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When news broke that Ricochet was heading towards wrestling free agency after spending six up-and-down years as a member of WWE, it felt like a forgone conclusion that he was going to land in AEW, so much so that his signing was reported online the day before All In to build up a little extra hype for the Casino Gauntlet match.
But why? Sure, Ricochet has a history with plenty of AEW's top stars, but he had championship history in WWE, a fiance who announces the shows on RAW, and likely could have earned a solid living with the promotion had he opted to stick around.
What was it about AEW that was so attractive to Ricochet as a character and Ricochet as an independent contractor? Well, in an interview with Sports Illustrated, Ricochet broke down just that, with a chance to really step out and make magic once more at the top of his list.
“Honestly, the biggest reason is that I've been doing this for a long time, 21 years this year. And for me, the time when I was like, having the most fun in my career was when I was, like, traveling the world with those crazy lunatics in the back there. It's literally the time when I was having the most fun. Despite what people may think, it's not always been bad for Ricochet. I've had fun my entire career, no matter where I went. I've always had fun. That's not going to change. But when I was having the most fun was when I was hanging out with these guys and traveling the world with these guys and having matches with these guys and creating the art that I really like to make for I feel like the Ricochet fans out there who's been, you know, I guess just missing the opportunity to shine. But for me, it's to have fun again and to create that art again,” Ricochet told Sports Illustrated.
“I don't know. I think it was just a new environment. I've not been doing the same thing, but I've kind of, I guess, maybe plateaued or something, I think, for the last couple of years. It's a change of environment, a change of scenery, a change of basically everything that I've been doing for the last couple of years. You're going to feel that way. You will feel that way whether you're here, there, or anywhere. But I'm sure the first time I go to Japan, I'm going to feel that I'm going to feel that way. The first time I go somewhere else, it will be exciting.”
You know what? You really have to give it to Ricochet on this one; his thought process really is valid; for better or worse, he'd probably done all he could do in WWE, and even if Paul “Triple H” Levesque threw him a bone or two like the Speed Championship or another run with the Intercontinental Championship, he was never going to become a World Champion in the promotion and would spend just as much time on Main Event as he would in the main event of RAW or SmackDown on a macro-level. In AEW, there is no defined ceiling for Ricochet, and considering all of the dream matches fans want to see him work with performers already under contract, the opportunity to really go over and re-establish himself as the top high-flyer in the game likely made the move a no-brainer.
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Ricochet reveals which AEW Champ he has unfinished business with
Elsewhere in his interview with Sports Illustrated, Ricochet was asked about the dream matches he has on the table now that he's #AllElite and who he wants to sink his teeth into on a future show for Tony Khan's company.
While some dream matches are obvious, as Will Ospreay has been hyping up a bout between the two athletic wonders for months now, the one man Ricochet really wants to take a crack at is AEW World Trios Champion PAC, who he has some serious history with from their time together in Dragons Gate in Japan.
“PAC is a guy with whom I have a lot of unfinished business. He and I, our past, and in Japan, we've had a crazy past. He's beat me a bunch. I beat him a bunch. That's something that's going to be rekindled, too. Honestly, if you remember, before Ricochet and Ospreay, it was Ricochet and PAC lighting the world on fire. I haven't forgotten about him; obviously, he hasn't forgotten about me because you saw what happened.”
As crazy as it may sound, Ricochet has actually shared the ring with PAC on 54(!) occasions during his professional wrestling career, first in CHIKARA all the way back in 2007 and then 52 more times between January of 2011 and June of 2022, when they seemingly wrestled on every show Dragon Gate booked over that 18-month stretch. With a decade to further hone their respective skills and establish themselves as two of the premier cruiserweights in the business, both in the WWE system and beyond, it's only right for Ricochet to want to see where he stacks up against “The Man Gravity Forgot,” especially if he wants to keep calling himself the “First in Flight.”
