AEW is the No. 2 promotion in the country, but it sure is a big deal when one of its stars jumps to WWE.

Ricky Starks hadn’t appeared in AEW for almost a year, but he received a superstar reaction when he showed up on last night’s episode of NXT.

This trend began a few years ago when Cody Rhodes made his astonishing return to WWE after helping to start AEW. Rhodes is now the WWE champion.

Jade Cargill and Penta also made the jump and were immediately treated like major players.

Starks won the AEW tag team and TNT championships. He told the NXT crowd that he was going to turn this place upside down.

VENGEANCE DAY PREVIEW

Cora Jade upset Bayley in the opening match. Jade’s biggest win over her career paid immediate dividends when she was added to the NXT women’s title match at Vengeance Day this Saturday night on Peacock.

Jade, Bayley, and Roxanne Perez will challenge Giulia for the title. Perez trolled Bayley during the match by wearing an outfit from the “I’m a Hugger” stage of Bayley’s career.

Je’Von Evans, recovering from a broken jaw, signed an injury waiver to get a Vengeance Day match against the perpetrator, “All Ego” Ethan Page.

TAG TEAM MADNESS

Josh Briggs & Yoshiki Inamura won a wild three-way bout against No Quarter Catch Crew and Hank Walker & Tank Williams.

Briggs & Inamura earned a shot at NXT tag team champions Nathan Frazier & Axiom at Vengeance Day.

Lexis King retained the Heritage Cup with a win over JDC (formerly known as Fandango).

Australian powerhouse Zaria scored a quick win over Nikkita Lyons.

STEEL CAGE MAIN EVENT

Tony D’Angelo retained the North American title in the main event with a win over Ridge Holland.

After the match, Izzy Dame turned against the D’Angelo Family, allowing Shawn Spears to attack “The Don” with a chair to end the show.