Ricky Saints Names His Dream Opponents in WWE Feat. Cody Rhodes, Seth Rollins and More

Ricky Saints is a bright prospect for main roster glory whenever WWE decides for him to make that move. But he has his own hit list too.

Ricky Saints Names His Dream Opponents in WWE Feat. Cody Rhodes, Seth Rollins and More

Ricky Saints [via- WWE]

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The appeal of Ricky Saints was such that he was immediately made to debut on WWE television a day or two after AEW granted him his release earlier this year in February. It took him less than two months to win his first title in WWE, which he did by overcoming Shawn Spears and becoming the NXT North American Champion.

The reign didn’t last long, as the 35-year-old got trumped by Ethan Page in late May. Saints’ next major leap was winning the NXT Championship when he ousted Oba Femi for the gold at the No Mercy PLE. ‘The Absolute One’ received a shoutout from his good friend and former AEW colleague Cody Rhodes. In fact, Rhodes is one of the names he recently mentioned whom he’d like to wrestle in WWE.

Seth Rollins is one name. Obviously a rematch against Cody (Rhodes) has to happen, for sure. “Dominik Mysterio is another one, Carmelo Hayes, those types of people.”

Ricky Saints via The Five Count podcast

Speaking on The Five Count, Saints expressed a strong interest in challenging some of WWE’s biggest stars, considering Seth Rollins as one of his top picks. He also mentioned that a rematch with Rhodes is something that has to happen. The two previously shared the ring in AEW, and by the looks of it, Saints is looking forward to renewing their on-screen rivalry.

In addition to those marquee names, the Louisiana native pointed out Dominik Mysterio and Carmelo Hayes as competitors he would like to test himself against. But for now, Saints needs to stay laser-focused on dealing with Trick Williams. The former AEW FTW Champion retained the NXT title against Williams at Halloween Havoc, but they are not done.

Ricky Saints explains not being surprised by finding instant success in WWE

In a short span of 8 months, Ricky Saints has had overwhelming success on NXT. While that’s certainly something to brag about, he’s not resting on his laurels. In the aforementioned interview, ‘The Absolute One’ affirmed that he hasn’t taken his WWE accomplishments for granted, but he isn’t surprised either, as everything has been a result of the hard yards that he’s put in.

Ricky Saints
Ricky Saints (via- WWE)

Saints mentioned that he didn’t want to sound cocky. However, his accolades are purely a result of the grind he’s been through. Prior to joining WWE, Saints was basically warming the bench in AEW. He remained off their programming for months.

After enough time had passed, a report emerged claiming that the creative didn’t factor him into any future storylines owing to his perceived unwillingness to stay in AEW for long.

When Saints gave an interview to Chris Van Vliet, he was asked about what was going on between him and AEW in the second half of 2024. ‘The Stroke Daddy’ was unable to come up with a definitive answer, as he didn’t want to speculate over stuff that was beyond his control.

Saints, still under an AEW contract back then, noted that he was gunning to return to the ring as quickly as he could. He didn’t get the opportunity to do so in AEW, as the company finally let him go in early 2025. Saints told Cody Rhodes on his What Do You Wanna Talk About? podcast that it was Triple H who reached out to him first.

The WWE CCO informed Saints about the company’s interest in him and wanted the 35-year-old to meet Shawn Michaels. ‘The Absolute One’ mistakenly assumed that he was directly going to the main roster, as he couldn’t exactly hear ‘Hunter’ while boarding a tram during the conversation. Saints, in hindsight, realized that ‘The Game’ was setting him up for a meeting with ‘HBK’ to get him started on NXT.

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