All the way back in the early 2010s, long before he joined WWE full-time, Ricky Saints made a series of appearances in WWE as an enhancement talent. The wrestler already felt he wanted to end up in the promotion, but one of his guest appearances solidified his desire to call WWE his permanent home, as revealed on “Battleground Podcast.”
“I really think it was [when] I got put through a table by Ryback,” Saints said. “I had to do that stuff three times. … That was a moment where I go, ‘Wow, this will be the funniest story when I come back here and take it over.'”
Saints recalled a similar feeling after not receiving any word back after an early WWE tryout. There was one more WWE guest appearance after not hearing back regarding his tryout, and Saints then promised himself that the next time he returned, it wouldn’t be as a guest. He persevered, eventually finding success in the NWA and then AEW before making his way back to WWE.
The specific segment with Ryback was pre-taped rather than live, as it took place backstage. In the clip, Saints plays an arena worker who runs afoul of Ryback in catering, getting slapped by the WWE star before being dropped through the table. Although Ryback did not tell Saints ahead of time that he was going to slap him, Saints now reflects on his early WWE experience as a positive one.
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit “Battleground Podcast” and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
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