Former WWE women’s champion reflects on Ricky Starks’ shocking NXT debut

Ricky Starks finally made his WWE debut on this week’s NXT. Among those shocked, Roxanne Perez shared her thoughts on the former AEW star’s arrival in World Wrestling Entertainment.

After being off television for several months, The Absolute One parted ways with the Tony Khan-led promotion. Free to go anywhere, Starks appeared before the main event of the February 11, 2025, episode of NXT. His arrival was met with excitement and anticipation from the WWE Universe. The 34-year-old declared himself the hottest free agent to join the black-and-silver brand.

In an interview with Fox News Digital, the former two-time NXT Women’s Champion shared her excitement regarding Ricky Starks’ debut. Roxanne Perez revealed that she has known the former FTW Champion since she was 15 years old, having both come up in the Texas wrestling scene.

The Prodigy explained that she was unaware of his planned appearance and was surprised to see him on the TV screen. She praised Starks as an amazing person and believed he deserved his success.

“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. 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,” Perez said. [H/T: Fox News]

Veteran praises WWE for keeping Ricky Starks’ debut a secret

Tommy Dreamer recently shared his two cents on the former AEW star’s debut in the Stamford-based promotion. The wrestling veteran commended WWE and Shawn Michaels for successfully keeping Ricky Starks’ debut a secret.

Speaking on the Busted Open Podcast, Tommy Dreamer said he enjoyed The Absolute One’s segment and believed that NXT was the ideal environment for his career development.

“Nobody saw that coming. It wasn’t leaked online that he was backstage at the Performance Center or anything like that. So good job to keeping a secret, enjoyed his segment and looking forward to seeing what happens to him. I also think he’s in the right place for his career, as well as growth within the industry,” he said.

Watch the video below:

As of now, Shawn Michaels and the creative team have not revealed Starks’ new ring name. Whether he will continue using the same in-ring name in WWE remains to be seen.