Tony Khan allegedly thought top AEW star wanted to leave for WWE due to close ties with Cody Rhodes: Reports

The current AEW boss has a seemingly steadfast stance on why Ricky Saints didn't want to continue for the Jacksonville-based promotion.

Tony Khan allegedly thought top AEW star wanted to leave for WWE due to close ties with Cody Rhodes: Reports

Tony Khan and Cody Rhodes with rest of the AEW roster [via- The Denver Post]

AEW CEO Tony Khan couldn’t retain one of the company’s homegrown talents after nearly a year-long deadlock between the two parties. The wrestler in question is none other than Ricky Starks, now signed to WWE as Ricky Saints. Back in August, a report via Ibou of WrestlePurists stated that AEW had no long-term plans for the 35-year-old.

In a new insight on the situation, Dave Meltzer noted in his Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Tony Khan believed Ricky wanted to leave AEW due to his connection with Cody Rhodes. The newest NXT acquisition does share a close bond with the reigning Undisputed WWE Champion. Saints attended WrestleMania XL to witness his friend finish the story.

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It was alleged within the wrestling circles that if The Absolute One were to join WWE one day, he’d definitely benefit from his association with Rhodes, who’s the poster boy of WWE. Saints also have others advocating for his success with the likes of CM Punk and Jade Cargill. Nonetheless, Ricky’s someone who rose from the ashes and wouldn’t necessarily need any favors to continue succeeding.

The night he randomly popped up on NXT last week, The Undertaker was live on Busted Open Radio alongside Bully Ray. The two saw everything unfold in real time. Afterwards, The Deadman recounted his first meeting with Ricky. It was back in 2015 when Taker was preparing for his WrestleMania 32 match against Shane McMahon when the WWE HOF’er bumped into Saints.

The Stroke Daddy was one of the boys who helped Undertaker with different spots for his then-upcoming McMahon bout. Later on, Taker and Saints finally caught up for a chat where the Louisiana native sought advice from the Texas great about getting his first major break in pro wrestling.

Where things started going wrong for Ricky Saints in AEW?

Ricky Saints never returned to AEW after losing to Top Flight in a tag team match on the March 30th edition of Collision. He’s stated in interviews that he had a stinger coming out of it but was mostly fine. And then, the months that followed saw him do absolutely nothing with the Tony Khan-led company.

Ricky Saints
Ricky Saints (via- WWE)

Recently, while speaking on Busted Open Radio, The Absolute One dove into what exactly led to his AEW exit. While not specifically naming anyone, Saints claimed that some company veterans meddled in his creative plans, which was none of their business.

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Also, CM Punk’s tumultuous AEW firing kind of left him in the middle of nowhere mentally, and things started to fall apart for him. Punk and Saints were part of the historic Owen Hart Cup in 2023 where the younger grappler pipped Punk. They’re expected to cross paths in WWE down the road.

Related: “A lot of stuff happened,” Triple H’s close friend reflects on burying the hatchet with CM Punk upon his shocking WWE return