Ricky Saints Makes Announcement Regarding DEFY World Title After Signing With WWE

By Sam Palmer
Ricky Saints on WWE NXT Wwe/Getty Images

Ricky Saints' "WWE NXT" debut caught everyone off guard as he strolled through the crowd on the February 11 edition of "NXT" to a thunderous reception. While many fans will know Saints for his time in All Elite Wrestling, others will know that at the time he made his WWE debut, he had actually become the new DEFY World Champion by defeating KENTA at the company's eight year anniversary show. Given WWE's willingness to work with companies like TNA, NOAH, and Marigold, some fans believed that Saints would remain as DEFY World Champion, but that is not the case as Saints took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to reveal that he has relinquished the title.

Saints also confirmed that there would be a new DEFY World Champion crowned at the company's next event, "Aftermath" on March 15, where the winner of the Super 8XGP tournament will be the new champion. DEFY announced that there will be a pair of matches, with the two winners advancing to the finals later that night, with the winner being crowned the new DEFY World Champion. While no participants have been announced for the tournament at the time of writing, DEFY have encouraged their fans to keep an eye on their social media platforms as announcements for the 2025 tournament will be revealed in the coming days.

Despite leaving DEFY behind, Saints has started his career in WWE well as he was victorious in his debut match for the company, teaming Je'Von Evans to defeat Wes Lee and Ethan Page on the February 25 episode of "NXT." Saints has not been scheduled to compete on the upcoming March 4 episode, but with Roadblock approaching on March 11, as well as Stand and Deliver on April 19, Saints will be a key part of "NXT" programming in the coming months.

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