WWE Superstar Ricky Saints recently recounted a harrowing experience involving a flaming table that nearly led to serious injury before he joined WWE. The incident occurred during a 2020 vlog featuring Saints and Sammy Guevara, highlighting the inherent risks wrestlers sometimes face in their careers.
Saints had previously built his reputation wrestling in All Elite Wrestling (AEW) from 2020 to early 2025, performing under the name Absolute Ricky Starks. Throughout his AEW tenure, he earned accolades such as the AEW World Tag Team Championship alongside Big Bill, the FTW Championship, and the prestigious 2023 Men’s Owen Hart Cup. After AEW released him in February 2025, Saints signed with WWE, appearing in NXT where he achieved a notable run as the NXT North American Champion by defeating Shawn Spears.
Details of the Flaming Table Incident During a Vlog Match
On Cody Rhodes’ podcast, What Do You Wanna Talk About?, Saints revealed that in a unique tag match for Sammy Guevara’s vlog, he wrestled against a mop and a broom. This unusual contest included Saints jumping through a flaming table, wearing pleather pants at the time, which intensified the danger involved.
He explained that the pants caught fire during the stunt, causing him to suffer second-degree burns and prompting him to shake his legs to relieve the pain. The severity of the incident made him fear for his life as he saw
“his whole life flash before his eyes.”
“No one knows this, but I did a stupid thing for Sammy’s vlog where I went through a flaming table and I wore pleather pants. And it was a mop and broom tag match versus me and Sammy because prior to that, I did a match with just a broom. Anyways, so Sami went to piggyback off that, went through a flaming table with pleather pants on, caught on fire, literally saw my whole life flash before my eyes. I thought I was about to die. Had second-degree burns on my leg,” Saints shared.
Following the stunt, Saints was visibly injured with a bandage on his head and burns on the back of his thigh as his team, The Stroke Gods, ultimately defeated the mop and broom in the playful encounter documented on the vlog.
Ricky Saints’ Ongoing Pursuit of NXT North American Championship
After holding the NXT North American Championship for 56 days, Ricky Saints lost the title to former AEW competitor Ethan Page on the May 27 episode of NXT. Following the title loss, Saints sustained an injury that sidelined him for a brief period.
The 35-year-old returned on the June 10 episode of NXT and has expressed his intense desire for a rematch to reclaim the championship. This rivalry is set to escalate further in a match scheduled for the upcoming NXT: Great American Bash 2025 event.
Upcoming Climactic Match at NXT: Great American Bash 2025
Ricky Saints and Ethan Page will settle their fierce competition at NXT’s Great American Bash 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia, on July 12. The match has been announced as a Falls Count Anywhere stipulation, adding an unpredictable and high-risk element to their clash for the NXT North American Championship.
This bout marks a significant chapter in Saints’ WWE career as he seeks to regain his championship status and continue building momentum within NXT and the broader WWE landscape.
