Cody Rhodes drops two-word reaction as Ricky Saints dethrones Oba Demi after 263-day NXT reign

WWE star wrestler Cody Rhodes recently took to social media to give a two-word message after a new champion was crowned on a recent show. The champion in question is Ricky Saints.

At NXT No Mercy 2025, Ricky Saints faced Oba Femi for the WWE NXT Championship in a singles match. Both stars performed exceptionally well. In the last stages of the bout, it looked like Femi would retain the championship. However, Saints turned the tide in his favor after hitting his opponent with several DDTs to secure the win via pinfall, ending Oba's 263-day reign.

After the show, Undisputed WWE champion Cody Rhodes took to X (FKA Twitter) to react to his friend's huge title win. The American Nightmare shared a two-word message creating hype for Ricky Saints' NXT Championship win over a beast like Oba Femi.

"Champ Rick," he wrote.

Ricky Saints talked about supporting WWE star Cody Hodes whil he was still with AEW

During Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns at WrestleMania XL, Ricky Saints (FKA Ricky Starks) was present in the crowd to root for Rhodes while he was still signed with AEW. After this appearance, Starks' booking went downhill in the Tony Khan-led promotions, and many speculated that his 'Mania appearance could have played a huge role in this.

In an edition of Cody Rhodes', What Do You Wanna Talk About? Podcast in July 2025, Ricky Saints discussed the situation. The NXT Champion debunked this rumor, mentioning that his appearance at WrestleMania was taken out of context as he was there only to support his friend.

“I will never let somebody weaponize a friendship against me. If you take that whole situation out of its element and you show someone, ‘Hey, this guy got in trouble—so to speak—for being at his friend’s biggest moment of his career,’ what do you think of that? That’s a beautiful thing. Why should I ever get in trouble? Even to this day, I will ride for somebody—because that’s just in my nature,” he said.

It will be interesting to see what Shawn Michaels has planned for Ricky Saints' future as the WWE NXT Champion.