a role in increasing current wrestlers&#8217; salaries:
“I think they’ve been really important in raising the remuneration that wrestlers receive. I’m not saying this out of any disrespect, but WWE is to me in its own league, but I’m really grateful for AEW.
They have great matches on a regular basis, and without them, the WWE Superstars would not be making what they deserve. So thank you, Tony Khan.”

Mick Foley: Without AEW, the WWE stars would not be making what they deserve

Jackie Redmond missed this week’s RAW because she was covering the NHL game on TNT

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A botched pinfall during Finn Balor vs. Seth Rollins in the main event of this week&#8217;s RAW led to controversy, as Balor kicked out late after a Pedigree. It should&#8217;ve been a 3-count due to Finn being late, but the referee stopped counting as that spot wasn&#8217;t the planned finish.
However, Fightful Select reports that there were no backstage issues, and officials were satisfied with how the finish played out.
You can watch it below:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Referee Rod Zapata saves Finn Balor from ending this match too soon &amp; catches all the heat from the fans the refs are trained to always shoot count to 3 If the wrestlers don&#39;t kick out it&#39;s on them this was clearly Finns fault for not kicking out on time <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WWERaw?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WWERaw</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RawOnNetflix?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RawOnNetflix</a> <a href="https://t.co/ZmFrWNuJ1q">pic.twitter.com/ZmFrWNuJ1q</a>
&mdash; Christopher (@Christo79744616) <a href="https://twitter.com/Christo79744616/status/1891838065171194293?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 18, 2025</a></blockquote>
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WWE edited this botch later:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Umm&#8230; Did they edit the Finn Balor late kick out botch against Seth Rollins? <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RawOnNetflix?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RawOnNetflix</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WWERaw?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WWERaw</a> <a href="https://t.co/CIpkKhXhIt">pic.twitter.com/CIpkKhXhIt</a>
&mdash; (@HyruleHomeslice) <a href="https://twitter.com/HyruleHomeslice/status/1892514938352025762?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 20, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Rollins defeated Balor to qualify for the Men&#8217;s Elimination Chamber match.

Backstage WWE Reaction To The Botched Pinfall In The Main Event Of RAW

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AEW Grand Slam: Australia drew 502,000 viewers, with 1 million viewers tuning in for Kenny Omega &amp; Will Ospreay vs. Konosuke Takeshita &amp; Kyle Fletcher, which was the opening match.
According to <a href="https://www.patreon.com/fightful">Fightful Select</a>, Tony Khan and AEW executives were pleased with the numbers, the strong lead-in, and the event’s momentum. AEW has previously benefited from post-College Football slots, and Warner Bros. Discovery is considering similar scheduling strategies, with Khan pushing for an NBA All-Star Weekend lead-in.
Here&#8217;s what Khan tweeted:
&#8220;Our last show, AEW Grand Slam Australia on Saturday, was one of my favorite events ever, + it did one of the biggest AEW Collision ratings ever on TNT!
The past 4
Jacksonville
Huntsville
Houston
Brisbane
are my favorite run of Collisions ever!&#8221;

Backstage AEW Reaction To Grand Slam: Australia’s Viewership

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Frustration among WWE’s women’s roster arose over the planning of the Women&#8217;s Royal Rumble back in 2022, particularly due to Vince McMahon’s vision, which many found unrealistic.
Backstage Producer TJ Wilson (Tyson Kidd) stepped away from WWE over disagreements with McMahon, leading to Fit Finlay taking over.
<a href="https://www.patreon.com/fightful">Fightful Select</a> reports that Vince McMahon initially wanted Ronda Rousey to eliminate the entire field in her return, but this was scaled back to her entering at #28, eliminating four competitors, and winning.
Most cameos were told to &#8220;get in and get out,&#8221; with several, including Melina, Molly Holly, Ivory, Kelly Kelly, Summer Rae, Sarah Logan and Cameron, lasting less than a minute.
At least four planned appearances, including Peyton Royce, Billie Kay, and Nia Jax, declined to compete in the match, with some citing Wilson’s absence as a key factor.

Vince McMahon’s Insane Original Plan For 2022 Women’s Royal Rumble

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WWE&#8217;s biggest show of the year is 57 days away. According to multiple sources, below are the rumoured matches for WrestleMania 41 as of this writing:
&#8211; Undisputed WWE Championship Match: Cody Rhodes (c) vs. John Cena
&#8211; Roman Reigns vs. CM Punk vs. Seth Rollins
&#8211; World Heavyweight Championship Match: Gunther (c) vs. Jey Uso
&#8211; WWE Women&#8217;s Championship Match: Tiffany Stratton (c) vs. Charlotte Flair
&#8211; Women&#8217;s World Championship Match: Rhea Ripley (c) vs. Bianca Belair
&#8211; Randy Orton vs. Kevin Owens
&#8211; Jacob Fatu vs. Solo Sikoa
&#8211; Intercontinental Championship Match: Bron Breakker (c) vs. Logan Paul
&#8211; Drew McIntyre vs. LA Knight
&#8211; AJ Styles vs. Finn Balor
&#8211; Jade Cargill vs. Naomi
&#8211; WWE Women&#8217;s Tag Team Championship Match: <a href="https://wwfoldschool.com/title-change-expected-in-wwe-next-week/">Liv Morgan &amp; Raquel Rodriguez (c) vs. Multiple Tag Teams</a>

12 Rumored Matches For WrestleMania 41

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