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Cody Rhodes and CM Punk are poised for a colossal match at WWE SummerSlam with the world watching.
Rising SmackDown superstar Ricky Saints, who is a longtime friend of both men, will also be keeping a close eye on proceedings as he sets his sights on replacing his pals as the face of the company.
Speaking exclusively to Metro, he said: ‘All of the top spots, I’m gunning for. And you know, you’ll have people who can give their opinions on like, “Well, that’s kind of a lofty goal”.
‘Doesn’t matter. A lofty goal was making it to WWE. Look at me now. So, to me, that’s just something that will happen. It’s inevitable.’
The 36-year-old star first signed with WWE in February 2025 and joined the NXT roster, before making the jump to SmackDown just three months ago.
On his debut, he interrupted Cody and vowed to ‘change who this show is about’.
Ricky admitted there’s a lot of truth to what he was saying, even as part of the show.
‘There’s truth to everything,’ he said. ‘We are friends; that does not mean that I don’t want the same things that he has.’
Now, it’s up to Ricky to prove he can back it up.
‘I would be remiss if I didn’t tell him straight up, “Look, it’s okay”. You’ve done a lot. Now it’s my turn to take over and do what I need to do.’
Plenty of people think he can get there; NXT and Main Event commentator Vic Joseph hailed him as a future face of Raw or SmackDown. What makes him a guarantee?
‘It’s those intangible things, it’s those attributes that I have,’ Ricky explained. ‘Sure, you can beat me on the track, but you’ll never outrun me.’
Ricky noted it ‘takes a special crazy person to be so obsessed with an idea’ that since 12 years old, he’s been chasing this singular dream with plenty of setbacks.
‘There will be a point where I climb all the way up and I put the flag up there, and now I’m good,’ he said. ‘Until that happens, I’m a very stubborn person, so nothing will be able to stop me.’
It helps that he’s got legends of wrestling like Cody and Punk offering support, going back to their time together in AEW.
‘Punk actually was one of the guys in the previous company that really saw something in me when other people kind of glossed over me, and I’ll always be forever indebted to him,’ he said. ‘I love my matches with him, I think we have some type of unique chemistry.’
Punk, who’s ‘always willing to help’, is part of a dying breed going from the indies and developmental in OVW, through several different eras of WWE.
‘Me and Ethan [Page] are one and the same. We’re from a very certain specific era, sandwiched in between what was old and what was starting to become new, and it’s very rare you have those people anymore,’ he pointed out.
Beyond the main eventers, Ricky also leans on Paul Heyman and Michael Cole ‘for some worldly advice’, as well as people behind the camera, sometimes quite literally in the case of cameraman Stew.
‘Everyone on the production team, from the truck to the camera people to the lighting rig people, everyone is so cool,’ he said. ‘I’m always curious and eager to pick their brain about like the things they’ve seen and the life that they have lived.’
There have been learning experiences, including a moment in AEW when an off-the-cuff comment directed at Adam ‘Edge’ Copeland led to a tense, unscripted exchange.
Edge recently claimed there was no ‘heat’, comparing it to countless promos in the Attitude Era.
‘The whole situation was kind of hilarious in the fact that this is pro wrestling, and so you can make up these arbitrary rules if you want to about how certain things are and whatnot.
But at the end of the day, it’s beyond a promo. It’s beyond things that we say to each other. It’s more than that. It’s when things are physical,’ Ricky explained.
‘If it don’t bother him, it don’t bother me! Truthfully, I still to this day find the whole thing funny because of just how it happened.’
WWE SummerSlam preview: Cody Rhodes v CM Punk
Ricky Saints gives his thoughts on the main event match.
‘I know that it’s already going to be great, and that one is going to be a match that people should really be studying very, very closely for. ‘Just because it’s like two jazz musicians just getting up there, and you just let it rip. That’s all that’s gonna happen. You’re just letting it rip.’
Ricky noted the ‘gritty’ side is what makes magic,
‘This is pro wrestling, baby! Where’s the drama? Where’s the excitement? Let’s give it to them,’ he chuckled. ‘Why are we so PR-heavy with being polite?’
Now, to the future, Ricky wants to push on after his recent United States Championship challenge.
‘That was a good feather in the cap. Obviously, I didn’t get the job done. But doesn’t mean it won’t,’ he added. ‘I’m enjoying it for what it is. I’m no stranger to hard work, let me tell you that.’
SummerSlam streams August 1 and 2 on Netflix. Fans in the UK can watch all WWE action as part of their subscription.